Daily Distractions: More Jackie Robinson, Scott Rolen, and a full album.

Jackie Robinsonbaseball cardColleague Brian Charles dug up the background story on Jackie Robinson’s “Google doodle” yesterday, and it’s an interesting one.

Turns out that Robinson, who was born 94 years ago yesterday, inspires the tech sector, too.

“By celebrating Jackie today, we’re hoping to spread his message of respecting each other as a human beings,” Mike Dutton, the artist who created the image, told Charles in an email Thursday. “Nobody else has changed the game quite as significantly — and with the same kind of poise and dignity in the face of adversity, no less — as Jackie Robinson.”

One more nugget from that story: John Singleton, the filmmaker and Pasadena City College graduate behind the forthcoming Robinson biopic “42”, has been approached by PCC about having an advanced screening of the movie in Pasadena.

Some casual links for a casual Friday:

• What’s the deal with Scott Rolen? “We don’t know for sure,” Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty told MLB.com. “It’s still up in the air.” You figure if Rolen wasn’t considering returning to the Reds – who have a solid starting third baseman in Todd Frazier and just signed a capable veteran backup in Jack Hannahan – the signals coming from Cincinnati would be less mixed. Is he deciding between the Reds and retirement? The Reds and the Dodgers? Who knows.

• One more thing about Rolen: He’s played in a large media market before (Toronto) and a baseball-crazy market (St. Louis), and had success in both cities.

• There is a high school baseball prospect named Fenway Parks (h/t FanGraphs).

• Minor NL West transaction: The Chicago White Sox claimed first baseman Lars Anderson off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

• Happy birthday, Elian Herrera (28) and Justin Sellers (27).

• I have to believe that if “Austin Powers” were filmed today, the hairy hero wouldn’t need to hire an aging Burt Bacharach to provide the soundtrack. What the world needs now is The Holydrug Couple:

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.