A few of you asked about the Player Development Program currently underway at the stadium and probably saw the photos on the site. I can’t even begin to tell you how great this program is and how much the young prospects are getting from it.

Every day, the players are working out on the field in the morning. The instructors are mostly our minor league field coordinators, but there are also some big league coaches here and some Dodger legends helping out like Maury Wills, Wes Parker and others. Each day, the prospects are also getting to hear from former Dodgers in a classroom type setting and today it was Bill Mueller and Hall of Fame outfielder Duke Snider who came out to speak with them.

They’re also learning about the things that go on in the front office, from Marketing and Public Relations to Community Affairs. Today, they went out into the community and visited a large group of youngsters at a local school. Overall, this is a huge step towards making these players feel acclimated from their first day in the big leagues.

Also, we signed a few more guys as non-roster invitees to Spring Training. They are left-hander Matt Riley, who was with us at Triple-A Las Vegas last year;  Alfredo Simon, a right-hander who was with Triple-A Oklahoma (Rangers’ affiliate) last season; and George Lombard, an outfielder with a couple of years of big league experience that was with Triple-A Columbus last year in the Washington organization.

With less than five weeks to Spring Training, I would have thought I’d be blogging every day but there hasn’t really been much to report from the past week.

The only real noteworthy news right now is that we added another game to our Spring Training schedule. We’ll play a night game on March 4 against the Nationals as a split squad (we also play them earlier that day in Viera).

Also, for those who missed the announcement a couple weeks ago, Nomar and Mia Hamm are having a celebrity charity soccer game on Jan. 26 at the Home Depot Center. All the information you need can be found at the website for her foundation.

Earlier today, James Loney visited Mattel Children’s Hospital and spent some time with the young patients there. He was in town for the Rose Parade and asked if he could go back to the hospital again, having visited it earlier this year, so it’s great to see our young players getting involved in the community on their own. He’s kept busy here this week, hitting up the Laker game on Thursday, where he was interviewed during the game by FSN Prime Ticket and then stopping by Clipper practice, where he played HORSE with Sam Cassell.

As for the question about a Blue Carpet event, that remains to be seen. It was a great event…I’m just not sure if FSN Prime Ticket will repeat that event or do something different this year.

And regarding the Caravan – it’s set to take place Feb. 5 and 6 this year. Details and locations to follow, but it’s shaping up to be our best ever, with great public events and some very cool stops along the way.

That’s all I can think of for now…will keep posting things as they come up.

Is it just me or does that seem like a tiny number?

Hard to believe we’ll be in Vero Beach in less than six weeks, with quite a bit still to be done prior to our departure. Of course, most of that is on the business side, where myself and nearly 150 talented and dedicated colleagues will be focused, whereas the baseball side is getting pretty close to set. Ned Colletti has said that we might add a reliever or bench player to the mix and who knows, maybe some team makes a trade offer that makes sense and improves the team and he pulls the trigger. But as of January 2, I’m feeling very good about 2008 based on what’s in place right now. How about you all?

In case you missed it, Dodger minor league staff assignments were announced today.

As for yesterday, hopefully many of you got to see the float in the Rose Parade. It was a tremendous experience and everyone involved really loved being a part of it. Sure, we had to be at the stadium by 6 a.m. on New Year’s Day, but it was a small price to pay for something so rewarding. There were Dodger fans all over Pasadena and legends past and present were on board to wave to the fans.

Safe to say, it was a great way to kick off the 50th Anniversary of the Dodgers moving to Los Angeles. There will be plenty more where that came from, so be on the lookout for the latest (you can always check dodgers.com/anniversary for the latest news and info about the season-long celebration).

A check of the winter leagues finds Rafael Furcal hitting .361 (13-for-36) through eight games while playing mostly second base. He has two doubles, a homer, three stolen bases (in three attempts), a .395 OBP and .500 slugging percentage. Looks like the Raffy of old and certainly what we’re all hoping to see in 2008. Of course, it’s only eight games and it’s the Dominican Winter League, not the big leagues (Jose Lima is among the leaders in ERA and Carlos Perez is up there in wins), but it’s certainly a positive sign.

Also, don’t forget that FSN Prime Ticket is running its Blue Year’s Eve marathon starting at 2 p.m. on Monday.  And when you wake up on Tuesday morning, be sure to check out the Rose Parade for the Dodgers’ first-ever float. We’re the 50th float in the parade (of course, celebrating our 50th anniversary in Los Angeles), and there will be legends from every decade on the West Coast riding on the float.

I had a chance to stop by the decorating area two days ago and the float looks really cool. Of course, I saw it without all the roses, but even just with paint on it, it was impressive.

This could be the last post for 2007…if so, on behalf of the entire Dodger organization, thanks for supporting the team throughout the season and we hope that 2008 will bring health to you and all of your families, happiness to Dodger fans around the globe and a World Championship to Los Angeles.

It’s a very sad day for the Dodger family, as Stu Nahan passed away today at the age of 81. Though a half century separated us in age, I’ve always felt very close to Stu and our sincere thoughts go out to his wife, Sandy, and his children.

Most people who grew up in Los Angeles (or Sacramento), knew Stu as a legendary TV and radio announcer, while anyone who grew up outside of these cities in the 80s probably remembers him from his roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High or the Rocky Series. I still remember watching "Fast Times" in the visiting clubhouse of Bank One Ballpark when Stu was still traveling with us in 2003 and the entire Dodger team was giving him grief for his ugly sportcoat and giant glasses as he interviewed Sean Penn (Jeff Spicoli) in the movie.

Over the past 10 years or so, I’ve gotten to know him quite well and I was honored to be at the ceremony for his Star on the Walk of Fame earlier this year. The event, which had to be rescheduled because of his bout with cancer, was a great celebration of his life and I’m comforted by the fact that he had the chance to see just how many people cared about him. Hopefully everyone will smile when they think of him today because that’s what he was always doing – smiling.

His self-deprecating sense of humor and stories from his days as a bad minor league hockey goalie always kept people laughing and in the last few years, in his retirement, he could regularly be found in the first row behind home plate at Dodger Stadium, sitting with his good friend Scott Boras. He tells a great story of how the two of them met when Stu had to crash land a plane on a farm many, many years ago and it turned out to be the farm that Scott was living on as a kid. A lot of Stu’s stories were made up, but I actually think this one was true.

In any event, we could count on at least one call to the press box each homestand, as Stu would be trying to settle a bet with Scott over a weird statistic or the name of a random player traded by or to the Dodgers in the mid 80s.

But one thing will always stand out in my mind about Stu and that was his huge heart. Last week I got a message from him and when I called back, he wanted to know how I was doing, given the changes in my department at the Dodgers. He didn’t sound well and at the time, I had no clue that he was calling from his hospital bed. When I asked him why he sounded so bad, he told me the cancer had returned and no matter how many times I tried to ask about him, he kept bringing the conversation back to me and how I was doing. That was quintessential Stu Nahan and it was the last time we spoke, but it’s a wonderful memory that will stay with me forever.

He lived a great and full life and I hope all of you will keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Season tickets in Vero Beach went on sale today. Mini packages and individual games will go on sale at a later date, but for those of you who plan to go to all 10 home games at Dodgertown, you can go online and do so.

I’m not expecting much more exciting to blog about in the next few daysso if this is my final post for a while, I wish you all a happy and healthy end to the holiday season.

Just had an impromptu visit from Tommy Lasorda, who popped into my office and spent the last hour sharing stories from the past 50-plus years with the Dodgers. This happens from time to time and definitely serves as a reminder of how fortunate we are to work for the Dodgers.

At the end of the hour, Tommy told me he wanted to show me something I would never believe if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. By this point, we’ve got a group of people hanging out in the office and he breaks out a DVD from the 80s (I guess it was once a VHS that was converted) from Spring Training. In it, he is showing Joe Garagiola just what it means to have players who play for the name on the front of their jersey.

One by one, Tommy gets some of the most well-known names from Dodger lore to go down on their knees and say "I love the Dodgers." It was Ron Cey, Tom Paciorek, Willie Crawford, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and others screaming at the top of their lungs about how much they love the Dodgers. It’s funny how much the game has changed over the years but Tommy’s stories never grow old (even if I have heard some of them 100 times).

At the end of the video, Tommy shows off the tombstone that was made for him that says, "Tommy Lasorda – Dodger Stadium was his address but every ballpark was his home." In the clip, he says he wants to work for the Dodgers even after he dies. When Garagiola asks how he plans to do that, Tommy said that someday on his grave, he wants to put a Dodger schedule every year so that when people want to know whether the team is at home or on the road, they can say, "Go see Tommy."

Of course, by that time maybe graves will have digital photo frames to remember the departed and wireless Internet access, so we can direct them to dodgers.com, but one way or another, we’ll make sure he’s covered.

In case anyone is looking for entertainment on New Year’s Eve, there will be a nine-hour marathon on Dec. 31 on FSN Prime Ticket to celebrate the 50th Anniversary in Los Angeles.

The marathon will include FSN original programming, as well as other great Dodger stuff from recent years. Patrick O’Neal will host the event, introducing all 15 shows starting at 2 p.m. and going until 11 p.m. Steve Lyons will also make an appearance, walking viewers through the 2008 Rose Parade float progress.

Among the things you can watch that day are:

2 p.m. Beyond the Glory (’88 WS/Gibson homer)

3 p.m. In My Own Words Tommy Lasorda

4 p.m. Dodgers’ Insider – Hollywood Stars

4:30 p.m. In My Own Words Frank McCourt

5:00 p.m. In My Own Words Ned Colletti

5:30 p.m. In My Own Words Joe Torre

6:00 p.m. Before The Bigs Brad Penny

7:00 p.m. In My Own Words Jeff Kent

7:30 p.m. In My Own Words Juan Pierre

8:00 p.m. Dodgers Insider Manny Mota

8:30 p.m. Dodgers Insider Campo Las Palmas

9:00 p.m. Before the Bigs Rafael Furcal

9:30 Before the Bigs Russell Martin

Then, once you’ve slept off whatever you did on New Year’s Eve, the float will be turning the corner in the Rose Parade, carrying legends like Vin Scully, Jaime Jarrin, Tommy Lasorda, Eric Karros, Steve Garvey, Wes Parker, Fernando Valenzuela and, Manny Mota and current Dodgers like Nomar Garciaparra, James Loney, Takashi Saito and Hong-Chih Kuo, as well as fan favorites Nancy Bea Hefley and Roger Owens, who will be tossing peanuts alongside the float. Come to think of it, we’re a little first-base heavy with five regular first basemen, plus Fernando who has made appearances there! But the theme of the parade is an international one and we’ll be represented by the United States, Japan, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Taiwan and Mexico.

A few things you can vote on these days…

The all-time Los Angeles Dodger team is now moving on to third basemen, so check that out and vote for Ron Cey, Adrian Beltre, Jim Gilliam or Pedro Guerrero. Plus, vote for first base, second base and shortstop, which are all still live.

Also, the Los Angeles Sports Council is conducting fan voting for the top moments in Los Angeles in 2007. The candidates for top Dodger moment are Russell Martin’s clean sweep of the catching awards (All-Star, Gold Glove & Silver Slugger); Takashi Saito’s record of saves converted in his first 50 career chances (he was 47 for 50); and Brad Penny’s unprecedented L.A. Dodger start to the season (13-1). Voting will last until Jan. 10 and the awards ceremony is on Jan. 20.

We announced the signing today of Gary Bennett who will back up Russell Martin. He’s a former World Champion and career NL guy who knows the league very well and should be of benefit to the team even on days when he doesn’t play. I’m sure that his inclusion in the Mitchell Report is of interest to many people, as should be his response. To me, he’s done the stand up thing by admitting his mistake and I’m glad to know this is behind him.

Also, we’re announcing our tentative Spring Training schedule today so check it out on the site. Season tickets will be on sale soon and in early ’08, you’ll be able to buy mini-plans. Tickets for individual spring games go on sale usually in early February, so be on the lookout for more info.

Just finished a great event with Kuroda and everything went very well. At the end of the day, he told me how impressed he was with the entire organization and all that we did to make him feel at home (actually, he said this to the interpreter who passed it along to me).

I really think that the Dodgers’ history in Japan paid huge dividends with this signing. It actually made me think about Alfonso Soriano from last winter and how he ultimately decided that he didn’t want to move all the way to California from his home in the Dominican Republic. Sometimes your location works against you and sometimes, like with Kuroda, it works in your favor. Having a huge Japanese population in Los Angeles certainly helped sway him, as did our aggressive pursuit of him with numerous members of the front office. Among those Frank and Ned credited today were Acey Kohrogi, Keiichi Kojima, Scott Akasaki, Curtis Jung, Logan White and Paul Fryer.

After the news conference, we walked Kuroda down to the field where he took the mound for the first time. Then he got a chance to talk to Russell Martin on the cell phone from on the field, which was a cool moment.

I know we’ve got a lot of work to do before March 31, but I echo the comments from the last post by Roberto – I wish Opening Day was tomorrow.