Baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot: Four more ex-Dodgers for your consideration.

Baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot was announced yesterday, and there were a few more Dodger connections among the first-time candidates. We’re guessing that none of these guys will make it in, but not to be overlooked …

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Poll: Who should be in the Hall?

Today, the 2013 ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame will be revealed. It should be an interesting ballot.

Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens, all fantastic players in their primes and suspected PED users, should be on for the first time. Former Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza is also newly eligible. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is on the ballot for the 13th time, hitting coach Mark McGwire for the seventh. Former MLBPA head Marvin Miller isn’t on the ballot, but quite a debate ensued over his Hall-worthiness when he died yesterday.

It’ll renew the great, uncomfortable, annual debate over whether known and suspected PED users belong in the Hall of Fame. (Jeff Bagwell … what was he on? Anything?)

There are about as many opinions as there are candidates. Here’s your chance to chime in before official results are announced on Jan. 9:


Some food for thought on Fox’s big pitch.

Fox Sports WestWhile you were putting the finishing touches on Thanksgiving leftovers over the weekend, Deadline.com reported the particulars of Fox’s latest proposal to retain the Dodgers’ television rights: Between $6 and $7 billion over 25 years.

That seems like a strong pitch, indicative of the Dodgers’ place in Fox’s local programming slate with no Lakers, no NFL (and for the moment, no NHL either). For the Dodgers, it represents a significant increase over the reported $39 million Fox will pay for TV rights in 2013, the final year of the current contract. Yet it may not be enough to sway Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly, whom Deadline reports is the lone negotiator for Guggenheim Baseball Management. The Dodgers could elect to start their own regional network, á la the Yankees or the Red Sox, but to do so means Guggenheim must turn down a profit margin of $4 billion-plus on the $2 billion it paid for the club earlier this year.

The exclusive negotiating window between Fox and the Dodgers closes in four days.

A few observations:

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Alfredo Silverio, six others sign minor-league deals.

The Dodgers re-signed Alfredo Silverio among seven minor-league free agents who were also invited to spring training.Alfredo Silverio

Silverio, 25, missed all of last season after suffering a concussion among numerous injuries in an off-season car crash. Prior to the crash Silverio was among the Dodgers’ top prospects, batting .306/.340/.542 with 11 stolen bases and 16 homers in his first full Double-A season at Chattanooga in 2011.

Next spring he’ll be joined by infielders Ozzie Martinez and Nick Evans, right-handed pitchers Juan Abreu and Gregory Infante, left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz and catcher Wilkin Castillo.

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Dodgers promote Steven Ames, Matt Magill.

The Dodgers promoted Steven Ames and Matt Magill to the 40-man roster Tuesday, as teams line up to protect players from the Rule 5 draft to be held in December.

Ames, 24, pitched for Double-A Chattanooga of the Southern League and was 3-3 with 18 saves and a 1.56 ERA in 54 games. The reliever struck out 72 batters in 63.1 innings of work and held right-handed hitters to a .177 average (25-for-141). Ames was selected by the Dodgers in the 17th round of the 2007 draft.

Magill, a product of Royal High School in Simi Valley, was drafted in the 31st round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. The 23-year-old started 26 games for Chattanooga in 2012, posting an 11-8 record with a 3.75 ERA. The right-hander fanned 168 batters in his 146.1 innings, including four games with 10 or more strikeouts.

The Dodgers currently have 38 players on their major-league roster. Teams have until 8:59 (PST) tonight to add any Rule 5 draft-eligible players to their roster — players who were 18 or younger when signed and have accrued five years of minor-league service time, and players who were 19 when they signed and have at least four years of service in the minors.