General Manager Ned Colletti

James Loney was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence last month, authorities said Thursday. Loney sideswiped three cars on the 101 Freeway in Sherman Oaks, stopped in the fast lane, passed out, then awakened and tried to flee the scene, only to crash again, said Leland Tang, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. The Nov. 14 accident came to light on the final day of baseball's winter meetings. General Manager Ned Colletti said he had spoken to Loney about the incident.

Before the next owner is in place and starts promising to restore the team to its former glory, it looks as though the Dodgers will have to endure another barren winter. The Dodgers have plenty of needs. But with departing owner Frank McCourt preparing to sell, they have even less cash than usual to spend on players. The combined 2012 salaries of the players on their opening-day roster are expected to be less than $90 million. Ideally, the Dodgers would be looking to add a middle-of-the-lineup bat, a couple of middle-of-the-rotation starting pitchers and a veteran catcher at baseball's winter meetings.

The notion that the Dodgers had entered a new big-money era was dispelled Tuesday when General Manager Ned Colletti acknowledged the team was unlikely to make a run at top-line free agents such as Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols. Asked of the possibility of adding a big bat, Colletti said, "As of today, it looks less realistic. " The concession was made only a day after the Dodgers finalized an eight-year, $160-million contract with Matt Kemp and departing owner Frank McCourt said Colletti was free to pursue the likes of Fielder and Pujols.

Matt Kemp was one season away from free agency. The Dodgers, who are in bankruptcy, are for sale. But the player and team agreed on an eight-year, $160-million deal Monday that is by far the most lucrative in franchise history. The Dodgers also reached an agreement with free-agent second baseman Mark Ellis on a two-year, $8.75-million contract. Ellis, 34, batted .248 with seven home runs and 41 runs batted in over 132 games with the Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies this year.

Matt Kemp is uncertain about his future with the Dodgers, but right now that doesn't make him different from any of the team's other employees. "I don't know the situation," he said on a conference call Thursday. "We don't know who's going to get the team. " Kemp will be eligible for free agency at the end of next season. With that in mind, General Manager Ned Colletti went into the off-season saying that signing Kemp to a multiple-year contract ranked among the Dodgers' priorities.

The Dodgers added two minor league players to their 40-man roster on Wednesday. They were still expecting to complete their one-year deal with Juan Rivera on Thursday and continued to monitor the free-agent market. In other words, the day was like any other off-season day. Except that it wasn't. On Tuesday night, employees received an email from owner Frank McCourt, who informed them of his decision to sell the team. A few minutes later, Major League Baseball and the Dodgers made their agreement public by issuing a joint statement.

The playoffs will go on without the Dodgers again this fall. The time has come for winter dreams, for fans to hope the Dodgers can sign Matt Kemp to a long-term contract and pair him with Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols in what would be the most dynamic duo in any National League lineup. Fantasy league? Not necessarily. The Dodgers' status as a bankrupt company should not prevent owner Frank McCourt from offering big contracts this winter, according to parties involved in the federal bankruptcy proceedings.

Fans who believe the Dodgers' recent form is a true measure of the team's ability will like what they're about to read. Those who are convinced it's an aberration will be mortified. General Manager Ned Colletti and Manager Don Mattingly don't think the Dodgers have to overhaul their roster next season. "I don't think we're that far away," Colletti said. A season-worst 14 games under .500 on July 6, the Dodgers improved to 72-72 with a 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

One day after implying that the Dodgers had told him to keep playing through a knee injury that had altered the mechanics of his swing, right fielder Andre Ethier clarified his comments. "It's always been my choice to keep playing and keep going," Ethier said Sunday before the Dodgers' 7-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. "They've never said, 'We don't think you can or you can't play.' It's always been they've said, 'Hey, you've obviously put up with this and it's at your discretion.'" Ethier told Times columnist T.J. Simers on Saturday that he had informed the Dodgers that his injury had impacted his swing.

First base coach Davey Lopes said he didn't know whether Matt Kemp would win the National League's most-valuable-player award because of where the Dodgers are in the standings. But Lopes didn't hesitate to bestow another title on Kemp. "The best player in the National League," Lopes said. With Kemp hitting his third walk-off home run this season to lift the Dodgers to a 7-6, 11-inning victory over the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium, Lopes again did what he could to gather support for the center fielder's MVP candidacy.