LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers invited 15 players, including nine former Great Lakes Loons, to their fifth annual developmental minicamp at Dodger Stadium in January.

Former Loons include pitcher Steven Ames, pitcher Rubby De La Rosa, pitcher Shawn Tolleson, pitcher Josh Wall, pitcher Allen Webster, catcher Griff Erickson, outfielder Alfredo Silverio, outfielder Scott Van Slyke and catcher Matt Wallach.

Other Dodger minor leaguers invited include itchers Michael Antonini, Stephen Fife and Chris Withrow, plus position players Alex Castellanos, Tim Federowicz and Tyler Henson.

Two of the former Loons netted organizational honors, with Tolleson named the Dodgers minor league Pitcher of the Year and Van Slyke earning minor league Player of the Year honors.

De La Rosa, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, was at last year’s mini-camp, as was Erickson and Wallach.

The minicamps is to help the top prospects in the farm system get a little extra help as they near a possible promotion to the major leagues. It also gives Dodgers officials a chance to get a closer look at the prospects, while also giving the coaches a chance at some early instruction prior to spring training.

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

Top 5 Crazy Moments in Los Angeles Dodgers History

Are Dodgers Spending Too Much Money? Fan Opinion

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By Rich Linton, on November 17, 2011, at 12:28 pm

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.

David Carpenter (0-2) gave up a double by Casey Blake that went just inside the first base line, then intentionally walked Andre Ethier before Kemp slapped an 0-2 pitch the other way just inside the right field line.

“It always feels good to get the game-winning hit. That’s one of the most exciting parts of baseball — being responsible for helping the team win in that moment,” Kemp said. “I hit two balls hard today, and the one I hit soft becomes a hit. So I guess that’s how baseball works sometimes.”

Josh Lindblom (1-0) pitched a perfect 10th inning for his first major league win.

The victory was a welcomed relief for the Dodgers, who wasted a leadoff triple in the ninth by Juan Rivera. Fernando Rodriguez intentionally walked both James Loney and Dioner Navarro before striking out pinch-hitter Tony Gwynn Jr. and getting a force at the plate on Jamey Carroll’s tapper toward the mound. Aaron Miles then grounded out to second on a full count.

“Man, that was outstanding,” Astros first baseman Carlos Lee said. “Fernando showed a lot of guts right there. He got the first two outs, then he fell behind 3-1. But he went after him with back-to-back strikes and made him swing the bat.”

Houston fell 30 games out of first place for the first time since losing the next-to-last game of the 1991 season — and there are still 41 games remaining. The last time the Astros finished a season at least 30 games out was 1975, when they were a franchise-record 43½ back.

Bud Norris held the Dodgers to a pair of singles over seven innings, walked four and struck out eight before he was lifted for a pinch hitter. The right-hander has yielded just three earned runs over 26 innings in his last four starts against them.

In his previous start against Los Angeles on June 19 at Dodger Stadium, Norris gave up only one hit in six innings — but ended up with a no-decision as the Astros lost 1-0 on an eighth-inning homer by Navarro against Wilton Lopez.

Nathan Eovaldi held the Astros to just two hits over six innings in his second major league start, striking out three and walking four. The 21-year-old right-hander escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth when J.D. Martinez hit a broken-bat liner to second and Jimmy Paredes flied out to center.

“It was a pitcher’s duel today, just one of those days where there wasn’t a lot of hitting going on,” Kemp said. “Norris was throwing strikes and getting hitters out, but our young buck did a great job of getting people out.”

Eovaldi played for Alvin High School in Alvin, Texas — the same school that produced Hall of Famer and all-time strikeout leader Nolan Ryan, who spent nine of his 27 big league seasons with the Astros. The only other time he pitched from the Dodger Stadium mound was during a winter development camp.

LOS ANGELES — Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda is recovering from a bacterial infection that caused the 83-year-old to be hospitalized.

Team spokesman Josh Rawitch says Lasorda was resting at home Monday. He spent four days in the hospital last week.

Lasorda currently serves as a special adviser to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. He retired as manager in 1996 after having a heart attack. Lasorda’s 20-year managerial tenure with the Dodgers included World Series titles in 1981 and ’88.

The Hall of Fame skipper was set, along with former MVP Maury Wills, as representatives for the Dodgers at Major League Baseball’s 2011 draft on June 6, according to MLB.com.

“I look forward to announcing the next player of the Dodger organization,” Lasorda said in a May 19 interview.

The Dodgers did not say Monday whether Lasorda’s recovery would allow him to attend to those draft duties.

Lasorda, who managed the team to a record of 3,050-1,599 and four National League pennants, has represented the Dodgers in the draft every year but one since 2002. He was scheduled to be accompanied by Wills, a seven-time All-Star renown for his skills as a base-stealer.