Daily Distractions: Don Sutton bobblehead; updates on Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Hanley Ramirez.

Don SuttonDon Sutton will be the fourth and final bobblehead given away during the 2013 season, the Dodgers announced today.

The mini-Suttons will be nodding yes on June 6. The 7 p.m. game that night against the Atlanta Braves is a three-star game under the Dodgers’ new pricing plan.

The other bobblehead giveaways this season include Hanley Ramirez on April 30 (vs. COL), Matt Kemp on May 14 (vs. WAS), Jaime Jarrín on May 25 (vs. STL), Sandy Koufax on June 27 (vs. PHI), Adrian Gonzalez on July 11 (vs. COL), Vin Scully on July 25 (vs. CIN), Hideo Nomo on Aug. 10 (vs. TB), a “flag saving” Rick Monday on Aug. 27 (vs. CHI) and Magic Johnson on Sept. 12 (vs. SF).

It’s the first-ever bobblehead for Sutton at Dodger Stadium, who was given the royal treatment in 2007 in Milwaukee. Sutton was a Brewer for two-and-a-half seasons and a Dodger for 16 – from 1966 to 1980 and again in 1988. He still owns several franchise pitching records, including wins (233), starts (533), games (550), strikeouts (2,696), innings pitched (3,814.0) and shutouts (52).

Which defunct San Francisco ballpark, and which former National League MVP’s reputation, are getting blown up? Read on …

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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:

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Daily Distractions: Here’s to You, Mr. Robinson; minor-league signings; Scott Rolen update.

Jackie Robinson was born 94 years ago today in Cairo, Georgia. To commemorate the occasion, Google baked a birthday cake with 94 candles on top made Robinson the “doodle” on its home page today.

We’ll be writing a lot about Robinson this year. The 66th anniversary of his major-league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers is April 15. Three days earlier is the planned release date of “42,” the biopic starring Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey. You can view the trailer here.

In light of this week’s news about a Miami-based PED lab that claimed several major-leaguers as clients, I’ll take this space to point out that Robinson was neither a drinker nor a smoker – let alone a juicer.

An often-overlooked local landmark is the plaque commemorating Robinson’s boyhood home at 121 Pepper Street in Pasadena. (There’s no home there now, just a plaque, as the home was torn down in the early 1970s.) Feel free to leave a present there today. Or a doodle.

Lots of links today:

Continue reading “Daily Distractions: Here’s to You, Mr. Robinson; minor-league signings; Scott Rolen update.” »

Reports: Dodgers interested in Scott Rolen.

How’s this for a rumor: The Dodgers are kicking the tires on a soon-to-be 38-year-old third baseman who might be retired by the time spring training rolls around.

Scott RolenScott Rolen is a free agent and a better defensive third baseman — at least historically — than Hanley Ramirez and Luis Cruz. So there’s the basis for a rumor. But …

The Dodgers’ 40-man roster is full, so you’d have to make room for Rolen somewhere (looking at you, 10 infielders) unless he is willing to sign a minor-league contract with a spring training invite. Given the opportunity to rule out retirement, Rolen hasn’t ruled out retirement. The Cincinnati Enquirer (click on the last link) reports that there isn’t much room for Rolen on the Reds’ roster either.

Rolen is represented by the same agency as A.J. Ellis, Brandon League and Aaron Harang, but the Dodgers reportedly haven’t approached agents Seth and Sam Levinson about Rolen.

The 1997 National League Rookie of the Year, Rolen batted .245/.318/.398 in 92 games last season. He missed nearly a month with a strained left shoulder last season, and only played 65 games in 2011 due to shoulder and back problems.