Congratulatiosn to Gary Nickels.  Gary is one of the best scouts in the game of baseball, and he will finally be recognized as such. 

Gary, who is the Dodger's Midwest Scouting Supervisor, will be inducted into the Midwest Scouts Association Hall of Fame on November 7 and the Mid Atlantic Scouts Association Hall of Fame on November 14. 

The 2009 season is Nickels' 38th as a scout, and seventh in his current position. Notable current Dodgers drafted under his supervision include Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Scott Elbert, Blake DeWitt, Cory Wade, and A.J. Ellis. His scouting territory includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The Midwest Scouts Association Hall of Fame induction will occur at the Midwest Scouts Association Banquet at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. He will be inducted along with Mike Radcliff of the Minnesota Twins and Bill Bryk of the San Diego Padres during the event's dinner at 7:00 p.m.

The Mid Atlantic Scouts Association (MASA) Hall of Fame induction will take place at its annual banquet at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland.  Nickels' name will also be added to the Hall of Fame plaque which hangs permanently at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland.

Nickels worked for four clubs prior to joining the Dodgers in 2003. From 1999-2002, he served as the San Diego Padres' Pro Scouting Director following nine years in Baltimore as the Orioles' Scouting Director (1991-98) and Midwest Supervisor/Crosschecker (1989-90). He also was the Chicago Cubs' Midwest Region Supervisor from 1982-88 and got his start in baseball as an Administrative Assistant, Scouting (1972-75) and Area Scout (1976-81) for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Dodgers have sterted the NLDS off in the right way going up two games to none against the St. Louis Cardinals.  While being up by two games is a whole lot better than going into St. Louis 1-1, it doesn't mean that the dodger can play any less hard, or let up in any way.  In fact, they should play like this game matters as much as if they were down two games.  If we lose tomorrow then we face Carpenter and possibly Wainwright again.  To be a champion you have to beat the best, and that is what we are doing, but you have to be able to finish out a series, and that is what we must do tomorrow in St. Louis.

Dear Fans,

I know I'm only 82 years old but I have signed up for a Twitter account.  Now It will be like we are always together because I'll be keeping you up to date with where I am, what I'm doing, who I am talking to and what I'm eating...

So sign up now to be my follower:

www.twitter.com/TommyLasorda

I would like to take a moment to congratulate Sheriff Lee Baca and everyone under his command for doing a continuously great job for the people of Los Angeles County.

The motto of law enforcement here in Southern California is to protect and serve, and I would like to share a quick story with you about how two sheriff's did just that for me.

I was driving home after a game and it was pretty late at night.  I had to pull off the freeway to fill up on gas and I had to do so in a bad neighborhood.

When I got out of the car to pump the gas and to reach for my money two sheriffs approached me wondering what I was doing there.  They asked me if I was all alone, and I told them that I was.

Upon hearing it they told me to stay in the car and that they would pump the gas for me, just to be safe.

To those two sheriffs I say thank you very much.  You went out of your way to help me, and in doing so upheld the integrity and values of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. 

You see, sometimes doing the littlest things go the longest way and in this case I hope that by those two gentleman being considerate enough to pump my gas they realize how happy and grateful they made me feel.

I would like to welcome Jim Thome and Jon Garland to the Dodgers. 

Both acquisitions are great as they are great players who will add a lot to our ballclub as we come down the strech.  Jim is a heck of a guy and a future hall of famer who has more career home runs than Reggie Jackson.

I would also like to congratulate Ned Colletti on his hard work.  He is doing everything he can to improve the ballclub and I hope his labors produce tremendous results.

The 39-year-old Thome, a five-time All-Star, ranks 12th on baseball's all-time home run list with 564.  He has hit 20 or more homers 15 times in his 16 full Major League seasons, including 23 in 2009.  The left-handed hitter has also hit 30 or more homers 12 times, 40 or more six times, and 50 or more on one occasion in 2002, when he clubbed a career-high 52 with Cleveland.  The Illinois native hit at least 40 homers in four straight seasons from 2001-04, including a National League-leading 47 with Philadelphia in 2003.

Thome also ranks 39th on baseball's all-time RBI list with 1,562.  He has logged at least 100 RBI in nine seasons, including six years in a row from 1999-2004.  He was a three-time RBI champ in the American League during his time with Cleveland, driving in 120 runs in 1997, 127 in 1999, and 122 in 2002.

Among active players, Thome ranks third in home runs behind only Ken Griffey Jr. (625) and Alex Rodriguez (576).  Also among active players, he ranks fifth in RBI, seventh with a .558 slugging percentage, and tied for sixth with a .405 on-base percentage.  He leads active players with 1,619 walks and his 2,134 hits rank 13th.  He also ranks 21st in baseball history in slugging percentage and 10th in walks.

Thome is one of only nine players in baseball history to accumulate 500 home runs, 1,500 walks, and 2,000 hits, joining Barry Bonds, Harmon Killebrew, Mickey Mantle, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt, Frank Thomas, and Ted Williams.

Garland has won at least 10 games over the last seven seasons and currently has eight wins with Arizona this year. From 2002-2008, the right-hander averaged nearly 14 victories per season and won a career-high 18 in both 2005 and 2006. 

In the 2005 playoffs with the Chicago White Sox, Garland won Game 3 of the ALCS against the Angels, firing a complete game four-hitter. In Game 3 of the 2005 World Series vs. the Astros, Garland allowed just two earned runs over 7.0 innings in a game the White Sox would win in 15 innings.   

Garland was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 10th round of the 1997 First-Year Player Draft and was traded as a minor leaguer from the Cubs to the white Sox in 1998. Following eight seasons on the South Side, Garland was traded to the Angels before the 2008 season and went 14-8 in Anaheim last year. this season, Garland is 8-11 with a 4.29 ERA in 27 starts, but owns a 3.86 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break.

The durable right-hander has been on the disabled list just one time in his career, missing only 15 days in 2003 with Chicago. Garland has tossed 1,793.0 career innings, including 1,606.1 since 2002, which ranks ninth in the Major Leagues over that time. 

Since his debut in 2000, the Valencia, California native has gone 114-100 with a 4.45 ERA in 305 career games (285 starts). The 29-year old was a 2005 American League All-Star and his and his 68 wins since 2005 rank 11th in the Major Leagues over that time.     

Garland is a 1997 graduate of Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, where he was a two-time All-State Player of the Year and a high school All-America. 

Here it is, boys, the Lasorda Cup. 

The team who wins this cup is the team who wins the Lasorda Elite Games, which is a high school baseball tournament of the premier players from the western part of the United States.

There are four teams of players who are invited by our scouts, and it gives the players a great opportunity to play baseball at beautiful Dodger Stadium.

I'm looking forward to working with the players and seeing what they are made of.

Last weekend my granddaughter, Emily, won a few blue ribbons at her equestrian competition and I couldn't be any prouder of her.

She loves riding horses, and she has worked very hard to get good at it.  She has sticktoitiveness, as the more people tell her that she can't do something she does everything in her power to show you that she can.

I love her very, very much and am a very proud grandfather.

Congratulations, Emily.  Pop Pop and Mom Mom love you very much.

I am in Chicago for the 2nd Annual Tommy Lasorda Open.  It is a golf tournament that benefits the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.

I just got word from Taiwan that the 16 and Under Team USA just won the Gold Medal in an international tournament.

They beat Cuba 7-6.

If you look closely at the picture you will see a rope across the knees of the players in the front row.  When I gave them a motivationla address while they were training in Fullerton before going abroad  Itold them that if they all get on one end of the rope and pull together that they could pull the rest of the teams with them.

It looks like they took my advice.

Congratulations to the players and coaches!

How sweet it is; the fruits of victory!

Last night I went to Bamonte's in Brooklyn.

I've been going there for decades, as have many people because it has been around for 109 years.  They are now on the fourth generation of Bamonte's running the place, with a fifth generation being raised in the art of Italian cooking.

If you want Italian food like mama used to make, go to Bamonte's.

If you want to be treated like a friend when you dine, go to Bamonte's.

If you want to know what it was like to be from Brooklyn, go to Bamonte's.

If you want a piece of Brooklyn Dodger history, go to Bamonte's as many of the Boys of Summer took the trolley there after games.

If you want to know why I think it is the best Italian in New York, go to Bamonte's.

Speaking of the Boys of Summer, tonight at KeySpan Park in Brooklyn I will be inducted into the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame.  To have my name mentioned with those guys, some of the best guys to ever wear the Dodgers uniform, some of the best guys to ever play the game, is very special for me.  I played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954 and '55, and what an amazing experience it was to play in front of the fans at Ebbetts field and be a part of one of the best eras in baseball.