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We now take a break in this storm surrounding the Dodgers to present a ray of sunshine

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Hungering for some good news from the Dodgers?

Morsels, be happy with the morsels.

Good news could prove tough duty this offseason, but at least something positive eked out when The Times’ Dylan Hernandez reported Tim Wallach had signed on to be on the Dodgers’ major league coaching staff next season.

It’s unclear if that means Wallach has passed on accepting a potential offer to manage another club for the coming year. Not sure how, in good conscience, you could keep any coach from accepting a big-league managing job.

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But it that doesn’t happen, at least Wallach will return to the Dodgers.

This is a good move for a couple of reasons.

The first is, Wallach is simply a good baseball mind who works well with the players. He has a great presence about him. I’m convinced he will be an excellent manager.

Much of the negative reaction to signing Don Mattingly as the next manager was directed less at Mattingly than the Dodgers simply passing on Wallach.

Mattingly may prove a terrific manager, who knows? With him, there is more a sense of the unknown. He has his share of credentials, though not included is any previous managerial experience. Fair or not, the only two games he managed included a pair of gaffs. And, of course, he served as their hitting coach at a time the offense went into a second-half hibernation.

The theory was, the Dodgers should be above a first-time manager. It’s certainly a complete turnaround from their last hire, Joe Torre having managed since Doubleday took bat to ball.

Mattingly’s learning on the job may prove dolorous, or it may not. It’s the road the Dodgers are on now.

But his hiring of Wallach is a good sign. It shows he wants the best people around him and is not going to feel threatened by having someone on his staff others thought should have had his job.

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That’s a confident move. For Dodgers’ fans, a crumb of good news.

-- Steve Dilbeck

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