Where are my votes for Comeback Blogger of the Year?

You remember when I took a few days off this season for that thing called life, and came back with just some truly sterling posts? Don’t pretend you don’t know exactly what I’m talking about.

Yet there are no drum beats for my amazing comeback. Not to mention that nasty cuticle I had to overcome to hit the keyboard in August. The memory still stings.

Not impressed? Thinking that hardly qualifies as some amazing comeback? Sorry, your standards are much too high. Check on the troupe that voted for the Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year awards.

White Sox DH Adam Dunn received the American League honor, which I’m going to presume was for his 41 home runs and not his .204 batting average.

Giants catcher Buster Posey, who saw his 2011 season end in May after a violent homeplate collision, received the National League comeback nod. Which is perfectly understandable, since he’s also the favorite to win this...

Reliever Kenley Jansen, who landed on the disabled list in each of the last two seasons with an irregular heartbeat, underwent a surgical procedure on Tuesday to correct the problem.

Jansen is expected to be fully competitive at the start of spring training. Though Jansen will be on blood-thinning medication for the next two to three months, he will be able to throw and work out this winter without any restrictions. In fact, Jansen could probably start exercising in the next seven to 10 days.

The procedure Jansen underwent at White Memorial Hospital wasn’t an open-heart operation. The part of his heart that caused his heart to beat irregularly was identified and burned. Jansen’s heart is currently in normal rhythm, according to a statement issued by the Dodgers.

Jansen will remain at the hospital on Tuesday night and is scheduled to be discharged on Wednesday.

Jansen was first placed on the disabled list with an irregular heartbeat in late July of 2011. The problem returned...

ADRIAN GONZALEZ: 30, first base

Final 2012 stats: .299 batting average, 18 home runs, 108 RBI, career-high 47 doubles, .344 on-base and .463 slugging percentages, three errors.

Contract status: Will be in the second year of a seven-year, $154-million deal.

The good: In his 36 games as a Dodger, he hit .297 with three homers and 22 RBIs. Finished the year on a 15-game hitting streak, longest by any Dodger of the season. Hit dramatic three-run homer in his first at-bat as a Dodger.

Notorious for grounding into double plays (he led the American League with 28 in 2011); hit into only one as a Dodger.

The bad: After his home run in his Dodgers debut, he went another 26 games before he hit another one. And by then, the Dodgers were essentially out of it, their offense failing to ignite after his Aug. 24 acquisition.

Since becoming a regular, his slugging percentage and home run total were the lowest of his career.

What’s next:He's supposed to be one of the game’s premier players. That&...

Ain’t baseball a curious little game?

It can surprise you, that’s for sure. Take this announcement by the Seattle Mariners on Monday:

Dave Hansen has been hired as their new hitting coach.

That would be Dave Hansen, the Dodgers' hitting coach last season, the only coach not invited back for the 2013 season.

With the Dodgers struggling to generate the expected offense after the midseason acquisitions of Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Shane Victorino, his dismissal smelled of scapegoat.

Maybe there was more to it than that, but the former Dodger was rather unceremoniously shown the offseason door. Yet only nine days later, he found new major-league employment.

"I think Dave will be a good addition to our big league staff," Mariners Manager Eric Wedge said in a press release. "He's had success as both a coach and a player, and has a clear vision of how to help prepare our hitters to be successful."

The always-pleasant Hansen took over as the Dodgers’ hitting coach when...

KENLEY JANSEN, 25, closer

Final 2012 stats: 5-3, 2.35 ERA, 25 saves in 32 opportunities, 0.95 WHIP, 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

Contract status: Still under team control.

The good: Thrust into the closer’s role for the first time in his career, the hard-throwing Jansen performed just about as well as expected, which is saying plenty. He’s only expected to blow every hitter away on three pitches.

After going on the disabled list again this season with an irregular heartbeat, he came back to allow only one run in his last nine games, striking out 13 in 8 1/3 innings. Despite the DL stint, appeared in a career-high 65 games. And it was only the third year the converted catcher spent the entire season as a pitcher.

The bad:He got off to a shaky start in his first five games (four earned runs in six innings), but in his next 50 innings allowed only nine earned runs (1.44 ERA). Did not throw as consistently hard as the previous season, when he established a major-league record...

This one’s not for everyone. There’s not a whole lot that involves the Dodgers, and it’s admittedly personal.

But these moments come to us at some point, though clearly the perks of being a sportswriter make them much more common. The opportunity arrives in a flash, normally without warning, and if you don’t act quickly is gone forever.

This is about Brian Wilson. No, not the Giants’ curious reliever. This is about Brian Wilson, Beach Boys legend.

The moment occurred at the Dodgers’ 2012 home opener against the Pirates on April 10. The Beach Boys, celebrating the start of the 50th anniversary tour, were to sing a song and the national anthem. It was an attempted marketing gimmick by the Dodgers, tying the iconic Southern California rock group to their own 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium.

The Beach Boys arrived on the field that Tuesday afternoon following batting practice. The field was littered with team officials and media and quasi-celebrities,...

JERRY HAIRSTON JR., 36, utility

Final 2012 stats: .273 batting average, four home runs, 26 RBI, 19 runs, .342 on-base and .387 slugging percentages in 238 at-bats.

Contract status: Signed for 2013 at $3.75 million, the last of his two-year contract.

The good: Hairston was sort of the new Jamey Carroll, the utility man extraordinaire. He split time between second and third, but also played 15 games in left field. Got off to a terrific start, was hitting .366 with .435 on-base and .525 slugging percentages through June 9.

The bad: After June 9, however, his season took a drastic turn. He hit just .204/.272/.285 in his last 44 games before shutting his season down Aug. 11 with a hip injury. The hip had been bothering him for a while, so that likely explains his downward turn. He had taken over the third base job from Juan “He’s Still Here?” Uribe before his season ended. The hip eventually required surgery.

What’s next:Healing, and most likely, a lot more time as an...

A.J. ELLIS, 31, catcher

Final 2012 stats: .270 batting average, 13 home runs, 52 RBI, .373 on-base and .414 slugging percentages, threw out 33% of base runners.

Contract status: First year of arbitration eligibility.

The good: Had just a terrific season on the field, behind the plate and in the clubhouse. Exceeded all expectations. Saw more pitches per plate appearance (4.44) than any catcher in baseball. Led regulars in on-base percentage. Went all of 2009 and 2010 without hitting a home run at any level, so his 13 homers were a pleasant surprise. Despite this being his first full season in the majors, emerged as an undisputed team leader.

The bad:Like most things, his performance is relative to expectations. And since to most there was an element of the unknown in turning over full-time catching duties to Ellis for the first time, there was really precious little to fret over his 2012 performance. It appeared he was wearing down in mid-September when he suffered through an 0-for-31...

Can you have too much of a good thing? Oh, how we’d all like to find out.

The Dodgers, though, seem bent on testing the theory, and I’m not talking just on the field. On Thursday they added highly respected front-office executive Gerry Hunsicker.

Hunsicker was most recently Tampa Bay’s senior vice president of baseball operations, a title he’s held the past seven years, where he helped a young general manager (Andrew Friedman) build the Rays into an expected annual contender.

He was also the general manager for Houston for nine seasons (1996-2004), leading the Astros to the postseason five times.

His title with the Dodgers will be senior advisor, baseball operations. The team’s official press release said he will aid General Manager Ned Colletti and Chief Executive Stan Kasten with “his expertise [in] international scouting and development, pro scouting and minor league development.”

Perhaps most telling,  the release was careful to point out that ...

JAVY GUERRA, 27 on Halloween, relief pitcher

Final 2012 stats: 2-3, 2.60 ERA, eight saves in 13 opportunities, 1.49 WHIP, 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings, .241 opponents batting average.

Contract status: Under team control.

The good: He had the kind of start the Dodgers expected. He saved his first five games, and seven of his first eight. After a rough stretch that cost him the closer’s spot, came back to allow only one run in his next 16 appearances. Did not allow a run in his final 10 appearances.

The bad: Between those strong stretches came the other variety. Had two rough five-game stretches (13.50 ERA, .571 opponents batting average, April 24-May 6; 6.35, .391, July 18-26). Then there was arthroscopic knee surgery in June, a trip back to the minors and finally an oblique injury that ended his season Sept. 2.

What’s next: If anyone needs a restart, it’s Guerra. He hopes to come back with a healthy knee and oblique, and new approach. It’s unlikely he’ll get...

It’s Josh Beckett, 20-game winner. Josh Beckett, All-Star and postseason star. Josh Beckett, fried chicken aficionado.

And Josh Beckett, environmentalist?

Or at least, Josh Beckett, plaintiff. A company Beckett owns is suing a pipeline builder for destroying the habitat of the endangered ocelot on his Texas ranch.

The ocelot, also known as the dwarf leopard, is a 20- to 40-pound wild cat, more common in South and Central America.

In the U.S., however, it’s been disappearing, though some are still found in South Texas. It’s estimated approximately only 50 remain in this country.

Beckett’s lawsuit claims that pipeline company Eagle Ford Midstream LP was awarded eminent domain on land owned by Beckett Ventures Inc. after falsely telling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the property was not suitable habitat for the ocelot.

The lawsuit claims the cat travels along river corridors and streams that cross his 7,000 acre ranch near San Antonio. It said after notifying...