Dodgers' new athletic trainer Sue Falsone: I'm really humbled

Sue Falsone knew about the history. She recognized the Dodgers had just named her the first female head athletic trainer in U.S. professional sports. Still, that’s a tad different from being prepared for the reaction to the news.

"I received hundreds of emails from people I know and people I don’t know," Falsone said. "It was amazing. It was really everybody. I’m feeling really humbled."

Falsone (pronounced fal-SONY) was named the Dodgers’ new head athletic trainer Monday. The Dodgers, of course, are a team used to firsts, though it is still looking for its first National League pennant since 1988.

Falsone, 37, was previously the major league’s first female assistant trainer. Starting in 2007, she spent four seasons with the Dodgers and trainer Stan Conte’s staff.

"This is special to me on so many different levels," she said. "No.1 is just being entrusted with this type of position with an organization such as the L.A. Dodgers. That alone is special.

"As far as being a woman, it’s surprising it’s taken until 2011 for this to happen. There are so many women athletic trainers in high school and in college, it was just bound to happen at some point."

Dodgers set to name 1st female head athletic trainer in MLB history

The Dodgers are set to make Sue Falsone the first female head athletic trainer in baseball history, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the move won’t be officially announced until next week.

Falsone has already spent considerable time in the Dodgers’ clubhouse, as she was the team’s physical therapist from 2008-10. She traveled with the team and was popular with players. She was a consultant from the club last season.

Stan Conte, the Dodgers’ head athletic trainer for the last five years, will remain with the organization and continue to oversee its medical department.

The Dodgers’ training staff will undergo major changes this off-season.

Assistant athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk left the team to become the head athletic trainer of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Strength and conditioning coach Brendon Huttmann and physical therapist Jeremiah Randall followed Tomczyk to Pittsburgh.

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Hong-Chih Kuo to have elbow surgery

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Hong-Chih Kuo has sore elbow, will sit out All-Star games in Taiwan

Dodgers pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo and a sore elbow seem forever intertwined now, though not exactly in a good way.

Kuo’s had four operations on his left elbow, including two Tommy John surgeries, so you figure it probably hurts all the time.

And it’s hurting a little more now.

Kuo complained of elbow pain to team trainer Stan Conte during an examination Tuesday and will be forced to sit out Major League Baseball’s All-Star exhibition games in Taiwan on Nov. 1-6.

Kuo had been throwing in preparation of the exhibition games in his homeland, but Conte shut him down. Dodgers spokesman Joe Jareck said Kuo is scheduled to be examined by team physician Neal ElAttrache on Wednesday.

"He’s out and disappointed about it, too," Jareck said.

Are Juan Uribe and Jonathan Broxton done?

Then they vanished into the great unknown, never to be seen again. The end.

Injured players can tend to do that in September, particularly on teams that aren't exactly in the thick of the pennant race. They just sort of never come back.

Are Juan Uribe and Jonathan Broxton about to go all Rome's Ninth Legion on us and fade into the ether, their final season left an unsolved mystery?

Uribe has been out since July 24 with what was originally diagnosed as a strained left hip flexor. When the team thought he was getting close to a return, he tried running and still complained of pain.

Then officials said the hip had healed, but he had a strain of some sort lower than the hip. Team trainer Stan Conte on Monday called it a sports hernia. That's what medical people call injuries when they don't know what in the hell else to call them. They gave him a shot of cortisone and hoped he'd feel better. Still hoping.

Manager Don Mattingly said if Uribe doesn't respond to the more conservative approach, surgery is an option. Not one anyone prefers, but at some point, what are you going to do?

"Even in the worst-case scenario, we're confident he'll be ready for spring training," Conte said.

Uribe, of course, is in the first season of a three-year, $21-million contract, so he'll be back.  Also, he's hitting .204 with a .293 slugging percentage.

Broxton, however, can become a free agent at the end of the season. He hasn’t been seen on a mound since May 3, or when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. He saved seven mostly shaky games early, sporting a 5.68 ERA and allowing 15 hits and nine walks in 12 2/3 innings. He only begrudgingly admitted his elbow was hurting.

He remains out with a bruised elbow. Broxton thought he was close to returning once before, started to rehab and reinjured the elbow. Now he and the Dodgers are taking it more slowly -– he's still throwing long toss -- though still hopeful he can get back on the mound next month.

"I know if we're going to get the chance to see him, it's going to be late," Mattingly said. "We're willing to see what it looks like, to get him out there for his own mental ... to see how he feels."

It would benefit Broxton's confidence, not to mention his free-agent options, if he can get out on the mound the last couple of weeks and show he's returned to form.

Broxton made $7 million this season, so he's not going to get close to that wherever he ends up next season.

Best guess on Uribe: He's done for the season. On Broxton: He'll try to pitch again the last week or two, but is likely done as a Dodger. Into the ether.

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Photo: Jonathon Broxton, left, and Juan Uribe. Credit: Christina House / Los Angeles Times

Can Dee Gordon's lean frame take an MLB pounding?

Is this how it's going to be throughout the career of Dee Gordon?

Always holding your breath? Wondering if he'll be able to get up the next time? Afraid he's always going to be subcompact versus 18-wheeler?

Gordon is thin as an exclamation point. He's listed at 150 pounds, which is apparently his weight just before falling off the boat to scuba.

He's 23 years old, and the Dodgers' hoped-for future for years to come at shortstop. And right now he'd better be, because after trading Rafael Furcal, the Dodgers have no one else.

Which requires that Gordon not only develops, but stays healthy -- that his slender frame withstands the nightly rigors of a 162-game season.

Gordon injured his right shoulder Saturday diving to tag Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson in a rundown. The pain was severe enough that it was momentarily feared he had dislocated or separated the shoulder. Doctors reported neither had happened (though the shoulder was not X-rayed, as originally reported) and he sat out Sunday's game. He didn't start Monday, but did come in as late-inning replacement.

Fears come true: Rubby De La Rosa to have Tommy John surgery

There’s more Dodgers news, and of course, it’s all bad.

This news is very bad, although hardly unexpected:

Right-hander Rubby De La Rosa will have Tommy John surgery on his right  elbow.

Which means he’s not only out for the rest of this season, but very possibly next season, too.

An MRI exam on De La Rosa on Monday, done after he complained of elbow pain, revealed a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. Date and time of the ligament transfer surgery is still to be determined.

De La Rosa, 22, had been rushed to the majors from double-A Chattanooga in May, and the Dodgers' reigning minor league player of the year had mostly been very encouraging. He was 4-4 with a 3.49 earned-run average before his start Sunday, firing at up to 100 mph. He was something to get excited about.

But he threw 103 pitches in only four innings Sunday and said he felt sharp pain firing a fastball in the third inning.

Dodgers place Kenley Jansen on DL with irregular heartbeat [Updated]

Kenley Jansen, who had overcome a sore shoulder to again become a dominant reliever this season, was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Dodgers on Friday with cardiac arrhythmia.

The Dodgers called up right-hander Josh Lindblom from double-A Chattanooga to take Jansen's spot on the roster.

Jansen, who hasn’t given up a run in his last 14 appearances, complained his heart was fluttering Tuesday after recording a seven-pitch save against the Rockies. An EKG performed at the stadium indicated an irregular heartbeat, and he was taken to the hospital.

When Jansen, 23, failed to respond to medication, his heart was shocked back into its normal rhythm. He was released from the White Memorial hospital on Thursday.

[Updated at 6:01 p.m.: Dodgers trainer Stan Conte said Jansen will be out three weeks because he was placed on  blood thinner medication to prevent a clot.

He said the Dodgers consulted with seven different cardiologists, and though opinion was divided, it was decided to go "safe and conservative."

"Kenley is no longer having a problem and may not have one again the rest of his life," Conte said. "The decision was made to use the blood thinners simply as a precaution."

Jansen said he actually felt his lower heart flutter Tuesday afternoon before his ninth-inning performance.

"I pitched that way with it, and it got a little bit worse," Jansen said. "Then they did the EKG and decided to go to the hospital. Then I thought, 'What's really going on?' That scared me a little bit."

Conte said the decision to use blood thinners, and put Jansen on the disabled list, ultimately was Jansen's choice.

"It's a little frustrating, but you have to take care of your health first," Jansen said."I want to go out there and pitch, but it's just too dangerous."

The Dodgers don't want to risk him being struck by a baseball while on the blood thinner. Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said Jansen would continue to throw regularly on the sideline while on the DL, but will wear a batting helmet while in the bullpen.]

Jansen leads the majors with an average of 14.84 strikeouts per nine innings. During his last 16 innings, opponents are batting .059 against him (3 for 51).

Lindblom was up once earlier this season, allowing two runs in the 10 2/3 innings of his eight games. At Chattanooga, he had 16 s aves and a 2.18 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.

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Photo: Kenley Jansen. Credit: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

Reliever Kenley Jansen released from hospital

Kenley Jansen, the big right-hander who experienced an irregular heartbeat after Tuesday’s game, was released from the hospital Thursday.

Jansen spent the past two nights at White Memorial Hospital. When he did not respond to medication, he was put under anesthesia and had his heart shocked back into its proper rhythm.

The Dodgers said Jansen will be reevaluated when he rejoins the team Friday at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers are off Thursday.

Jansen, who has not given up a run in his last 14 appearances, complained that his heart was fluttering Tuesday. He needed just seven pitches to record his second save.

If Jansen continues to give indications that the health issue is behind him, he could pitch as soon as Saturday. Trainer Stan Conte said reliever Joe Beimel had a similar episode while with the Dodgers in 2007 and was able to pitch two days later.

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Photo: Dodgers reliever Kenley Jansen, right, is congratulated by catcher Rod Barajas after picking up a save against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 13. Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / U.S. Presswire

Kenley Jansen hospitalized with irregular heartbeat

Dodgers reliever Kenley Jansen was hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat Tuesday night after his seven-pitch save against the Rockies.

Doctors had to use cardio conversion, shocking the heart back into rhythm Wednesday morning after Jansen failed to respond to medication, Dodgers trainer Stan Conte said.

Jansen, 23, was scheduled to remain at White Memorial Medical Center for observation again Wednesday night and is expected to be released Thursday.

Conte said Jansen complained after the game that he felt his heart fluttering. Team physician Mary Gendry performed an EKG on Jansen at the stadium and he was then driven to the hospital.

"Any time you have an irregular heartbeat, we treat it pretty seriously," Conte said.

"We did an EKG that was of some concern. He was in no distress, he did not have any pain or shortness of breath or anything like that."

Jon Garland to undergo surgery; done for the season

Jon Garland won't pitch again this season.

The Dodgers' fifth starter is scheduled to undergo a season-ending shoulder operation next week. Trainer Stan Conte said Garland's recovery is expected to take six months.

"The fact that he couldn't progress in his throwing program gave us no choice," Conte said.

Garland was 1-5 with a 4.33 earned-run average in nine starts. He last pitched on June 1.

The Dodgers knew that they were taking a risk when they signed Garland over the winter, which is why his contract was guaranteed for only one season at $5 million. The deal includes a team option for next year, which the team is expected to decline.

Garland's injury opened the door for hard-throwing rookie Rubby De La Rosa, who has given up four runs in 14 innings over his last two starts.

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Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Jon Garland. Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press