The last remaining battle of the Dodgers ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, between Frank McCourt and Fox, is now over. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweeted that the Dodgers have agreed to honor their existing contract with Fox (which runs through 2013) in exchange for Fox ending their pending litigation against the team.

That's one less roadblock to the upcoming sale. Now, as Shaikin noted, the team can "get on with the business of selling the team." Now we wait for McCourt and his crew to pick a bidder for the team, which will be sold by April 30.

To quote Roy Hobbs, "pick a winner."

The Dodgers today finalized a deal with Clear Channel to move their English-language radio broadcasts from 790 KABC to AM 570 Fox Sports LA. The contract is a three-year deal that runs through 2014 and covers marketing as well as game broadcasts.

"Clear Channel’s all-sports format will elevate the Dodgers in terms of coverage and significantly enhance our fans’ engagement with the club. Through this strategic partnership, the Dodgers will now have the opportunity to connect with the millions of listeners that tune into Clear Channel’s wide-reaching AM and FM stations," said Dodgers Chief Revenue Officer Michael Young.

All 162 regular season games, any potential postseason games, and at least seven spring training games will be broadcast on AM 570 and the 22 affiliates of the Dodgers Radio Network.

In addition, postgame DodgerTalk will run "for at least one hour after every game," which wasn't always the case on 790. There will also be a nightly one-hour version of DodgerTalk at 7 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays from the beginning of spring training through opening day.

What we don't know is whom will be the host(s) of DodgerTalk. Josh Suchon and Joe Block were under contract with KABC, and it is yet unknown whether or not they will make the move over to KABC. This season was Suchon's fourth season as co-host of DodgerTalk, the first three with Ken Levine, who was one of several former Seattle Mariners broadcasters to return to broadcast games this season as a tribute to former Mariners' announcer Dave Neihaus, who passed away in November 2010.

Suchon and Levine had a great rapport and made the show a fun listen after Dodgers games, regardless of the strength of the callers. Suchon also put on a good show with Block, who was in his first season on DodgerTalk after hosting a similar show for the New Orleans Hornets. Block also called Jacksonville Suns games when they were a Dodger affiliate, including when Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, James Loney, and others were there.

Block didn't fill the comedic shoes of Levine, an Emmy-winning television writer who wrote several episodes of M*A*S*H and Cheers, among other projects, but Block didn't necessarily have to. Block and Suchon are good natured hosts who treated callers fairly and presented a fun show that was easy to listen to.

Whomever is hired to host DodgerTalk in 2012, they will have some big shoes to fill.

*****

In other news, Matt Kemp was named as the Dodgers nominee for the 2011 Hank Aaron Award, given to the top offensive performer in each league. Fans can vote on the award on MLB.com, through October 9. The award will be presented during the 2011 World Series.

*****

CC vs. Verlander MLB Gameday

It was a great weekend at Dodger Stadium for legendary Hall of Famers deciding to return in 2012. Like Vin Scully on Friday night, Jaime Jarrin on Sunday afternoon during his game broadcast on Univision Radio KTNQ 1020 announced his that he would return to broadcast Dodgers games in 2012.

"The Dodgers have invited me back for another season, so you will have to be by my side again," Jarrín joked with analyst Fernando Valenzuela on air during the second inning. "I love what I do. It’s something I love and it brings me great joy to work alongside you and Pepe Yñiguez. I’m pleased to serve the Spanish-language community and really share baseball with them – such a beautiful and pristine sport."

Jarrin has called Dodgers games since 1959, so next season will be his 54th season behind the microphone. It is insane to think that with that many years of experience Jarrin is still second in seniority among Dodgers announcers.

Jarrin had a ridiculous streak from 1962 to 1984 when he called nearly 4,000 consecutive games. Jarrin still calls every game with Pepe Yñiguez, and is joined by Fernando Valenzuela on home games and west coast road games. Jarrin was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.

The Dodgers received the best news possible during Friday's game with Colorado. Vin Scully is coming back in 2012, for his 63rd season!

From the press release:

"I don’t want to make a big deal out of it, you and I have been friends for a long time," Scully told the audience on PRIME TICKET. "But after a lot of soul searching and a few prayers, we’ve decided that we will come back with the Dodgers for next year. God’s been awfully good to me, allowing me to do the things I love to do. I asked him one more year at least and he said okay."

Video of Scully's announcement:

All four Dodger minor league affiliate picked up wins on Saturday, and there was plenty of offense to go around with 38 runs scored for the day.

Minor League Player of the Day – Trayvon Robinson - 3 for 4, 1 3B, 5 RBI's, 1 SB.  Maybe I'm a little biased because I saw this performance in person, but anyway you look at it Robinson had an excellent day on Saturday.  The 3 RBI triple was a long fly ball to a deep part of right-center, and he really just looked locked in all game long.

AAA – The Albuquerque offense started off the day slow, but eventually put on a show for me in a game they won 12 to 8 against the New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins).  I was in attendance at this game, and will have a more detailed post about my experience within the next few days, but what I can tell you here is that Trayvon Robinson looked great at the plate.  Robinson went 3 for 4 with 5 RBI's, including a bases clearing triple in the 7th that really solidified the win for the Isotopes.  Jaime Hoffmann also went 3 for 4, although all of his hits were singles, while Corey Smith and Jay Gibbons had two singles apiece.  Russ Mitchell had the only Tope homer in the game, a line drive shot to left.  Starter Alberto Bastardo was sharp early and had 7 strikeouts in the game, and was able to pick up the win despite allowing 9 hits and 4 runs in the middle innings.  Merkin Valdez threw two innings of one-hit relief, and Ramon Colon made the game seem a lot closer than it really was by giving up 4 runs in the 9th.

AA – Chattanooga starter Nate Eovaldi continues to impress as he allowed just 1 unearned run over 5 innings in the Lookouts 8 - 5 victory over the Carolina Mudcats (Reds).  Eovaldi struck out 4 and allowed 4 hits, but also walked 3 which led to his high pitch count by inning #5 (96 pitches).  Cole St. Clair was excellent in relief, facing just 1 batter over the minimum in 2 innings to lower his ERA to 0.96 for the season, and Javy Guerra threw a hitless 9th.  At the plate, Pedro Baez hit his 1st homer of the season and singled twice in what was probably his best game of the young season.  Scott Van Slyke also stayed hot with a double and a triple in 4 plate appearances.

HiA – Rancho Cucamonga erupted for 15 runs on 21 hits to give starter Allen Webster plenty of support in the Quakes 15 - 4 victory over the Modesto Nuts (Rockies) on Saturday.  Griff Erickson led the attack in terms of hits with 4 base knocks in 6 at bats, picking up 2 doubles and 3 RBI's in the process.  Jake Lemmerman, Angelo Songco, and Tony Delmonico all had 3 hits apiece and combined for 4 doubles and 7 RBI's.  Blake Smith hit the only  homer of the night, but also recorded the Golden Sombrero with 4 K's.  Webster scattered 5 hits over 7 solid innings, allowing just 1 run and striking out 5.  It was his second 7 inning/5 hit performance in a row, so he's really heating up after a couple of mediocre starts at the beginning of the season.  Reliever Andres Santiago was greeted with 3 runs in his season debut, and Javier Solano allowed 1 hit in a shutout 9th.

LoA – The Loons were down 2 to 1 after 6 innings, but the team clawed back for a run in the 7th then won the game on a walk-off single by Jessie Bosnik in the 9th for a 3 to 2 win over the Dayton Dragons (Reds).  The big hit for Bosnik was definitely the highlight of the 3rd baseman's young season as he is hitting just .156 for the year.  Other than that the offense was pretty quite, with catcher Michael Pericht picking up the other two RBI's on a double and groundout.  Great Lakes pitching was solid all night, with starter Red Patterson working around 4 walks to allow just 2 runs over 5 innings.  Pete Budkevics was outstanding in relief, allowing just a single hit while striking out 4 over three innings of work.  That lowered his ERA to 1.38 and his batting average against to .182 for the season.  Shawn Tolleson picked up the win in relief with a perfect 9th, although he only picked up one strikeout in the process.

Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)

Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)

Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)

http://firstinning.com/daily/la

The Dodgers have announced their 2011 spring training television schedule. The Dodgers will broadcast 15 games; 12 on Prime Ticket and three on KCAL. Game announcers will include Vin Scully, Rick Monday, Charley Steiner, Eric Collins, Steve Lyons, Josh Suchon and Joe Block. Scully will call all three games on KCAL.

Audio of all 15 Dodgers' television game broadcasts will be available on Dodgers.com.

The Dodgers play 17 games at Camelback Ranch this spring, and 14 of those games will be available on television in some way or another. Factor in available broadcasts from other teams, and as many as 22 of the Dodgers' 36 spring games will be available on television.

Here is a look at the Dodgers' spring television schedule, including some broadcasts from other teams:

ROOT Sports is just the re-branding of the three regional networks owned by DirecTV: FSN Northwest, FSN Rocky Mountain, and FSN Pittsburgh. The March 25 and March 30 games against the Mariners should be on channel 687 on DirecTV.

The (d) denotes a delay for MLB Network broadcasts. The full MLB Network spring schedule can be seen here. The March 13 game against the Cubs in Las Vegas is a 1:05 p.m. game but will be shown at 4pm on Prime Ticket, after the Dodgers' game against the White Sox.

KABC announced today that Joe Block has been named co-host of DodgerTalk, teaming with Josh Suchon on the radio postgame show for the 2011 season. Block comes directly from New Orleans, where he was a studio host for New Orleans Hornets' broadcasts, and was the play-by-play man in Jacksonville from 2003-2006, including during the Jacksonville Five era. Block was one of the candidates to become the Dodgers' backup TV announcer in 2009, a job that ultimately went to Eric Collins.

This announcement coincides with Ken Levine leaving DodgerTalk after three seasons, which is understandable since Levine will be broadcasting some Mariners' games this season (a move no doubt endorsed by our friends at AZ Snakepit), as a multi-broadcaster tribute to the late Dave Niehaus, who passed away this offseason. Levine, the Emmy-winning comedy writer who wrote several episodes of M*A*S*H and Cheers, to name a few credits, had the perfect temperament for a radio call-in show, using his sense of humor to defuse the inanity that is sometimes heard from callers to the show. Levine had a great rapport with Suchon, and it showed on the air, and off.

The good news is that Levine might still contribute in some way to DodgerTalk:

However, there's a strong likelihood that I will continue to contribute to Dodger Talk -- features and whatnot -- so I'm not totally gone.

While I am excited to have Block on board, especially for his perspective on Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton, James Loney, et al, Levine will be missed.

Block is on Twitter, at @Joe_Block.

When the Dodgers last month moved Opening Day from April 1 to March 31 to accommodate ESPN, the main concern was that, with ESPN owning exclusive broadcast rights, Vin Scully might not broadcast the game. However, the Dodgers put those fears to rest today. Per team vice president of communications, Josh Rawitch, at Inside the Dodgers:

Vin is on board to play a role in the KABC radio broadcast on March 31 and will be in the house. Exact details of what innings he'll call and any other role he might play in the ceremonies have yet to be determined, but rest assured, he has every intention of being here. And we're planning a memorable ceremony that we truly hope our fans will enjoy.

For what it's worth, when we mentioned the idea to Rick Monday and Charley Steiner, both were fully on board. As Rick put it, "It wouldn't be Opening Day without Vin Scully."

So, at least on some level, Scully will be involved in opening day, hopefully both as part of the opening ceremonies on the field and in the booth calling the game against the Giants on radio. He has not missed an home opener since the club moved to Los Angeles in 1958.