Going, going … and all but gone.
That would be the Dodgers on your television, if you do not get SportsNet LA.
Sunday marks the last of the scheduled 10 KTLA simulcasts this season. Beyond then, the majority of Southern California households that do not or cannot get Spectrum will not see SportsNet LA, the Dodgers-owned channel that airs the team's games.
Charter Communications, which provides its cable service under the Spectrum brand, said Saturday it does not anticipate simulcasting any more games on KTLA.
"We have no plans to do so at this time," Charter spokesperson Maureen Huff said.
The Dodgers and Charter had hoped the 10-game KTLA trial would persuade customers of DirecTV and other television providers to switch to Spectrum and/or urge DirecTV to add SportsNet LA.
Charter inherited responsibility for the distribution of SportsNet LA when it bought Time Warner Cable last year. No other major cable or satellite provider in the Los Angeles area has agreed to carry SportsNet LA, a dispute in its fourth season.
Rotation roulette
Stop us if you've heard this one before: the Dodgers have too many starting pitchers.
If there are no further injuries, and that's a big if, the Dodgers could have seven healthy starters by the end of their series in Colorado next weekend.
Hyun-Jin Ryu (mildly bruised hip) could return next weekend and would not need a minor league rehabilitation assignment, manager Dave Roberts said Saturday. Rich Hill (middle finger blister) is set to complete a rehabilitation assignment Tuesday, which would put him on track to rejoin the Dodgers rotation next Sunday.
Hill said he has heard from a fair share of fans, via handwritten cards and letters, suggesting blister cures. He said he appreciated the interest but had heard no new ideas.
For now, he said, he is treating the affected finger with former Dodgers trainer Stan Johnston's rodeo rub and toughening the finger by throwing, sometimes with a bandage.
"At the end of the day, it's such a crazy thing," Hill said.
Hill said he is cautiously optimistic his blister issues are behind him.
"There are no guarantees," he said. "I wish I could say, 'We figured this out, this it what we're doing and it will never happen again.' "
America's finest weather?
In the 14 seasons the San Diego Padres have called Petco Park home, they have had two rainouts.
Sunday could make three, if forecasts are accurate. Roberts said the outlook is so grim that the teams discussed whether to declare Sunday's game a rainout Saturday.
The Dodgers moved Clayton Kershaw's start from Sunday to Saturday to ensure their ace would not miss a turn, although Roberts insisted the genesis of the move was that Brandon McCarthy "tweaked" his left shoulder in the weight room during a between-starts workout. McCarthy had been the scheduled starter Saturday.
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