Read More: John Grabow (P – LOS), Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers

According to reports, the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed left-handed reliever John Grabow to a minor league deal. The transaction was first tweeted by John Scanlan on Saturday and was verified by MLB Trade Rumors.

The 33-year-old Grabow struggled after he was acquired by the Chicago Cubs from the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2009. Grabow posted a 5.52 ERA in 88 innings while knee and shoulder injuries caused him to miss games. It was a disappointing tenure especially after Grabow signed a two-year, $7.5 million extension four months into his time with the Cubs.

In 506 games over a nine-year career, Grabow is 24-19 with a 4.31 ERA in 476.1 innings pitched. He started his MLB career in 2003 with the Pirates after being selected in the 3rd round of the 1997 amateur draft.

For more on the Dodgers and their minor league deals, and more, be sure to read True Blue LA.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

I think things are starting to look up for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger fans too. Off the field, the sale of the team, with the approval of owner Frank McCourt and MLB is moving forward. A recent court ruling in the Dodgers’ favor regarding the sale of broadcast rights means things do look good for a sale by this spring. The bidding process is expected to open January 13 and go until April 1, with a sale by April 30.

Los Angels Dodgers.
Released for public domain

After some big signings of players like Matt Kemp and Mark Ellis, Dodgers’ GM Ned Colletti is making some moves behind the scenes. I think the team struggled this year and I was disappointed to see Colletti just moving people around instead of bringing in new blood. I’m ready for a new owner to come in and I hope he fires Colletti and brings back Kim Ng.

I still think the team has not recovered from the departure of former assistant GM Kim Ng, who is now working with Joe Torre in the MLB commissioner’s office. She should have been named GM instead of Colletti and I would have left the mess that was the Dodgers too. She’s now the senior vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner’s office and her name is always mentioned as the best candidate to become the first female general manager in professional baseball. This possibility is endorsed by the great Joe Torre himself, who said “I think she’s ready,” in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

As far as front office changes, Vance Lovelace, who may have the greatest name in Dodgers’ front office history, is now the director of professional personnel. He was a special assistant to the GM and director of player scouting. Lovelace was a Dodger pitcher, coming to the team from the Chicago Cubs in the 1983 Ron Cey trade.

Rick Ragazzo is now the director of pro scouting, so I hope he’s out there scouting for the next big deal the team can make to further booster its 2012 roster. He was formerly a special assistant to the GM. He’s been with the Dodgers for four years, after 17 seasons with the San Francisco Giants, where he worked with Colletti. The team will retain special assistants Bill Mueller, Aaron Sele, Mark Sweeney, Juan Castro and Jose Vizcaino, who are all also former players.

Freddy Sherman grew up in Philadelphia, which didn’t make being a Los Angeles Dodgers fan easy. He has lived in Los Angeles for twenty years, now able to follow the Dodgers openly and attends games frequently. You can follow him on Twitter -@thefredsherman.

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There is the quick update of the day.

(CBS) – The Los Angeles Dodgers have re-signed OF Tony Gwynn Jr. to a $2 million, two-year contract, the team has announced.

Gwynn Jr. appeared in a 136 games with the Dodgers last year in his first season with the club.

The 29-year-old ranked among the league leaders with a .993 fielding percentage.

The team had until 9pm Monday night to offer Gwynn a contract or risk losing him to free-agency.

Los Angeles is expected to tender CY Young winner Clayton Kershaw and Andrew Ethier as well. James Loney and Hong-Chih Kuo are also waiting to hear from the team.

Gotta run!.

Reuters is reporting that the judge overseeing the court-supervised sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers in bankruptcy court ruled yesterday that owner Frank McCourt can sell the team’s media rights.

Image via Wikipedia

McCourt wants to sell the future local television deal that would begin with the 2014 season because it would increase the value of the sale of the team, Dodger Stadium and lease to the surrounding parking lots. The Dodgers are the most indebted team in baseball history and McCourt has already extracted a small fortune from future revenues by securitizing ticket sales and getting an advance on his cable deal with Fox.

Fox Sports, owned by Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp., sued the Dodgers in September to prevent the sale saying it would financially harm the channel. Last month the Dodgers counter-punched, suing Fox, claiming it was interfering with the Dodgers ability to sell its television rights.

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that even if McCourt wins the right to sell the television rights Fox rivals Time Warner, Comcast and Walt Disney-owned ESPN cannot take equity in a new regional sports channel that would feature the Dodgers.

We valued that Dodgers and the revenue from its related assets at $800 million in March, and I wrote earlier that the main benefit of bidders for the Dodgers, like Mark Cuban and Magic Johnson, would get from the judge siding with McCourt on the sale of future tv rights would be to use some of the proceeds from a deal, which could be worth $120 million annually over 17 years, to help finance the purchase.

The ruling on the media rights may not mean a quick sale of the team, however. Blackstone, the investment bank handling the sale of the team for McCourt has yet to provide a sale book to potential bidders, meaning they have no official financial figures to appraise the Dodgers. On Wednesday, the judge granted a six-month extension for McCourt, giving the Dodgers until April 25 to file a reorganization plan and until June 25 to solicit votes on the plan from creditors, which means McCourt could still be running the team through the 2012 All-Star game.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Reuters is reporting that the judge overseeing the court-supervised sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers in bankruptcy court ruled yesterday that owner Frank McCourt can sell the team’s media rights.

Image via Wikipedia

McCourt wants to sell the future local television deal that would begin with the 2014 season because it would increase the value of the sale of the team, Dodger Stadium and lease to the surrounding parking lots. The Dodgers are the most indebted team in baseball history and McCourt has already extracted a small fortune from future revenues by securitizing ticket sales and getting an advance on his cable deal with Fox.

Fox Sports, owned by Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp., sued the Dodgers in September to prevent the sale saying it would financially harm the channel. Last month the Dodgers counter-punched, suing Fox, claiming it was interfering with the Dodgers ability to sell its television rights.

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that even if McCourt wins the right to sell the television rights Fox rivals Time Warner, Comcast and Walt Disney-owned ESPN cannot take equity in a new regional sports channel that would feature the Dodgers.

We valued that Dodgers and the revenue from its related assets at $800 million in March, and I wrote earlier that the main benefit of bidders for the Dodgers, like Mark Cuban and Magic Johnson, would get from the judge siding with McCourt on the sale of future tv rights would be to use some of the proceeds from a deal, which could be worth $120 million annually over 17 years, to help finance the purchase.

The ruling on the media rights may not mean a quick sale of the team, however. Blackstone, the investment bank handling the sale of the team for McCourt has yet to provide a sale book to potential bidders, meaning they have no official financial figures to appraise the Dodgers. On Wednesday, the judge granted a six-month extension for McCourt, giving the Dodgers until April 25 to file a reorganization plan and until June 25 to solicit votes on the plan from creditors, which means McCourt could still be running the team through the 2012 All-Star game.

What do you guys think about this.

LOS ANGELES – Former Great Lakes Loons shortstop Dee Gordon was named to the Topps Major League Rookie All-Star team after hitting .304 in 56 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

His .304 average was the second-highest for major league rookies with at least 200 at-bats. He also was second among major league rookies with 24 steals. He hit .345 in his final 34 games.

He is the first Dodgers shortstop and 20th Los Angeles player to be picked for the Topps Major League Rookei team in the 53 years of the award.

Gordon played for the Loons in 2009 and was named the Midwest League Most Valuable Player after hitting .301 with 73 stolen bases.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

(Reuters) – Fox Sports stepped up its battle with Frank McCourt, the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, saying he needed to “get out of the way” and let the bankrupt team return to the business of baseball.

Fox, which broadcasts Dodgers games, has vigorously opposed the team’s plan to sell its future media rights earlier than expected as part of a plan to auction the team and exit bankruptcy.

In documents filed on Thursday, Fox asked Delaware’s bankruptcy court to reject the team’s request to sell its future broadcast rights, saying such a sale was unnecessary to bring the team out of Chapter 11.

“Moreover, Mr. McCourt is not necessary to this process. He should get out of the way and let everyone return to the business of baseball,” said Fox in court papers.

Fox, a unit of News Corp, also said that for the Dodgers to maximize the value of the team, they should include the land under the Dodger Stadium in the team’s sale.

McCourt, who made his fortune on real estate, owns the land through a company that is not part of the bankruptcy.

The Dodgers said in a statement on Thursday that recognizing the full value of the future media rights in conjunction with the sale of the team would be in the best interests of the team, fans and Major League Baseball.

“The fact that Fox thinks it should now opine on real estate is just plain foolish,” said the statement.

The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy in June shortly after baseball’s commissioner, Bud Selig, rejected a plan by the team to sell the future media rights to Fox for a reported $3 billion.

Baseball and McCourt spent months battling for control of the team. Earlier this month, McCourt agreed to sell the team and baseball agreed to allow the sale of the media rights.

Fox and the Dodgers have been ordered by the court to try to settle their dispute through mediation that is scheduled to begin Monday in Los Angeles, where Fox is based.

The team sales process is expected to be wrapped up by the end of April, in time for the start of the 2012 Major League season, sources familiar with the process have told Reuters.

The case is In re: Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 11-12010.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Sue Zeidler in Los Angeles, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

That’s all the news for today.

After the last few years with owner Frank McCourt, Los Angeles Dodgers fans have thought it just couldn’t get any worse. Now after a long battle with the fans, his wife and MLB, McCourt has surrendered and agreed to work with MLB to sell the team. I thought it was a good time to take a humorous look at the top five worst possible replacements for Frank McCourt as Dodgers’ owner:

Donald Trump in February 2009.
Wikimedia Commons

Donald Trump

I could see “The Donald” changing the Dodger hats to look like blue versions of his famous hairdo. Also, I think they would become the “Trump Dodgers” and drop the whole L.A. name completely. One good thing, I think he would renovate Dodger Stadium to look like one of his fancy apartments and hotels, and I personally would enjoy seeing gold-plated urinals in the restrooms.

Larry Flynt

Although some fans would probably enjoy an on-site gentlemen’s club and Hustler Store right at Dodger Stadium, I think it would go against the Dodgers’ longtime family values reputation. Having Larry Flynt as an owner could present some interesting, and very adult items for fan giveaways, none of which I’ll mention here.

Time-Warner

This one is a serious possibility and just as bad as the joke suggestions. Time-Warner would treat the team purely as a business asset, with no personal pride of ownership. The broadcasts would be most likely moved to Time-Warner cable and become hard to watch for people without cable.

Charlie Sheen

As the star of the great baseball film “Major League” and sitting on a huge pile of cash from his tv series and post-firing settlement, Charlie Sheen could be the new face of the Dodgers. The first pitch of each game could be thrown out by one of his girlfriend “goddesses” and Sheen could contribute his personal “white chalk powder” for lining the bases.

Bill Gates

Super-rich super-nerd Bill Gates would be another poor choice for Dodgers’ owner. The team roster and trades would be based on complicated computer analysis, like “Moneyball” on steroids. Fan giveaways would be pocket protectors and useless Microsoft software, which would install itself automatically on your digital devices as you enter Dodger Stadium and then be almost impossible to remove.

Freddy Sherman grew up in Philadelphia, which didn’t make being a Los Angeles Dodgers fan easy. He has lived in Los Angeles for twenty years, now able to follow the Dodgers openly and attends games frequently. You can follow him on Twitter: @thefredsherman .

More from this contributor:

MLB Will Get HGH Testing Before NFL: Fan’s Opinion

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List of National League Cy Young Award
winners following the naming of Los Angeles Dodgers starter
Clayton Kershaw as the 2011 winner. [ID:nN1E7AG1D1]

2011 – Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

2010 – Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

2009 – Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

2008 – Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

2007 – Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres

2006 – Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks

2005 – Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals

2004 – Roger Clemens, Houston Astros

2003 – Eric Gagne, Los Angeles Dodgers

2002 – Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

2001 – Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

2000 – Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

1999 – Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

1998 – Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves

1997 – Pedro Martinez, Montreal Expos

1996 – John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves

1995 – Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves

1994 – Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves

1993 – Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves

1992 – Greg Maddux, Chicago Cubs

1991 – Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves

1990 – Doug Drabek, Pittsburgh Pirates

1989 – Mark Davis, San Diego Padres

1988 – Orel Hershiser, Los Angeles Dodgers

1987 – Steve Bedrosian, Philadelphia Phillies

1986 – Mike Scott, Houston Astros

1985 – Dwight Gooden, New York Mets

1984 – Rick Sutcliffe, Chicago Cubs

1983 – John Denny, Philadelphia Phillies

1982 – Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies

1981 – Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers

1980 – Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies

1979 – Bruce Sutter, Chicago Cubs

1978 – Gaylord Perry, San Diego Padres

1977 – Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies

1976 – Randy Jones, San Diego Padres

1975 – Tom Seaver, New York Mets

1974 – Mike Marshall, Los Angeles Dodgers

1973 – Tom Seaver, New York Mets

1972 – Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies

1971 – Ferguson Jenkins, Chicago Cubs

1970 – Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals

1969 – Tom Seaver, New York Mets

1968 – Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals

1967 – Mike McCormick, San Francisco Giants

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By City News Service, on November 13, 2011, at 6:15 am

Lawyers for the Los Angeles Dodgers petitioned a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware to allow a future auction of the team’s television rights, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Lawyers for the Los Angeles Dodgers petitioned a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware to allow a future auction of the team’s television rights. (Photo by mecookie/Flickr/CreativeCommons)

 

The move comes with the tacit approval of Major League Baseball and the current rights holder, Fox’s Prime Ticket network, the website reported.

Until recently, Fox has opposed owner Frank McCourt’s efforts to sell the valuable TV rights, an integral step for McCourt to pay off creditors, including his ex-wife, Jamie.

MLB also said no, viewing any such sale as a looting of team assets.

But all three parties have reached an agreement for McCourt to sell the rights, the first step in a series of deals that would include auctioning off the Dodgers, Dodger Stadium and its parking lots.

“We fully support a change in ownership of the Dodgers … In that process, Fox has rights that cannot be violated, as MLB has previously stated,” a statement released by Fox said.

Fox has tied up negotiating rights through Nov. 30, 2012, and owns the TV rights for the next two seasons.

Those rights include an exclusive negotiating period, in which other companies cannot bid to broadcast games. Time Warner Cable is a possible rival to Fox in seeking the Dodger contract as a partner to Los Angeles Lakers broadcasts on its new Los Angeles sports channel.

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Published: Nov. 2, 2011 at 7:46 PM

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball agree to ‘court supervised process to sell team’

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

There is the quick update of the day.

It’s been a bruising couple of years for Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt as he has gone through a very public and acrimonious divorce and he and his team have gone through some major financial struggles. Now it appears that he is ready to give over and sell the team, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“The purchase probably would include Dodger Stadium and the surrounding parking lots in a package that could command a record price of $1 billion or more,” the Times reports.

McCourt has not made a final decision on the issue, a source tells the Times. He has previously said that he is planning to pass the team along to his sons, “but as circumstances have backed him into a corner, holding on has become an ever-decreasing likelihood,” the Times notes.

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Source: Los Angeles Times

Related: Los Angeles Dodgers

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Sue Falsone makes history with her appointment as head athletic trainer. (credit: The Los Angeles Dodgers)

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