Dodgers News And Notes

Arizon Fall League wraps up. The Desert Dogs, led by new Dodgers' manager Don Mattingly, went 11-17 and finished in last place in the three-team East Division. Mattingly is the only active major league manager ever to manage in the Arizona Fall League. It's not exactly the majors, but hopefully the AFL experience helped Mattingly for the upcoming Dodgers season.

Seven Dodgers Prospects to watch. Speaking of the Arizon Fall League, ESPNLosAngeles.com's Tony Jackson gives us a list of seven Dodgers prospects who made a good impression in AFL.

Dodgers add two players to 40 man roster. The Dodgers have purchased the contracts of catcher Hector Gimenez and right-handed pitcher Luis Vasquez, adding them to the 40-man roster. A switch-hitter from Venezuela, Gimenez was an Eastern League All-Star in 2010 with the Altoon Curve in the Pirates organization. He batted .305 with a .384 on-base percentage and a .533 slugging percentage for an impressive .916 OPS in 94 games. Vasquez, 24, is a 6-foot-4 righty from the Dominican Republic. He was 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA in 37 appearances for Class A Great Lakes in the Midwest League in 2010. Vasquez held opponents to a .173 batting average while striking out 39 and walking 26 in 40 1/3 innings.

Jim Leyritz acquitted of DUI manslaughter. A jury in Florida on Saturday acquitted former Dodger Jim Leyritz of DUI manslaughter in a 2007 crash that killed a mother of two. However, Leyritz was convicted on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail. Leyritz had faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the manslaughter charge.Sentencing was set for Nov. 29.

2011 Dodger Bobblehead Predictions

With the Dodger season finally over, it's time to look forward to 2011. I'm not gonna talk about the team right now. I'll save that for another day. Today I wanna take a crack at predicting next year's bobblehead giveaways.

This year the Dodgers gave away four bobbleheads, Andre Ethier, James Loney, Jonathan Broxton and Matt Kemp. It was Kemp's second bobblehead in two years. I think it's safe to assume Kemp will not get a bobblehead three years in a row. The other three didn't have spectacular seasons, so they probably won't get bobbleheads again in 2011 either.

So who will get nodders next year?

The Dodgers have given away four bobbleheads each year for the last three years. Let's assume they keep up this trend. I think they start with the newest Dodger, manager Don Mattingly. They gave Joe Torre a bobblehead in 2008. What better way to make Donnie Baseball feel like a Dodger than to give him a bobblehead?

Who's next? Well, most of the offensive players have recieved bobbleheads over the last three seasons, so I think the Dodger go with three pitchers in 2011. The first one will be Chad Billingsley. He finished 2010 nicely and has been solid for the team over the last few years. Chad's a beast. He deserves a bobblehead.

The third bobblehead will be Hong Chih Kuo. Kuo had an amazing 2010 season, finishing the season with a 3-2 record, leading all Major League relievers with a 1.20 ERA. That 1.20 ERA set a new record for a Dodger pitchers in a season, previously held by Eric Gagne. In 56 appearances out of the bullpen, he pitched 60.0 innings, struck out 73 walking just 18 while converting 12 saves in 13 chances. He also became the first Taiwanese-born player to play in the All-Star game. I think the Dodger will honor his All-Star appearance with a bobblehead, although most Dodger fans would like to see him honored with a bat flip bobblehead.  Mike at thelfp.com showed us what it could look like:

The last bobblehead the Dodgers will give away in 2011 will be Clayton Kershaw. The "Ace" of the staff must be honored. Kersh really stepped it up in 2010, finishing his third major league season with a record of 13-10, an ERA of 2.91, 32 starts, 204 1/3 innings and 212 strikeouts. His wins, starts, innings and strikeouts are all career highs. He deserves a bobblehead, right?

So those are my 2011 Dodger bobblehead predictions. Any thoughts? Is there someone more deserving?  Let me know.

Now That I'm Calm, A Recap Of Last Night's Dodger Game

Yes, the Dodgers' 2010 season is over. I think we've known this for a few weeks now. Last night's bullpen debacle was just another reminder of how crappy things really are in Dodgertown.

I woke up yesterday eager to see Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers play. After getting completely manhandled by Roy Oswalt the night before, I also couldn't wait to see Joe Blanton. I also hoped for Matt Kemp's return to the line-up. Well, Matt Kemp made his return, going 3 for five with a homerun and 4 RBI and the offense jumped all over Joe Blanton. Kershaw was amazing, going 6 2/3 and giving up only two runs. Great. The Dodgers were up 9-2 in the eighth. And then the shit just hit the fan.

Ronald Belisario and Jonathan Broxton. Two names Dodger fans are hating right now. Between the two of them, they faced nine Phillies and gave up EIGHT runs. Belisario was just god-awful giving up four runs in the eighth.

Broxton was just as bad. He hit the first batter he faced, then walked the next two. Then Casey Blake did his best Bill Buckner impression. With the bases loaded, Ben Francisco hit a sure double play ball to Blake, which went right through his legs, allowing two runs. This didn't help Broxton, as the DP could have made the difference in the game.

Carlos Ruiz then came up and and crushed a hanging slider, scoring the the tying and winning runs.  Brox faced five batters and retired none of them.

Broxton's has had a rough two month stretch. Since June 27, he has an era of 7.94. Joe Torre wouldn't say whether Jonathan Broxton will continue to be his closer.

"Let the smoke clear before you get me to say something I haven't thought about. He's a big boy, he'll be all right. Long-term, I'm not worried about him."

I think it would be a huge blow to Broxton's development to take him out of the closer's role now. In a season that is already lost, let him figure out his problems on the field. Yes, Hong-Chih Kuo has been amazing. Kenley Jansen hasn't been too bad either. But we all know about Kuo's elbow and how often he should be used. Jansen is still too raw. The Dodgers are out of the playoff race in 2010, so why make a change now? If this continues with Broxton in 2011 though, I'm all for change.