September 19th, 2012 at 3:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka 
Jon Weisman
As I normally do before shutting down the computer for the night (or early morning as is usually the case – including tonight), I made one last run through a few of the more popular Dodger blog sites. Upon doing so, I stumbled upon one of those posts that you dread seeing. No, it wasn’t a post reporting the passing of a dear friend which, of course, are the worst possible posts you can read, but rather one informing readers that one of the most popular Dodger bloggers is folding up his tent and moving on to another chapter of his life. Sadly, that blogger is Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts.
For those of you who have followed the many Dodger blog sites out there for any length of time, you know that Jon has an outstanding reputation as both a skilled writer and an extremely knowledgeable Dodger fan. In fact, it was Jon’s site and style of writing (and his great sense of humor) that were the inspiration for expanding our original ThinkBlueLA forum into a full blown blog site earlier this year. Jon was kind enough to include ThinkBlueLA in his blog roll and would occasional give us a much appreciated shout-out.
Even though I was a loyal follower of Jon from his early days with the Daily News through his time with the L.A. Times and ESPN, and eventually to his standalone Dodger Thoughts site, I didn’t become connected (for lack of a better word) with him until learning that we were both in Bluetopia – The L.A. Dodgers Movie. As such, and as long-time Dodgers batting practice pitcher Pete Bonfils (who also appears in the movie) put it, we are “Bluetopia Brothers” and connected for life. (I’m certainly in good company, maybe not so much Jon and Pete).
I later met Jon and his two sons at Dodger Stadium one evening when his sons got to “take the field with the Dodgers,” just as my son had done several years before. It was here that I got to see a side of Jon Weisman that very few get to see – a proud and loving father of two very well behaved and handsome young boys (although I imagine that Jon doesn’t always see it that way, but undoubtedly most of the time).
As you may or may not know, Jon is also a long-time writer for Variety Magazine (his real job with a paycheck and everything) and he recently launched an industry-related blog site for them called The Vote, in which he includes a little Dodger stuff every now and then.
Needless to say, Jon Weisman will be sorely missed among the ranks of the daily Dodger bloggers but (thankfully) he has indicated that he may drop in with a post from time to time on his former site, so I encourage all of you to keep checking in over there occasionally, because if you are anything like me, you certainly don’t want to miss anything that Jon Weisman writes.
Godspeed to you, my friend.
Posted in 
What a loss! Jon is class all the way and a very perceptive and fair reporter. His blog was always interesting, well written, thought provoking, and entertaining, and we’ll all be the lesser for its absence.
I checked Jon’s site regularly. I know he is very dedicated to his family and needs to use his time wisely with them. I liked his creativity and relaxed style of writing.
I tried to post this on Evan’s site, in response to his article, but absolutely couldn’t crack the code after many tries. Sometimes it lets me in, other times it doesn’t. However, the comments are as appropriate for TBLA as they are for OKP, if appropriate at all.
I read Jon’s blog often and liked his creativity and different, personal slants on Dodger happenings. I was not surprised by his announcement as he often mentioned his family, his first love. As you well know, maintaining a blog takes a lot of time and the commitment to write often is a big one. So is commitment to family and making a living.
Jon set Dodger blogging in motion. That was his role, not self imposed, but one that evolved. During that evolution other blogs were created, perhaps motivated by Jon. Each of those blogs has its own role, and there are a number of blogs that have different perspectives on the events in the Dodger world. That is the attraction of those blogs.
I expect bloggers are not being fair to themselves when they state they can’t hold a candle to Jon. Why would they have to? Does every position player have to compare himself to Willie Mays, to have a successful career, or every pitcher state he is not a Sandy Koufax? Jon certainly would not be judgmental in that respect. Each blog has its own purpose and is driven by a blogger who believes in that purpose, one perhaps motivated by Jon Weisman, but not an imitator of his site. If all sites were like Dodger Thoughts, we would only need or read one site.
It is now the task of the blogging world to carry on Jon’s work, in its own unique way, still not replacing Dodger Thoughts, but as always, complementing Dodger Thoughts.
I’m saddened to know that his take will be gone from public view… but in my heart I know where his loyalty lay. He’s a Dodger fan and is one of us for life. Good luck with you Jon!