Dodgers News And Notes

We're two weeks away from Opening Day. Woohoo!
Anyway, here are some notes on this Thursday:

The Dodgers wear green uniforms for St. Patty's Day. The boys, who are normally in blue, wore green hats and jerseys for St. Patrick's Day. Those jerseys were signed and auctioned off for the Dodgers Dream Foundation.

Season Ticket Open House at Dodger Stadium. Interested in becoming a Dodger season ticket holder? The Dodgers will be holding an Open House on Saturday, March 19th and Saturday, March 26th. Anyone who purchases a season ticket plan at the Open House will also receive a Dodgers fleece blanket.

Dodgers reassign Jerry Sands to minor league camp. I think many of us want to see him play in LA now, but the truth is, he needs some more time in the minors. He'll probably start the season in AA Chattanooga. We could see him called up to the big club in September.

Jay Gibbons gets new contacts. Gibby, who is 2 for 22 so far in Spring Training, had his eyes checked in San Francisco, and was fitted for new contact lenses. Let's see if this helps him at the plate.

Is Darren Dreifort considering a comeback? The former Dodger, who hasn't pitched since 2004, visited Camelback Ranch this week as a guest instructor on the Minor League side. He threw a bullpen session and batting practice and hinted at a return to the majors. He'll be 39 in May. Dreifort retired at age 32 because of a condition that cursed him with weak connective tissue and led to 12 operations on his elbow, hip, knee, shoulder and ankle.

New Dodger billboards. The Dodgers have a new ad campaign. They've gone away from the "This Is My Town" ads and have come up with "It's Time". Roberto at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy shows us some of these new billboards.

Dodgers Notes: Gibbons Signs, Pods Declines

A couple of notes from the Dodgers today. After the Dodgers picked up their part of Scott Podsednik's $2 million option on Monday, he declined his part of the mutual option today and became a free agent. I guess Pods feels he can make more money elsewhere. He can still return to the Dodgers.

So, who will play in left field in 2011? One option will be Jay Gibbons who signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers today. Gibby will earn $650,000 with another $150,000 in plate-appearance incentives.

I was a little worried about the Dodgers picking up the Podsednik option. I don't think Pods is an everyday player, and I was scared Ned Colletti viewed him as one.

Gibbons isn't an everyday player either, but I don't mind the signing. He'll be fine as a left-handed option coming off the bench and as  a spot starter. His biggest flaw was playing the field. It was painful watching him play defense.

Dodger News And Notes

The Dodgers pulled off a nice victory last night. This last week has been stressful for Dodger fans, but the boys in blue finally got their first win in the second half of the season. I slept much better last night than I did the night before.

Let's see what's going on with the Dodgers.

Casey Blake Bobblehead Giveaway. Dodger third baseman Casey Blake is getting another bobblehead.  It's not from the Dodgers, but the Iowa Cubs, AAA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The first 1,500 fans at tonight's Iowa Cubs game will receive a free bobblehead of Iowa-native and Indianola High School alum Casey Blake. I posted pictures of this bobblehead earlier this year.

Joe Torre is uncertain of his future in Los Angeles. I hope he doesn't come back to LA next year. He can go to Chicago for all I care.

Dodgers call up a reliever, option a catcher. The Dodger have called up Jack Taschner from Triple-A Albuquerque.  To make room for him on the roster, they've optioned back-up catcher AJ Ellis to AAA. They may also call up Jay Gibbons, who is currently batting .327 with 17 homeruns and 70 RBI down in Albuquerque.

Dodgers Media Network honored with two Silver Telly Awards. The Dodgers Media Network was recently recognized with two Silver Telly Awards,the highest honor at the 31st Annual Telly Awards. The Dodgers' entries were among nearly 11,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries with less than 10 percent of entries taking highest honors, the Silver Telly. The Dodgers Media Network took Silver in the Online Video Sports category for "Inside Dodgertown: Randy Wolf Philly Cheese Steak" feature and in the Entertainment category for the "Dodgers Blue Carpet: 'The Office' Set Tour" feature.