And the same to you, Jon.

Happy Holidays to you too Jon, and to everyone out there. I'll be doing Christmas in, what I think is Xei Frank country, staying at my sister's in Newbury Park.

A warm gratifying season to Jon and all!

I think I'll go to Angela's party because that's the party I know.

Happy holidays, Jon. And the rest of you, too. Except D4P.

On the one hand, you have double-fudge brownies. On the other hand, you have Angela.

Double-fudge. Angela

Double-fudge. Angela

Happy holidays to one and all; no exceptions, even though some might be warranted.
I'm off to Acapulco to get away from the frigid LA weather.

Happy Holidays, Jon, and to all my fellow commentors as well. Best wishes to all in the New Year.

Is commentors a word?

It is now.

That's funny, I'll be at Benihana tonight. Happy holidays to all.

Mele Kalikimaka to all, and to all big surf!

Best, merry, happy, joyous, peaceful to all.

Happy Holidays to all.

12 comments and no Asian Hooters reference. This place is slipping.

Feliz Navidad

So a guy in a Santa Claus outfit walks into an Asian Hooters...

Happy Holidays to the DT family (yes, we are fam-i-lee). I am going to 3 different Xmas parties over the course of 3 days and they are all family-related. Because nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a few trips up and down the LA freeways.

Who am I kiddin? This is going to be fun.

A day is not complete for me without visiting this site. Unfortunately, I've been experiencing lots of incomplete days of late. :)

And Happy Festivus!

13- It's like setting a place for Elijah. We knew you'd be by.

I love that onion volcano.

Happy holidays.

How well do we know our host:

Will Jon go with the:

a) Steak hibachi;
b) Chicken hibachi;
c) Shrimp hibachi;
d) Como hibachi;
e) veggie hibachi; or
f) Sushi (no rabbit)

I'm voting d) combo.

(b)

Happy Holidays everybody

Is the (Perry) Como hibachi like the George Foreman grill?

22. Yes. Perry Como dons a chef's hat and a Nakiri bocho while flipping shrimp and singing selections from the Perry Como Christmas album. You have never had the Como hibachi? We used to have it all the time, (of course, not since May 21, 2001).

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is for the Terminator to come back to life and destroy the dancing robot from Fox's NFL broadcasts.

Also, peace on Earth and goodwill towards men. And a power hitting RF.

Thanks!

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone at Dodgerthoughts. Jon, I hope you have a blessed holidays with your family. Thank you for a great year of writing. And thanks to all the DT regulars for a lot of laughs and lots of insight into our beloved Dodgers..(and Juan Pierre..)

Merry Christmas eve to everone and have a happy last day of Chanukuh.

Heading out soon to the annual Xmas eve dinner with our 2 godsons and their folks. The rule tonight is everyone must supply some entertainment, and I have chosen to sing "Plastic Jesus."

My wife is not happy with my choice. On the other hand I enjoy being a slightly corrosive influence. Next year perhaps it will be Zappa or Tom Waits.

Uh, Happy Holidays to everyone, including D4P who lives in my town of Durham but can't wait to leave.

Happy holidays to you Jon, and to every one of the regular commenters who help make this site a great place to hang out.

I'll be home in Palos Verdes Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, then travelling for a few days to visit Northern California family.

28 What about commenters who are irregular?

Wait, that doesn't sound right.....

29.
Well there's a former Los Angeles Airport for those of us who are not regular…

Season's Greetings from France where it's already been X-Mas for 39 minutes now !

Bonnes Fêtes à Tous !

Regular = more than once. In the spirit of Christmas!

Happy Holidays to all ....

thanks for keeping this blogger informed and entertained all year ...

Happy Holidays to All.

FYI,

I am from Indianapolis and I have a friend who is also a big Dodger fan in San Antonio. He is a retired Army Chaplin and we meet up every spring in Vero Beach (although it won't be for much longer). We will be there this year from March 22 to 30th. We have a condo rented and could handle a couple of more fans. If anyone is interested, you can e-mail me at mark@uswatersystems.com.

This could even be the last year (although there likely will be one more). I hate to see Dodgertown go. There's never been another place like it, but it's progress.

E-mail me if you are interested. I will also be in Malwaukee on Opening Day!

merry holidays and a happy christmas to everyone!

Have a happy holiday everyone! Jon, thank you for making this such a great place.

2. Drive over the hill and stop on by!

I picked up two copies of the year end Sports Illustrated magazine. I will be signing autographs this week in the parking lot behind the local Carpet World store. I love the large font they gave the DT friendly headline. :)
vr, Xei

36 - 50 years from now I'll be telling my grandkids about you, Xei. My brush with greatness. =P

Happy holidays to all. Maybe I'll ask Santa for a baseball game where the Dodgers hit 4 home runs in the 9th inning to tie a game during a playoff race, then win in the 10th on another home run...

Nahh. Too far-fetched.

Happy Happy to all. I'm Jewish so we decided to go to Disneyland for the days around Xmas. It is festive and fun. I could have sworn I saw Barry Bonds today, but since my two year old was fussing on Small World, I couldn't get out of the boat fast enough to go the direction I thought I saw him walking. Would have been interesting to see what came out of my mouth. I had a dream I met O.J. and was nice to him in that dream, treated him with respect and smiled. I hope I don't ever do that in real life, I'd be ashamed.

We did see Jon Voight here on Thanksgiving. He had what appeared to be two grandchildren, a hot blonde, and a personal Disney escort. That Seinfeld episode must have made him more of a target in public. I wonder if he'd really bite someone?

BTW, I am looking for a season ticket partner, half the games split evenly (same for any postseason tickets which I HOPE we get to use). My seats are the cheapest ones, Sec 3 of the top deck, row L, first two on the aisle. Directly behind homeplate. $4 a ticket this year, box office price is $8 a ticket this year, a two dollar increase from last season. I have two seats. That comes to 684 dollars with the twenty dollar service fee. So for $342, you can have two seats to 42 games (including freeway series)and get every other playoff game or we can split one seat each to each playoff game too. If interested, call me at 661-992-1435.

37

Keep dreaming. Especially a team that had two guys eek into 20 homers each. No true power hitters and you want five homers in two innings? Four in a row in the ninth when you are getting beat at home by the nemesis in first place? Get real.

That game kept me in my seat until Ramon Martinez ended the season in game three of the NLDS. I actually was waiting for that magic to come back and let us win three in a row from the Mets.

Happy Merry to all!

Another occasion to pause and consider how much pleasure and, really, companionship Jon provides all year. It is very much appreciated.

Merry Christmas to all... been more of a lurker than a poster of late but here's a little gift for Jon...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Weisman

Jon certainly is wiki-worthy!

Happy Holidays, Dodger Fans.

Good luck in year ahead and I'll be a frequent visitor of this site in 2007 and beyond.

-Jake Larsen,
DRays Bay

Happy Holidays all and I wish you much joy.

Merry Christmas Billy Cordell Grabarkewitz, wherever you may be.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!!!!!!!!

May your Yellowtail be plentiful, your ginger smooth, and may you be blessed with powerful wasabi!

Whatever you do, don't check your baggage!!! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and the best of luck to all, in the New Year.

I'm sure I'll regret this, tomorrow, but, merry Christmas, D4P.

Happy Holidays

44
Billy and I will be forever intertwined. He hit the 1st LA Dodger home run I ever saw and now I find out his middle name is the same as my maternal grandmother. No wonder she was a big fan. Plus my wife's 1st name has the same last 5 letters(Verdell).

Happy Holidays, all!

You've probably read about the discovery of the tape of the 1962 Koufax no-hitter? Here's the LA Times report:
http://tinyurl.com/yb8p8f

It's a nice story. The recording is already up at dodgers.com.

I confess to not knowing some important rules of baseball. But I'm curious about them. Sorry for being stupid here, but what's the rule that made Richie Ashburn's (second batter) hit not a hit? He hits the ball and makes it to first base. The runner (Christopher) at first gets forced out at 2nd but the Dodgers don't get a double play because the throw to first is late. So Ashburn is on base. (That's confirmed by later plays where Scully keeps referring to Ashburn on first.) There's no mention of an error. So why isn't this a hit? What am I missing?

51 Anytime a runner gets forced out at a base ahead of the hitter, it's what's called a fielder's choice (abbreviated FC). Even if the batter hits one off the wall and the runner from first gets forced out at second, it's still a fielder's choice instead of a hit.

I'm sure I'll regret this, tomorrow, but, merry Christmas, D4P

Heh heh. Despite my infirmity and your previous unwell wishes, my wife and I have managed to have a very enjoyable few days (including yesterday, which was her birthday).

We just finished watching "It's a Wonderful Life," which always makes me verklempt at the end...

52
Thanks, overkill. Ah, that's the famous Fielder's Choice. I didn't realize that didn't get counted a hit. I guess the rationale here is that the (must usually be infield?) hit isn't good enough for a clear run to first, and it's only because the batter was fortunate that the fielder chose to throw (or run) to the other runner's force base first that he manages to eke out the trip to first base? Makes sense.

Still, given all those Mets on base (there were also 5 walks in the game), it's quite amazing how rare it is for a pitcher to get a no-hitter. Scully actually names every one the Dodgers ever got, starting with 1906! There were only about 10 or so of them (I'll look it up later) to that point in 1962 - I assume he was going all the way back to 1892 (NL). And that Koufax managed to get 3 more in his short career. But even more so that the last of those in 1965 was a perfect game - no FC there.

Am I losing my mind or did I see a preliminary 2007 promotions schedule somewhere? Like usual there were 3 bobbleheads, but only one was announced already. Plus, I thought I remembered there being some cool statues and batting practice jerseys mixed in there. I can't find anything on the Dodgers' official page, anyone have a link?

From AP:

NL championship series MVP Jeff Suppan reached a preliminary agreement Sunday on a $42 million, four-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.

41. That was a great idea. You should add that he is a SI.com writer as well.

We should start a pool to guess when somebody will edit the article to claim that Jon's the biggest ever fan of Becker. I was only just able to keep from doing it, myself. But it's Christmas.

58 - This could end very badly for me :)

(Thanks, Coach. Good to hear from you.)

Open chat at Screen Jam. I've given you a topic ...

59- Especially since you're not really allowed to correct any lies the wikiputians decide to tell.

More fun than vandalizing it, though, will be fighting the death squads. I've taken the impression that there are bands of blog-haters who spend their days doing nothing but proposing that all wikipedia articles about bloggers be deleted. Jon's got mainstream credentials, though, so maybe he's safe.

Also,

RIP James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, the hardest working man in show business. The world is less funky today, than it was yesterday.

http://tinyurl.com/y9cn8f

DT has been slow and i'm cranky, so here goes... this isn't meant to pick on andrew in particular, but i've noticed recently that commas seem to be overproliferating everywhere, both on the 'net and in print. people are, inserting them, all over the place, where they are not, at all, needed. i understand the instinct to communicate the thought in one's own speaking style and therefore to insert mandated pauses to reflect your cadence to the reader, but for the most part isn't it something we the reader can figure out on our own?

as to why i am more worked up by andrew's "today, than..." construction than by the news of james brown's death, i couldn't say. it makes me sad, though.

62. As a serial, overuser of commas, all I can say is, I'm very sorry, for all of, the pain my, kind has caused, you over the, years.

I'm very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, sorry, too.

,

Comma comma comma comma comma Chameleon
You come and go, you come and go-o-o-o

I propose that, December 26th be changed, from Boxing Day, to Comma Overuse Day, especially since I, got all of my Boxing, done yesterday.

Vishal, I'll give up these commas when you pry them from my cold, dead hands!

www.mlbtraderumors.com has a few tidbits on the dodgers at least talking randy johnson. its a pretty reputable site and i figure its worth some note.

Whether the Dodgers are interested in Randy Johnson or not, the only remotely fair trade I can envision involves

Other team gets:
Johnson
At least $8 million

Yankees get:
Nothing (thus saving up to $8 million and not having to endure Johnson in the rotation)

To think that a team would have to actually give the Yankees something to get Johnson is ridiculous.

Johnson's perhiperals were fine last year, he just got pounded whenever there was anyone on base. If the Dodgers weren't already stacked in the rotation, I'd have no problem taking him for one year. Sure, he's aging another year, but I'd be willing to take a chance on Randy Johnson.

Star Wars 3.5: The Comma Wars

"Lord Vader, we have seen rebels using commas where they are not needed."
(Heavy breathing sound.)
"Lord Vader, what should we do?"
(Heavy breathing sound.)
"We've already destroyed the Senate and killed all of the followers of Jar-Jar Binks."
(Heavy breathing sound.)
"Shall we try to capture Princes Strunk and White?"
(Heavy breathing sound.)
"Lord Vader, what should we do?"
(Heavy snoring sound.)

72
That was more exciting than Episodes 1-2.

I'm envious about the increased use of the comma in baseball writing, as in "Jason Schmidt signed a $47,000,000.00 contract."

but I'd be willing to take a chance on Randy Johnson

For $16 million/year...?

75 For a big market team with money to spend, sure. It's only one year.

Paraphrasing Boy George in the James Brown Memorial thread is a strongly Brock-ian move.

I've been a profligate comma waster for as long as I can remember. I think of it as my silent protest against Hemingway. Re-reading 61, the comma problem I see is the missing one before, "today." The one after it seems lonely, not superfluous.

Various articles on Randy Johnson have the Padres possibly offering Linebrink and the D'Backs Chad Tracy and others. Personally I find this all very hard to believe.

The guy is 43 and just came off back surgery. They don't even know if he'll be ready to start the season.

There is also speculation about a contract extension.

Three words - No Thank You

How many times has Scott Linebrink been broughg up as trade bait? The guy really should rent instead of buy.

Sushirabbit @46: you'll appreciate this headline from today's Honolulu Advertiser.

Tuna bountiful for New Year
http://tinyurl.com/ycq72k

Xeifrank, welcome to commatalk. vr Dave

80
Just to strain a bit here and combine two threads, cama (pronounced "comma") is found in all good sushi resturants. It means "cheek" and is (cooked) cheek, usually of yellowtail or salmon, and is wonderfully tasty and delicate.

An increased supply of cama is very much to be desired, and celebrated.

A query for the folk I've come to know, love and trust (that's y'all).

It's Xmas and you just got an official Dodger jersey. It's the first time you've gotten such a jersey ever. It's unusually comfortable and you are so pleased, you plan on wearing it on formal occasions large and small.

One issue: the name on the back is Nomar Garciaparra.

This may not be a problem. But if you were given this, would you return it? And for what? Would you--should you--return it for some other current player or perhaps for something more "classical" like a Fernando jersey?

An inquiring mind would like to know. I'll check back and I thank you in advance for your assistance.

You have a jersey with "Garciaparra" on the back despite the fact that the man has yet to play a game in a Dodgers uniform with his name on the back?

Wow, that's freaky.

I need to take a rest.

83. It all depends on who the jersey is from. If it is from your significant other, then sorry bud, you are stuck with Garciaparra. If it is from anyone else, I say you go the opposite of classical and you exchange the jersey for a Loney. (By the way, did this post have the property amount of commas?)

The only Dodger apparel I have ever received is a very nice Dodgers jacket with the name Hideo Nomo on the back.

John Sickles has his top 20 Dodgers prospects list up. I must say putting Hu at #5 is a little suprising given what others have said, but interesting anyway, Happy Comma, Day.

85
I got my Guatemalan nephew, a Dutch national soccer team t-shirt with Ruud Van Nistelrooy's name on the back because I think Christmas is all about juxtaposition.

88
Just one superfluous comma...?

88
Interesting use of the comma there, for sure. Your Guatemalan nephew is a t-shirt? And you got him exactly how? You seem to have an interesting family... ;-)

John Sickels did his preliminary Dodgers List from (minorleagueball.com, check it out)

2007 Los Angeles Dodgers Prospects

1. Andy LaRoche, 3B, Grade A- (I really like him as a hitter)
2. Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Grade A- (terrific all-around young pitcher)
3. James Loney, 1B, Grade B+ (right on the border of A-)
4. Scott Elbert, LHP, B+ (great arm but command an issue)
5. Chin-Lung Hu, SS, B (awesome defensive player with a bat that could develop further)
6. Jonathan Meloan, RHP, B (a personal favorite)
7. Blake DeWitt, 2B, B- (needs to break through in '07 to maintain status)
8. Preston Mattingly, INF-OF, B- (position a question but has promising tools and bloodlines)
9. Josh Bell, 3B, C+ (intriguing power bat, breakthrough candidate)
10. Ivan DeJesus, SS, C+ (good glove, bat has some promise)
11. Cory Dunlap, 1B, C+ (looks blocked positionally but a nice bat)
12. Tony Abreu, 2B, C+ (Triple-A numbers should be interesting)
13. Delwyn Young, OF, C+ (needs a change of scenery)
14. Kyle Orr, 1B, C+ (lots of power potential)
15. Greg Miller, LHP, C (can he stay healthy?)
16. Bryan Morris, RHP, C (would be B/B+ if not for Tommy John)
17. Eric Stults, LHP, C (he survived Las Vegas)
18. Brian Akin, RHP, C (interesting relief candidate)
19. B.J. LaMura, RHP, C (interesting relief candidate)
20. Mark Alexander, RHP, C (interesting relief candidate)

Others of Note: Matt Berezay, OF; Zach Hammes, RHP; Casey Hoorelbeke, RHP; Eric Hull, RHP; Bridger Hunt, OF; Stephen Johnson, RHP; Brent Leach, LHP; Andrew Locke, OF; James McDonald, RHP; Justin Orenduff, RHP; Xavier Paul, OF; Anthony Raglani, OF: Ryan Rogowski, OF.
The Dodgers in One Sentence: this system has thinned out a lot due to major league graduations, but they've shown the ability to recharge quickly.

As usual the Grade C guys are interchangeable depending on what you like to emphasize. The Dodgers like to sign toolsy and projectable guys from Latin America traditionally, and someone new will emerge soon enough.

I guess I was right that he would give Kershaw an A-. I knew he really liked him. My two biggest surprises are that he did not give Elbert an A- based on some of the other players he did give A- to. Also, I was surprised to see Hu rated so high.

I am just guessing, but I think Nate was right when he said LaRoche may not be a straight A grade because of injury concerns.

80 Great! 82 Impressive. In a perfect world I would have created a yahoo account with HamachiRabbit. I don't know why I like yellowtail tuna so much, I just do. And in general I could just do without most sushi and go straight for the sashimi, Oshinko and Edamame.

I got my first "real" Dodgers Jersey, too. Only mine has no name on it. My wife wanted to personalize it with my name. That seems a little "new school" to me, but I do admit that putting Sushirabbit or Sushi on the back has its appeal.

93
I like yellowtail a lot myself.

33

Montainmover, good to hear you already have the Milwaukee opener on the calendar. Me, and another Dodger fan here in Chicago, are also planning to get tickets. Maybe Indiana Jon, gpellamjr, and Penarol, would like to consider it as well?

Tickets are pretty easy to get for Milwaukee. Maybe, we could try to get in the same area, to form a Dodger rooting section. We could take along a cardboard cutout of Jon to hold-up, just to, you know, make it a DT Midwest official outing, eh?

[12 commas]

hahah, i'm glad everyone took my grammatical griping in stride :)

i used to think it was "comma chameleon" too when i was a child. i loved that song in preschool.

93 I was also a recipient of an authentic jersey without a name on the back. While my parents were bummed that they couldn't put my name on it due to the team not having names on the back, I'm glad they didn't. I'm not a big fan of having your own last name on a real team's jersey.

sickels really butchered our system.

The current ESPN poll asks the following question: "Should the Diamondbacks bring back Randy Johnson?"

The state with the highest % of "Yes" votes?

New York

How, so, Nate?

i dont think he really has a good grasp of the dodgers system with his top 20. players like Hu, dunlap, young and the some bullpen fodder arms are too high and Josh Bell, the #2 propsect in the pioneer league from BA only recieves a C+ from sickels?

Before this past year going to last season, Sickels gave Kemp a C+ and said something about laroche like "I dont really know about his bat" or something. it seems like he's grossly underated our system.

71 - Randy Johnson and Josh Beckett seemed similar in that regard last year.

95
Sounds good to me. Tickets are that easy for opening day?

The Dodgers did graduate a lot of players to the majors this year, and Colletti traded a lot of prospects, though hardly anybody who would have made a Top 20 prospects list. I think the real story is that DESPITE those things the Dodgers still have an awful lot of talent in the farm system. But that is not the story Sickels wanted to tell, so he makes a list with grades that reinforce the story he assumes is correct, that the Dodgers' system has taken a big hit. So many of his grades are too low, and he has put some wrong players in the Top 20 while omitting people who should obviously be there. I was really waiting to see if Sickels would give Loney the same grade he gave Conor Jackson last year, an "A," as Loney's Triple A season was at least as good as Jackson's last year and possibly better, and Loney made a lot of noise with his bat in the majors, which Jackson did not do last year. Loney was also a year younger in 2006 than Jackson was in 2005 (Loney and Jackson have the same birthdate, but two years apart).

RIP Gerald Ford.

Hi friends. Back from vacation.

105 - I'm sorry to hear that. I had his back in '76 when I was in the fourth grade.

New post up top.

103 They were last season.