Two years in a row have the Dodgers clinched the National League
Western Division Champion title … and both years I was at the game
when they clinched!

Starting off, I called Nina to see if she
was going to the game with me. I was going to take Jason, but he backed
out. And Nina was originally going to go to the game with me. She was
at the L.A. Country Fair with her family. But, she wanted to go. So, I
dropped the ticket off at her house and left her some money to pay for
parking. My cousin Jenny dropped me off at the gate and I went in.
Tonight was calendar night and the first 50,000 fans received the “2009
Team Calendar” … except for one thing. They’ve done this both years I
have gone to Team Calendar night. They don’t hand out the calendars
till the end of the game. But, instead, I did get to see the Star Wars:
Clone Wars characters walking by. Snapped a few quick picks.

Did you see the one guy who saw me taking pictures? LOL. Sorry if some
of them aren’t in focus. I was taking them too quickly.

I got Brad
Ausmus to sign Julia’s birthday ball. He was one of the handful of
players she named she wanted. Her list was Andre Ethier, Russell
Martin, Randy Wolf, and Brad A-use-mus. That’s how she said his name
the first time she tried to say it. And it stuck in our heads. Well,
she is nine you know. She turns ten in less than two weeks. Manny
might’ve been one of the names on the list too, but I was like … fat
chance me getting Manny’s autograph. I
got Randy’s before the game started. I was talking with an usher (one I
hadn’t talked to before too!) when I noticed Randy was signing
autographs.

He was standing on the top step of the dugout and signing
autographs for the kids in the dugout club. Okay, so I know I was in
the field level and no way was I getting in the dugout club. But, there
is a wall that separates the dugout club from the field level. I went
to the very first row that was directly behind Randy. I

pulled out the
ball and my Wolf mask. I grabbed it at

the last second when I was

leaving the house

. You

never know when it’ll

come in handy.  Like
tonight. I noticed

Randy already had something he was signing wit

h.
Good.

There was no way I was going to be able to throw a pen that far.
As it was, it was hard enough to throw the ball that far.

Okay, not really that hard.  I didn’t give it m 100% effort. I didn’t
want the ball to end up on the field. Ask anyone who’s played catch or
softball with me… or even volleyball!  They’ll tell you. Anyway, so I
waited for the right moment to get Randy’s attention. Didn’t take me
very long. I called out his name, held up the ball and the Wolf hat (so
he’d remember who I was). He
looked right at me and pointed to me (okay, so the picture is of Brad
Ausmus pointing. And no, Brad wasn’t pointing at me). I
threw the ball to him. It
was a soft toss so it landed just a little short. Remember. I didn’t
want to embarrass myself by throwing the ball onto the field. He signed
it and threw it back to me.

I was a little surprised that I was able to
get something signed.

The
players usually don’t sign for people in the field level, just the
dugout club. Well, not that I’ve seen anyway. The throw back was a
little high and a little over my head. I was afraid of not catching it
(again) or it bouncing to someone else or into the dugout club. Well, I
jumped up and it tried to catch it. Just got my hands on it. The ball
hit my right hand pretty much in the same spot where it got hit last
time. I didn’t close my hands on it … but it landed in my purse!

Good thing it didn’t land in the dugout club!
And
sure enough, after I got my ball, all these other kids showed up trying
to
get an autograph. I didn’t see any players sign for anyone in the field level. Just the kids behind the dugout. There was one kid next to me who asked me if that was Lamar Odom in the dugout. I had no idea. Probably not. But the kid kept calling him anyway. He also asked me who was the guy with the award (Juan Pierre) and what the award (Roy Campenella Award) was for. And then when it was time for the National Anthem, he got all excited because the players were lining up. I told him to quiet down because it was time for the National Anthem. And to take off his cap.

This
was one of the funniest things I happen to see, hanging behind the
dugout. Well, I was in the field seats behind the wall that separates
the field level from the dugout level. Wonder who’s hands those are…
I was looking for a fourth hand, but I didn’t see it.

So,
tonight’s game started off with a very fast 1-2-3 first inning. How
fast? Kershaw struck out the first three batters. Of course, I didn’t
see any of this because I was waiting for the elevator to go to the Top
Deck. But what did I see? Ron Cey (he went in the opposite direction or
you know I would’ve gotten an autograph. No picture, I had the wrong
lenses on). Steve Lyons (he went straight into the Press Box, but he
did say hi and ask me how I was doing). And Vic the Brick (I think
that’s how you spell it). After the first three struck out, Kershaw
struck out two more to make it five consecutive strike outs before he
allowed Chris Ianetta to fly out to Juan Pierre. That’s okay, because
in the next inning he struck out Brad Hawpe and Jorge DeLaRosa with a
ground out in between. Oh, and the Dodgers’ bench coach Bob Schaefer
got thrown out of the game in the bottom of the third inning.

After
they showed Tommy Lasorda on the screen, the guy sitting next to Nina
asked me if I knew when did Tommy Lasorda retired. I told him I didn’t
know. I guessed in the 90′s, mid-90′s. I told him I’ve only been a fan
for 3 years. That wasn’t the funny part. The funny part was when he
asked me, he and the four or five guys sitting with him were all
looking at me for the answer. Nina thought it was hilarious too because
they all expected me to know the answer. Quite funny to see six guys in
a row all leaning over to find out the answer. One head right after the
other. Not sure how to describe the picture, but imagine six heads
right on top of each other lined up on a doorway and that’s close to
what it was.

There were a lot of close calls last night. Me getting to the game and getting a ticket. A couple close pitches to Kemp. The close call at first that the umpire called out and everyone else was sure it was safe. The close game. It was a really long game for such a low-scoring, low hitting game. Then again, maybe having almost twenty strike outs combined might have something to do with it. Or the guy who sang the “National Anthem”. That had to be the LONGEST rendition I’ve ever heard. There was another girl earlier who took a long time too… but man… I think this guy takes the cake! I was talking to a security guard after the game … we talked about how it was such a long game for such a low-scoring game. I told him, “It’s the guy who sang the National Anthem. It’s his fault. He set the tone.”

Okay, so all week I’ve been contemplating whether or not to get a
ticket to tonight’s game. I wanted to go because a) Randy Wolf is
pitching and b) if they win, they clinch the division. But I couldn’t
go because a) I have church on Friday nights and b) I didn’t get a
ticket (read previous entry about my interactions with sellers).
A little after four o’clock, I get a text message.There is no church
tonight. So the main reason why I wasn’t going to the game … well…
now there wasn’t a reason why I wasn’t going to the game. Before I knew
it, I was driving down Academy … and finding out that where I usually
park before the game … not an option. If I wasn’t in such a hurry, I
would’ve taken photos. But I only had about 20 minutes to hunt down a
ticket. Took about five. The guy sold two tickets to the reserve level
to these two guys for $20. He was trying to sell the same ticket to me
for $40 and said he wouldn’t go lower than $30. I told him I would have
bought one for $20. He ended up selling me a lower reserve ticket for
$25. I wonder if it was because I’m a girl that he wouldn’t sell it to
me for $20. Then again, the ticket he sold me was for lower reserve and
the other guys was in reserve. Because my usual parking was not an
option, I had to pay for parking. The Golden State Gate was already jam
packed. So I headed towards the Academy Gate. And I realized, I only
had $11 on me. Thankfully, I keep lots of quarters in my car (for
newspapers, meters… and parking!). I paid the rest of my parking fee
in quarters!

Got into the Stadium and met up with Cat. The Dodgers weren’t on the
field very long. I was only able to take pictures of Kershaw’s backside
… and George Sherrill (this one’s for you, Cari, Stacey… and all
the Georgie lovers out there)

I saw some of my other friends show up and went over to say hi to them.
One of the security guards told me I was on the Dodger Vision. He was
asking me why I was leaving. I told him I was running away. Also, I saw
on the Dodger Vision a guy in the Center Field area with a “Vin Scully
Is My Homeboy” shirt. Had to get a photo of that for Vin Scully Is My Homeboy.
Always exciting to spot one of his shirts. Turns out, I don’t think it
was one of his shirts. The guy had his own made. But he did buy one of VSIMH‘s shirts.

Before the game started tonight, Tommy Lasorda was being honored for his sixty years with the Dodgers. They handed out little replicas of his Hall of Fame plaque, as well as having the real one displayed out in Autograph Alley. Sorry, no picture of the real one. I didn’t stop in Autograph Alley. I rarely do, actually. Anyway, former players were gathered on the field to take part of the celebration.  Tommy came out with his wife, Jo. For the ceremonial first pitch, Brad Ausmus got to catch another knuckleballer, Charlie Hough.

Picture 1: The former players posing.
Picture 2: Tommy addressing the crowd
Picture 3: Randy and Russell coming from the bullpen

Picture 4: James Loney checking with the dugout as he’s signing autographs to see how much time he’s got.
Picture 5: Manny Ramirez acknowledging the crowd as his name is announced in the lineup before the start of the game.

Right before the game started, I said bye to my friends. I started to leave, when the guy in the box next to her said they had an extra seat. He asked me if would like to take it. I asked him if he was sure and he said yes. So, I got to sit in the baseline box club for the whole game! Roberto even texted me and said he saw me on TV. He spotted me and my Wolf hat in between innings, I think… You know, when they pan the crowd before a commercial break? I had several people today who commented/complimented me on my Wolf hat. One guy stopped me and asked me, is that a wolf mask? Can I see it? LOL even an usher saw me and said, “there’s the wolf hat!”

Needless to say … our offense was anemic again. Wolf gave up two runs in the first inning, but then put up zeros for the next four innings. Unfortunately, the bullpen gave up two more runs. Scott Elbert gave up double to Todd Helton, and when Ronald Belisario relieved him… he gave up a homerun to Tulow. I was surprised to see Randy back in the dugout after the seventh inning stretch. Then I noticed other players, like Troncoso was there too. Guess they wanted to be watch the game to see if they could pull off a win to clinch the division. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the starter come back into the dugout after he’s been pulled from a game.

There was some excitement in the sixth inning when Kemp grounded out to the shortstop. Kemp thought he was safe. The fans thought he was safe. But the umpire called him out. He was infuriated!