Scott Elbert has arthroscopic elbow surgery, expected to miss Opening Day.

Scott Elbert underwent a left elbow arthroscopy today in Los Angeles, leaving the Dodgers without one of their top left-handed relievers to start spring training.Scott  Elbert He is not expected to be ready by opening day, according to a source.

The 40-minute procedure was performed by team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache after a new area of cartilage damage was discovered and debrided. Elbert, who had a different elbow procedure Sept. 19 that ended his 2012 season, will start his physical therapy in three days and a throwing program in six weeks.

Elbert, 27, went 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA in 43 relief appearances last season. Right-handers hit .170 against him and lefties hit .271 – a strange split for a southpaw. He and J.P. Howell were expected to be the team’s top left-handed relievers.

In a crowded Dodgers bullpen, at least two players’ chances of making the opening day roster just improved.

Left-hander Paco Rodriguez allowed one run in 11 appearances over 6 2/3 innings as a rookie last year, though his control wavered against right-handers in a small sample size (two unintentional walks in 2 2/3 innings). Right-hander Shawn Tolleson had more success against right-handers out of the bullpen as a rookie (.152 batting average) but was atrocious against left-handers (.316). Non-roster invitee Peter Moylan, aiming to re-establish himself after a series of injuries cut short his time in Atlanta, could also grab a spot.

‘Obviously Justin Sellers has issues.’ Video.

Justin Sellers’ arrest in West Sacramento last weekend made us wonder what the Southern California native was doing there in the first place, and just how bad his motorcycle excursion was in order to prompt an arrest.

This news report from CBS Sacramento provides some answers. Turns out that Sellers has a condominium in the city, and his motorcycle riding was bothering neighbors and scaring some kids. Judging by the cramped layout of the complex, you can see why. The local anchor could only conclude, “well, obviously Justin Sellers has issues he has to take care of.”

At least he didn’t get sprayed by a neighbor’s hose, like field reporter Anjali Hemphill and her cameraman:

On Deck: “A Night of Entertainment With Don Mattingly”

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly will be the headline attraction tomorrow night at the Sports Museum of Los Angeles at a charity fundraiser to benefit Mattingly Charities and the Dodgers Dream Foundation. The event begins at 6:30 and features a silent auction, a glimpse at historic Dodgers memorabilia, and standup comedy from George Lopez.

Current and former Dodgers scheduled to appear include Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier, Tommy Lasorda, Don Newcombe, Maury Wills, Lou Johnson, Steve Yeager, Lee Lacy, Jim Gott, Tim Leary and Al Ferrera. Soccer star Landon Donovan will also share the stage with screen personalities Alyssa Milano, Omar Benson Miller, Chris “Drama” Pfeff and Josh Wolf.

Tickets are $195 and VIP Sponsor Packages (which cover 10 people) are $4,000 each. More information can be found online here or by calling 323-224-1413.

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Daily Distractions: Monster cable bills, and a “Monster” lands in L.A.

Get ready for a higher cable bill.

That was one of many takeaways from yesterday’s news that the Dodgers and Time Warner Cable are on the verge of striking a local-cable rights pact that could be in the neighborhood of $8 billion.

Time Warner Cable SportsUnder the deal, colleague Tom Hoffarth reports, “TWC would be the anchor of this new Dodger channel and provide plenty of cross promotion with its own TWC SportsNet and Deportes channels created specifically for the Lakers. But as TWC found out, there was plenty of pushback from distributors when it launched its two-channel package in October leading up to the start of the Lakers season – mostly because of the high-end $3.95 price tag per subscriber per month. DirecTV, for example, didn’t get on board with it until the middle of November. Dish Network has yet to sign on.”

Even if you don’t care for the Lakers, you probably know someone who does and had to sweat through the TWC SportsNet launch last fall. If that was you, are you ready for the same song-and-dance with the Dodgers next year?

Would you rather see the $8 billion price tag come down? Or are you happy that your owners might turn an approximate $6 billion profit less than one year after buying the team, knowing that might mean more flexibility to add payroll and upgrade Dodger Stadium?

Onto the links:

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Tampa Bay Rays sign Jamey Wright to (another) minor-league deal.

Jamey Wright‘s deceptively steady career will continue in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Jamey WrightThe free agent right-hander signed a minor-league contract Tuesday with an invitation to spring training, the Rays announced.

The Dodgers let Wright become a free agent after he went 5-3 with a 3.72 earned-run average in 66 games out of the bullpen last season. The 38-year-old was second on the team in appearances (to Ronald Belisario) and games finished (to Kenley Jansen) after being slotted as a middle reliever to start the season.

Actually, Wright didn’t have a slot to start 2012. This is the eighth straight year he’ll enter camp as a non-roster invitee hoping for a major-league job. He beat out John Grabow for the final bullpen spot last year, but had even less of a chance in 2013 with right-handers Belisario, Jansen, Brandon League, Matt Guerrier, and Javy Guerra already on the 40-man roster. The Dodgers also poached free agent left-hander J.P. Howell from Tampa Bay and Wright’s historical success against lefties — no home runs in 139 plate appearances with a .252 batting average in 2012 — might mean he inherits Howell’s role out of the Rays’ bullpen.

A bigger incentive for Wright: He gets a shot with a perennial contender. In a 17-year career playing for nine teams, Wright has never pitched in a postseason game.