LEAVes of Dodger Blue

Go Maury, Go Maury, Go! Go! Go!

2009-10-18T04:54:54Z

I only found out about the Maury Wills signing less than twelve hours before the event. At the time, I didn't intend on going. Until my cousin, Jenny, called me at ten this morning. I had called her the night before about the event. She was on her way to the bus stop (she lives two blocks away from where the event was going to be) and told me she didn't see anyone there. It was a little before ten I think and the event was supposed to start any minute. So, I called the Smart and Final Extra to verify about the signing. It was supposed to start any moment. So, I hopped in the shower and then got my things together for the signing. Jenny met me there and there were four or five other guys in line already. No one else was there really. Maury showed up and then more people starting looking to see what was going on. In fact, when one lady found out Maury Wills was signing autographs and they had 8x10s of him available for him to sign, she almost cut in front of us! Apparently, she didn't see the line of six or seven (maybe more by then) people waiting for Maury Wills to sign their items. Maury signed my scrapbook from last year.

I asked him to take a photo with me. He said, "sure, you want to come around the table?" I got next to him ... and right before Jenny took the photo, he said, "let me fix your jersey." I guess the top was open a little and he fixed it. Jenny actually got a photo of both him fixing my jersey and the photo of the two of us together. After the photo, he complimented the jersey, saying what a nice jersey it was. Then he asked me whose number was on the back. After that, it was Jenny's turn. I gave her a picture of Maury Wills from the Dodgers/Phillies games earlier this year that honored him and he went out and "stole" second base. He looked at the picture and was trying to figure out what it was.
Since Jenny was on her way to LACC when she came back for me, I said I'd take her. I took her to LACC, got Wendy's, and then came back. I had texted Nina (and several others) about the event and Nina said her dad would have loved to meet him. I told her they should go! There wasn't a lot of people there and they had 8x10s that they were giving away to get signed. So, they met me back there. There were about ten people in line. Nina came with her parents (Jack and Sol).

Jack was hilarious! He told Maury that he watched Maury play for the Dodgers when Jack was in high school. Maury asked him, "was I good then?" Jack told him he was great. Then it was Sol's turn and she was getting a photo signed for Jack's cousin, who's also a long-time Dodger fan. After that, Sol asked Jack if he wanted a photo with Maury. Maury told him to come around the table. Jack knelt down in front of it. Maury told him again to come around. Jack went around to the left of Maury, where there was guy sitting and he wasn't going to get around that way. Maury told him to come the other way. Jack finally got next to Maury, and Sol got in the photo.

I guess Nina had put down her photo right before her parents did the photo, because then it was her turn. Maury asked Nina who her favorite player is and she said Furcal. He commented that she was wearing his number. He asked her, "So what do you want from me? I'm not your favorite player?" It was so cute the way he was teasing her. She said she'd like his autograph and he asked her which picture. She pointed out the one she picked. He asked her if she wanted him to make it out to anyone special. She repied, "Me..." and he asked her for her name. She said "Catalina, like the island." And he said, "that's a nice name. I think I know how to spell it. Let me see what I should write..." He wrote different inscriptions on each of the three photos he signed for Nina's family. He didn't inscribe anything on my stuff. Maybe I should've asked. I really enjoyed this signing and I loved how Maury took his time with EACH fan and he talked to each of them and teased some. Just a great man!

Post Season Experience

2009-10-12T04:36:54Z

While watching the game at JoAnna's on Saturday, we were talking about how many of our players are playing in their first post season in one way or another. For example, our starters each started in their first postseason start. Clayton Kershaw was the only one of the three starters that actually had post season experience, albeit as a reliever.

Randy Wolf spent 8 years with the Phillies, 1 with the Dodgers, and 1 between the Padres and the Astros. No post season appearances in any of his 10 years in the majors. Now in his 11th year in the majors, he finally made it to the post season. As I have mentioned before, Wolf just missed the playoffs with three of the four teams he played with.

Vicente Padilla spent a year with the D-backs before being traded to the Phillies. He was with the Phillies for five years before going to the Rangers for three years before coming to the Dodgers.

George Sherrill spent four seasons with Seattle, one with the Orioles before coming to the Dodgers. Orlando Hudson was with the Diamondbacks when they made the playoffs in 2007. But he doesn't have any play off stats listed.
Players with one post season experience: Juan Castro (1996 Dodgers), Jon Garland (2005 White Sox, World Series Champions - guess he didn't make an appearance with the Angels last year), Ronnie Belliard (2006 Cardinals - World Sereis Champtions), Mark Loretta (2005 Padres - who were swept by the Cardinals!).

These players, before coming to the Dodgers only had one other post season appearances. Casey Blake had one post season appearance with the 2007 Indians. Juan Pierre had one post season appearance with the 2003 Marlins. Jeff Weaver has two other post season appearances other than his 2004 appearance with the Dodgers. He appeared in the 2003 World Series with the Yankees, and was with the 2006 Cardinals.

Now, who do you think has the most play off experience? Jim Thome or Manny Ramirez?

Brad Ausmus has 5 post season appearances with the Astros (1997, 1009, 2001, 2004, 2005). Rafael Furcal has 5 post season appearances with the Braves (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005) and now three with the Dodgers.

Manny has 5 post season appearances with the Indians (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999), 4 with the Red Sox (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007), and now two with the Dodgers. Jim Thome has 6 post season appearances with the Indians (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001), one with the White Sox (2008).

Video of the two guys getting carried out of the pavilion

2009-10-08T16:59:05Z

As promised, here is that video of the two guys getting carried out of the pavilion.

The first man was already pushed down the pavilion steps when I started recording. You see the other man get carried out (watch for him grabbing the railing) and then the other man is carried out after him.

Link to YouTube (the embed didn't work)

Did anyone see this article?

2009-10-08T09:27:15Z

On ESPN.com

Girl gets ball back after lawsuit

Associated Press

MIAMI -- A Florida girl who grabbed a historic home run ball hit by Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard has her prize back after suing the team for its return.

The July home run against the Florida Marlins was Howard's 200th. He achieved that milestone in the fewest games in major league history.

After 12-year-old Jennifer Valdivia scooped up the ball, she was escorted to the Phillies clubhouse and then exchanged it for an autographed ball.

The girl's mother filed a lawsuit Monday seeking the home run ball's return. Attorney Norm Kent says the Phillies agreed and now Jennifer has the ball back.

The Phillies declined comment on Wednesday.

Update: 10/8/09

Here's another updated article with more details:

Were the Phillies big league bullies over a ball?

By Gordon Edes, Yahoo! Sports

PHILADELPHIA - It's a storyline that could have been lifted straight from a promotional script for Major League Baseball. Jennifer Valdivia, a 12-year-old girl taken to her very first baseball game by her Cuban-born grandfather, is sitting in the right-field stands in Miami's Land Shark Stadium when one of the game's top young sluggers, Ryan Howard (notes) of the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies, hits a home run that lands in the row behind her and bounces into her hands, instead of to her envious 15-year-old brother. The ball is not just any home run. It is the 200th of Howard's career, making him the fastest Major League player to reach that number.

Not only does Jennifer have a souvenir to treasure, but she is whisked away to the Phillies' clubhouse with a promise, she says, that she'll get to meet the great slugger himself after the game

I'm not posting the whole second article.

Crazy night at the Ravine (10/7/09)

2009-10-08T07:36:05Z

Tonight was the first play off game for me as well as my friends Chris and Chelsea ... and our starting pitcher, Randy Wolf!
Love this picture!! He came out through the bullpen. You never know with Randy. He either comes out to warm up from the bullpen or from the dug out. You can never guess.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. I found out the gates were opening at 4. So I headed out before three. I needed to get chex mix (for JoAnna), a newspaper, and something for dinner. I went to Ralph's. They didn't have the Chex Mix that I was looking for. Or any for that matter. I bought a turkey sandwich from the deli. They didn't have any individual packets of mayo ... so I figure I might ask Pat if they had any inside the baseline box club. I get to the Golden State Gate ... and most of the street parking was already taken. I managed to find a spot. My friends Chris and Chelsea were already there. I passed them when I was coming up. They park inside and offered to give me a lift in. Chris won two tickets to the game. He was notified early this week. He was telling me about the game he went to on Sunday ... and when he mentioned he was holding their tickets ... I suddenly remembered ... I LEFT MY TICKET IN MY CAR! So, I got out of their car, walked back to my car, and got my ticket. Good thing there were still thirty minutes till the gates opened.

There were these two guys in the pavilion who were shirtless and painted "Wolf Pack 43" on their chest. One had "Wolf 4" and the other had "Pack 3". "Wolf 4" also had the "big bad wolf" mask. I was surprised they let him bring it in. I get told all the time that I may not be allowed my Wolf hat ... and it's a HAT. His is a mask. That's interesting. And in fact, one of the security guys tonight was like ... "I don't think you can wear that." I seem to be going through this a lot lately. I don't know why. No one said anything the first ten times I wore it. But the last five or six times, I seem to be getting some trouble. Come on now. Even Randy Wolf has seen me in my hat! Oh, and here's a tip for guys who go shirtless. Make sure your boxers aren't showing! I cropped them out in the picture ... but you can see the top of "Pack 3"s boxers.

During the visiting team's batting practice, the grounds crew comes out and starts working on the field. One guy usually paints the foul line in the left field while the other guys stand guard. What are they standing guard for? Fly balls of course! Do they ever warn the guy painting the line? Not really. Tonight was crazy because the ball actually hit the little cart that he uses to paint the lines with. The ball even dented the front of it. He's always giving his crew a hard time about not giving him any warning when the ball comes at him.

Randy Wolf is making his post-season debut. He's been in the majors for 11 years, and this is his first time in the post season. When he signed with the Dodgers this year, he joked about his post season jinx ... how he seems to sign with teams right before or or right after they make a run at the play offs. Example: Phillies. He signed with them after their last play off appearance ... and they never made it when he was with the team. Then after he leaves the team for the Dodgers, the Phillies made it to the play offs. That was the year they were swept by the Rockies. Example #2: He signs with the Dodgers the year after they made it to the play offs in 2006 ... but they fall short in 07 with him. He then signs with the Padres the next year (who barely missed making the play offs in 07) ... the year the Dodgers make it to the NLCS.

I was so excited when Randy was warming up ... he was in my direct line of sight! I was also very nervous! That ball was moving very fast. I took some videos of it. I'll try to post them up on my YouTube page. But it was a little scary how fast that ball is moving. I know he won't miss ... but if Rob Flippo (the bullpen catcher) did ... I've been hit once in the face with a soft toss. I don't even want to know what it's like to get hit in the face with a ball moving 80-90 MPH. Still, it was great to know that he was in my direct line of sight. Wonder if he saw me... He probably doesn't look into the stands when he starts ... but I was wearing my Wolf hat. Which got shown on the Dodger Vision during batting practice. I held up my Wolf shirt (the guy holding the camera was surprised. He asked me, "You got more?") I held the shirt so all you could see was my eyes and the Wolf hat. I hate being on video. Unfortunately, Randy only lasted three and two-thirds innings. I joked that he struggled in the first inning because I wasn't wearing my hat. Some of the ushers I know joked with me that they'll hold me to it.

What was also unfortunate that tonight was quite a crazy and dramatic night for the fans. We (the guys around me) noticed that there was some commotion going on in the left field pavilion. Sure enough, these two guys were being escorted down the steps. One of the guys was resisting and I don't know who pushed him ... but he got pushed and fell down quite a distance. Maybe five, ten rows? He landed on the bottom and didn't look like he was moving. The other guy being escorted was resisting and had to be carried out. In the video I shot, you can see him trying to grab the railing as they carry him out. The other guy eventually got carried out too.

There was also a cat fight a few sections to my right in the top deck. Yes, it was between a Cardinals fan and a Dodger fan. Somehow, the Cardinals fan fell down about three rows. She was able to get up and walk out. It was a crazy night. The Dodgers scored two runs in the first inning off a homerun by Matt Kemp. Raffy was on base. The final run was scored when Russell Martin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. It was a very long game. Almost four hours. With twelve pitchers used, thirty men left on base, and three batters getting hit. I don't think anyone was surprised when Russell got nailed. There were one or two other pitches that were close before the last one nailed him.

"What? I don't get a decision during the regular season so I don't get one now?"

More pictures and game recap to come later. I'm just tired and achy to continue. Maybe during the off season I'll just post pictures of a different player every other day or so.

The Celebration Keeps Coming

2009-10-07T00:13:52Z

Like I said, I have lots of pictures from the celebration. I skipped the pictures from the games and went straight to the pictures from the celebration. I'll probably do two or three more posts with pictures from the celebration. The rest will just have to go up on Flickr. I have over 800 (almost 900) photos from Saturday night. Not all of them will make it up, but I'll edit the good ones and put those up. Eventually. It's going to be a busy week with the playoffs starting on Wednesday. It's going to be a cold night!!!

Picture #1 - Matty might have been the first player back on the field, but he wasn't the first to spray the crowd. Pictures #2 and 3 - see the people in the first baseline box up front? If the Dodgers had clinched on Friday, I would've been down there with them. Instead, I get to stay high and dry and watch it all from the Top Deck. I'm glad my equipment got to stay dry ... but I wouldn't have minded a champagne shower.

Picture # 1 - My friends getting doused. Picture #2 a fan grabs Juan Castro for a hug. Picture #3 One of the people standing by the foul pole works at Dodger Stadium on occasion. And You see two of my favorite security guards in this photo!

More celebration photos!

2009-10-06T06:23:19Z

As promised ... here are some more photos!

Picture #1 The Dodgers celebrate on the field after Ethier makes the last out.
Picture #2 You see the group hug start to disperse ... especially with Russell Martin up front and center.
Picture #3 Time to pass out the shirts and the caps.

Picture #4 Check out Ethier and Blake on the left side of the picture
Picture #5 Careful Mike! Don't drop Weaver now.
Picture #6 Loving it! Randy and Mark

Picture #7 Joe Torre
Picture #8 Larry King and his son
Picture #9 Matt Kemp is the first player to come back out on the field

Time to break out the bubbly!

2009-10-05T03:36:44Z

Last week when I thought the Dodgers were going to clinch in Pittsburgh, I went out and bought two bottles of apple cider to celebrate. The Dodgers lost on Sunday night, so the apple cider got to sit. Well, one of them. I drank the other one anyway. Guess you could say there was one to drown my sorrows. And the other one to celebrate.

Well, the one bottle of apple cider that I was saving sure got real cold by the time I opened it. Since they clinched on Saturday night and it was midnight by the time I got home, I didn't open it. When I got home tonight, after the final game of the regular season ... I popped that baby open!

I set up a little photo shoot for the celebration bottle. Can it really be considered a celebration when it's just me celebrating?

Pictures from Saturday night's celebration
Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp knocking each other silly.

Here come the bullpen guys. Everyone wants in on the celebration.

I commented to my friend Chris and his fiance Chelsea that in 5, 10, 15, etc., etc., years ... I wonder if I'm going to look back at these photos and be able to recognize all the players in the pictures. Here's Chelsea's reply:
Well, in 5, 10, 15, etc years you can just turn to your weird Danny Bonadouche looking husband, aka randy wolf, and ask "honey, who's this?"

Two years in a row! (10/3/09)

2009-10-04T05:23:02Z

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.

What a great game! We thought Kershaw might have a chance at several things (perfect game, no-hitter, complete game shut out, passing his career high of 13 strike outs)... He did get six shut out innings. Kuo came in to relieve him and ended up being the winning pitcher since all our runs were scored in the bottom of the seventh inning. Sherrill and Broxton closed it out ... and it was celebration time!

Okay, so I do have a lot of good photos but I can't post them all on here. You'll just have to check my flickr for them ... though to be honest ... sometimes it takes me a while to upload them onto Flickr. Come on. I got a lot to do. First I got to sort through them (fix them, crop them, add tags to them) and then add them to my blog. Then I upload them to my facebook (which you can probably see them through there ... only problem is my albums are friends only). And finally, they go on flickr. If the hyperlink doesn't work, it's http://www.flickr.com/photos/fallingleaves02. It's also called "LEAVes of Dodger Blue" or you can find me under fallingLEAVes02. There's also a link of my main blog, http://fallingLEAVes.blogspot.com.

Since tomorrow is the last game of the regular season, and we have already clinched the division and home field advantage ... is Joe Torre going to manage the game? Or is he going to let a veteran do it? LOL I was thinking ... maybe he'll let Randy Wolf manage the game ... and if Randy gets ejected, can he get a no-decision?

So close... (10/2/09)

2009-10-03T09:19:43Z

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!

We were surprised he wasn't thrown out.

I'll finish this up. I realized I have a lot more photos I wanted to post. But I'll just have to do it player by player. I'll leave you with these.

Picture 1: Larry Bowa... spitting something out...

Picture 2: Larry King and his son during the seventh inning stretch. I was in the same row, different section from him.

Not a Craig's List Idiot, but...

2009-10-02T21:17:02Z

So, Chemgod on Bad Wax often lists some examples of Craigslist Idiots ... where he finds someone on Craigslist who is selling baseball cards at some ridiculous price. Chemgod contacts the seller through e-mails and then publishes the ensuing interactions on his website. I don't usually have bad experiences with buying tickets from other people. I rarely buy it from a third party. However, I had to to resort to this when I was trying to find tickets to tonight's game.

First, I contacted a seller on Craigslist. I was wary of buying tickets online from Craigslist and have heard stories from other people who had bad experiences with it. I've only used Craigslist once to buy something and it was a textbook for school where I picked it up in Long Beach. So, I contacted this seller who had two different tickets for sale. I contacted him about purchasing one of them. I told him I was interested in either of them. When I told him I was willing to drive out to meet him to buy the ticket. I was wary of paying for it online. One of my friends paid for his ticket from a Craigslist seller and never got his ticket. After I told him I would meet him to buy the ticket, he sold both of them. Guess I can't blame him. He didn't know what a serious fan I am and that I wasn't going to back out of it.

And then there was this auction. I won't say where I saw it ...

Me: Why is the ending bid right before 5:00 on Friday? I would bid on your item, but I leave for the game at 4:00/4:30... therefore because your bid ends by the time I'm at the park, there is no way I can pay for the item and print out the tickets. But I'm just curious because I see so many bids that end right before 5 on gameday.

Seller: ibid with confidence!!! tickets will be send out immediately after auctioen ends

Me: That still doesn't answer my question. Yes, I'm sure you will send the tickets immediately after the auction ends ... but what good will that do me if I'm at Dodger Stadium and unable to a)pay for my tickets if I win the bid and b) am unable to print the tickets because I am at Dodger Stadium.

S: sorry I WILL NOT END AUCTION EARLY! If you feel that you cant make the game on time please dont bid on my tickets! If you are the winner you are responsible for paying or else i will report you to ebay.

ME: I apologize if you thought I was asking you to end your bid early. My initial question was never answered and that was all I was asking for. Again, I apologize if there was any confusion. And I assure you, I always pay for my bids. Especially when it comes to tickets to Dodger games. I was just trying to get an answer to my first question.

I still don't understand why the bid ended right before the cut off time for e-mailing tickets anyway. I've bought tickets from someone before and because it was after the cut-off time for e-mailing tickets, the seller had to refund my money. Anyone out there have an explanation? And where in my first response did I ask the seller to end their auction early? I wasn't going to respond after the last one ... but I wanted an answer to my first question. Why does the auction end right before the cut off time? And I've seen plenty of auctions just like this one. If the seller even replies to my last response, I wonder how rude is the seller going to be.

No-Decisions galore

2009-09-27T01:18:50Z

Yet another No-Decision for Randy Wolf. That's No-Decision #16 . He's got 33 starts, 11 wins, and 6 losses. And guess what? I didn't realize it till I started looking up the stats and doing the math... up until today's game, he actually wasn't leading the league in No-Decisions. Nope. Up until today, that prestigious spot belonged to a pitcher who's been on the DL for the last week or two. And since he's done for the season, that means Wolfie will either finish the season with most No-Decisions or tied for most. Well, there's still another pitcher who's close behind.

So who has just as many No-Decisions as our Randy? Let's start at listing all the pitchers who have double digit No-Decisions with at least thirty starts.

Ten No-Decisions - Felix Hernandez, Mark Buerhle, Kevin Correia, AJ Burnett, James Shields, Tim Lincecum, Andy Pettitte, and Max Scherzer.

Eleven No-Decisions - Doug Davis, Matt Cain, Josh Johnson, Cole Hamels, Edwin Jackson, Ryan Dempster, and Joe Blanton.

Twelve No-Decisions - Braden Looper, Jason Hammel, Matt Garza

Thirteen No-Decisions - Paul Maholm

Fifteen No-Decisions - Joba Chamberlain

Sixteen No-Decisions - Roy Oswalt

Looking at Randy, Joba, and Roy's numbers... Randy has better numbers of the three. Randy leads them in wins, ERA, innings pitched, strike outs, pick offs,

He has the least number of runs scored and earned runs allowed, number of batters hit, slugging percentage, on base average, average, pitches per inning, hits per nine innings.

Not sure how you gauge the ground outs/fly outs ratio and WHIP. But he's got a lower GO/AO and WHIP.

Those numbers don't reflect his outing today. And it probably doesn't hurt that he's started in two more games than Oswalt or Chamberlain. However, Oswalt does have three complete games where Randy and Joba don't have any. The funny coincidence is that they each have 6 losses. Randy has 11 wins, Joba 9, and Roy 8.

What do you think? Will Randy get a win in his final outing? Or another No-Decision? On the bright side. He won't break Bert Blyleven's record. How many No-Decisions did he have? 20

Anyone going to the Pirates vs. Cubs game on Sept 30?

2009-09-25T22:26:05Z

I just found out from a member in my Snoopy Yahoo! group that the Cubs are giving away a Snoopy wearing a 1984 Cubs Road Jersey to the first 10,000 fans in attendance to their game on Sept 30 against the Pirates. Anyone out there willing to sell their Snoopy?

I think it's interesting to see what kind of promotions other teams have. It's also interesting to see how many fans in attendance receive the promotion. For example, 10,000 seems like a small number to me because the promotions at Dodger games are usually the first 50,000. And if they do a smaller one, it's about 30,000. I wonder what's the average attendance at Wrigley Field. That probably has something to do with it, right?

Let's see what other teams in our division are offering...

Padres
They don't seem to have a limit on their promotions. It's either all fans, or all fans fourteen and under. A lot of caps. A lot of t-shirts.

Giants
They have a limit on their promotions for kids. The first 7,500 kids, fourteen and under. Thta's half the number that the Dodgers give promotions to kids. I don't get it. Why limit promotions for kids? Our number is 15,000. Their regular promotions vary from the first 20,0000 to 40,000. And their photo day? First 3,000 fans. With cameras. They gave away more mini U.S. Flags than Bobbleheads. On the bright side. They have a Dog Day, and a Giants/A's wives softball game.

Diamondbacks
For their Fan Vote bobble heads, they have a 25,000. Wonder if they'll extend that limit for the missing Augie Ojeda bobble heads. Their kid limit is 5,000. A third of ours. On the bright side. They gave away 5,000 Chris Young Growth Charts to kids12 and younger. Their promotions are a little confusing. Maybe because I don't go to Chase Field. What in the world is athe Sutt & Gracie's Redheads night or the Shirts off our D-Backs night?

Rockies
Like the Giants, they vary the number of promotions. From as low as first 5,000 fans to all fans. Depending on the promotion. They even limited the Isle Casino & Hotel Floppy cap to the first 15,000 ADULTS. Guess they wanted to make it clear that Casinos are for adults. On the bright side, pretty much all their kid promotions are for all kids. What are some of their interesting promotions? First off, there were no bobble head promotions. Who doesn't give away bobble heads? But they do like to give away a $1 Hot dog coupon.

Next up: The NL Central Division give aways

Skate for Autism event with Orlando Hudson

2009-09-21T08:31:02Z

So, I knew about this event ahead of time. But I didn't plan on going. Until JoAnna put up a picture on her facebook! One text led to another ... and before I knew it... I was at Skateland in Northridge.

The first player I saw was Orlando Hudson. He was talking to someone else ... who turned out to be Jon Garland! Since I only brought my scrapbook and Orlando signed it already, I only asked Orlando for a picture with him. After all, I wasn't able to take a picture with him at Living Spaces. Well, Angelina snapped a quick one... but he was talking in the picture.

Here's the picture of me and Orlando at Skateland.

Here's the picture of me and Orlando at Living Spaces. See the difference?

Next, up, Jon Garland. Oh my... I got his autograph on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. He was so nice. He signed tons of autographs that day. Wonder if he remembered me as the person who accidentally marked his hand? Oh my... I love guys in glasses... and I think Jon Garland may have a chance at stealing my heart away from Randy ... depends if he comes back as a Dodger next year. I should've asked him to sign one of his baseball cards that I had in my purse. Or the baseball. But I was too hyped up to stop and think logically.

James Loney was next. You can see Jon Garland walking out of the picture. I had thought about getting a group shot ... but figured individual pictures with each player was better. I asked him to sign my scrapbook. I had a page marked for him... though I have to admit. When I got home, I found some better pictures that I could've asked him to sign. Oh well. He asked me and JoAnna if we were going to skate. I said I wasn't cuz I had hurt my knee someone at the game the day before. JoAnna and I talked to him for a little bit.

Juan Pierre was the last player we saw in the main room. I was so excited to meet him. I've met or gotten autographs from the other four players already there. I was really looking forward to see Juan Pierre. However, I didn't have a tab in my scrapbook for him. So I had to flip through my book real quick to find a picture of Juan. Finally found one.
JoAnna knew Matt(y) was around somewhere. She told me that he was puzzled when she called him Matty. I'm not sure who started it. It was either JoAnna or Cat. One of those two. He was eating and I was like, "oh no, I don't want to bother you while you're eating." He put down his pizza and said not a problem. I asked him to sign my scrapbook. He asked me, "What do you have one me?" I told him, "what don't I have?" Fortunately, while I was flipping through the book looking for a page for Pierre, I saw a page I wanted for Matt. When I got home, there were so many good pictures of Matt that it was hard to choose just one. I'm happy with the one I chose. He signed it and then I asked him for a photo. He grabbed a napkin to make sure he didn't have any pizza sauce I guess. I jokingly told him that he missed a spot. And I also asked him to sign a baseball for a birthday gift. I went around and got Loney, Hudson, and Pierre to sign the ball too. I looked for Garland, but he was gone by then.

They had a silent auction going on to raise money for Orlando Hudson's C.A.T.C.H. Foundation (Curing Autism Through Change and Hope). What's the C.A.T.C.H.? Here's the description from their website (linked right above) : non-profit foundation established by Hudson in January 2008 to enable children with autism to enjoy a normal life through the funding of outlets for proper therapy, education, and extracurricular activities. Through its grants to schools and other non-profit organizations that support the fight against autism, the foundation is building a strong force to defeat the growing developmental disorder.

The players mingled a lot. People were either hanging around, skating, or dancing! The event was scheduled from 8 - 12. I got there a little after nine and left a little after 11. I had a blast. I loved the event. It was an interesting event to be at. I got a lot of autographs this week!

Wednesday: Jon Garland
Saturday: Charlie Haeger, Hiroki Kuroda, Jim Thome
Today: Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp, James Loney, Orlando Hudson

Not bad for a week, huh?

Bye for now!

Jack Pot!!!! Wolf, Kuroda, Haeger, and Thome (9/19/09)

2009-09-20T07:40:15Z

I love day games. I always tell people that. First of all, it makes it easier for me to take pictures since there's plenty of natural light. But the biggest reason why I love day games? The players are much more accessible to the fans. The thing I don't like about day games? It's hot. Really hot. And I usually pack a lot of gear, so I usually end up paying for parking. For instance, I had one bag with the Dodger cooler bag with five bottles of ice water (well they were frozen solid at the time), a towel (to sit on) sun block, my big bottle of coke, my Dodger cap and my wolf mask. I also had my purse with my scrapbook, Sharpies and pens, and all my other necessary little things like chapstick and stuff. Then there's the camera bag with the school's SLR camera and my digital camera (plus extra batteries and stuff). Think I got enough stuff? It was funny. Right before the gates opened, another Dodger fan noticed I was waiting for the gates to open. He asked me, "not walking in today?" I said no, and offered him and the person he was with a ride (sorry if you guys are reading this. I met a lot of people today and can't remember half of everyone's names). They hopped in the back seat and off we went. I got the spot I wanted, under the trees. I waved to the crossing guard guy since he wasn't by the cross walk where I was.

By the time I got in, most of the Dodger players (well, pitchers) were already out playing catch. Why is it that only the pitchers are out during day games and batting practice? Anyway, I zoomed in and raced over to the baseline section right behind where Wolfie was. I took a few photos from the row that's right behind the baseline since I couldn't go down. But I would go down a few boxes to take a few photos and then go back. Cat came down and went to her box seat. Just in time for a ball to come right to her! I saw Wolfie look up, yell out "look out" and the ball bounce right to Cat! Wolfie started to leave and I called out to him. I asked him to sign my scrapbook. He said, "how about a ball instead?" and he threw me the ball. I had a little trouble seeing (bright sun and all) and the wolf hat on my head. I almost caught it. But it hit the bone of my palm where the thumb connects to my hand. That hurt. The ball rolled away and I had to chase it down. Thank goodness no one tried to go after it! I probably looked silly chasing after the ball. But Wolfie threw it to me! To me! I put it in a case and stuck it on top of the other Wolf ball I have.

With Wolf gone, I went back to my usual field section. Mainly to look for friends. I talked to one of the ushers for a bit. Showed him some of the worksheets I have with the stats of the games I've gone to. He asked me to bring it the next time I come to a game. He thought it was cool and interesting. I didn't realize it till I was going over the stats, that after we traded for Manny last year, I know he hit a ton of homeruns for us ... but he didn't hit any homeruns in any of the games I went to last year. He's hit a ton for us this year, that's for sure! I found Chris and Chelsea. Hiroki Kuroda came by and signed a bunch of autographs. I tried to get him to sign my scrapbook, but he had already gone down a few people. With Chris' help, I got his autograph!

Next came the Birthday Boy, Charlie Haeger. A fan brought a tray of cupcakes for him. He started signing autographs by the baseline section and worked his way towards the bullpen. I tried to get him by the baseline but he already left by the time I got there. So, I had to chase him down towards the bullpen too. I didn't have a picture of him, but I did have the article from his first start. He said it was cool, when I told him what he was signing.

It was hot and I was ready to get in the shade. I found a friend and she asked me if I wanted to go down front with her. We ended up in the baseline seats, right by the camera well by the dugout. She introduced me to her usher and her friends. Two of her friends were the couple from the car next to mine! What a coincidence! The players started coming out to warm up.

Jim Thome came over to sign. I had him sign the inside cover of my scrapbook. Again, I haven't caught up yet in my scrapbook. Man, I wish I had! Right before Thome, Ronnie Belliard came over too. He was talking to my friend while Thome was signing for us. My friend asked me to get a ball signed by Belliard for her. I agreed, after all, she was the reason why I was down there. After the game started, I wished I could've asked him to sign my scrapbook too. Juan Castro also came by and I had him sign the ball, too.

Right before the players took the field, Matt always stands on the top step of the dugout and jumps up and down. He looked over and the kids who take the field with the players were jumping up and down with him. It was super cute!

I walked around for a little bit before heading up to my seat. I think I've become accustomed to not being in my seat when the game starts. Thankfully, Garland only gave up one unearned run in the first. He settled down for the rest of the game. Eight innings! You knew Penny wasn't going to be able to go eight innings like Garland. Especially not after he gave up the grand slam in the first inning to Ronnie Belliard! When Belliard hit that homer, I didn't realize it was a grand slam. Funny. I knew the bases were loaded. I was taking pictures of each runner as they crossed the plate and I counted, "one, two, three... hey it's a grand slam!"

The Creature made another appearance at today's game. He made his appearance in the bottom of the fifth inning. He was in the Top Deck, where fortunately there are no cameras to zoom in on him. He started in one section on the first base side and then he came down our aisle. He disappeared for a little bit. He came back again, but this time security wasn't that far behind him.

Penny didn't last long. Two and two-thirds, seven earned runs, three home runs. Not only did I get three autographs and ball, the Dodgers got four home runs today. Ronnie Belliard's grand slam. Then Brad Penny served up back to back home runs to Matt Kemp and James Loney. Loney finally hit his first home run at Dodger Stadium in over a year! I was kicking myself for not capturing a shot of Kemp's home run. I had my camera ready, finger on the shutter, when Kemp hit his home run. But I didn't push it! I was kicking myself over it ... and then Loney hit his! I was kicking myself even more! And to add even more fat to the fire ... Blake DeWitt added a pinch-hit home run to the mix.

By the time the game ended, the score card probably looked more like a spring training game than a game in the middle of a heated divisional race. That's what my new friend behind me was saying. It was good to see Eye-Chart play first base.

Oh, and by the way. My hand has been hurting most of the night... not sure if it's related to trying to catch a ball barehanded ... or something else... And yes ... I am going to post more pictures from this game in a separate entry. I got some really good ones. But I didn't want this entry to get too long.