Road Trip! Dodger Stadium 7/20/7

I came for the infamous Dodger Dog, the opportunity to see a prime National League match up and left Dodger stadium with a rare find; a Californian team you (a Pacific Northwesterner) and I can actually like. I'll be honest, multiple intangibles panned out for this rare positive SoCal experience. 1) I drove to Dodger stadium all the way from San Bernardino county without seeing any congestion or getting lost 2) Thanks to a friendly tailgater bought 2 box seats for under face value. After those 2 miracles the LA Dodgers took care of the rest..

Pre Game:

I payed a slim $15 to park right next to the park, I saw flashes of tailgater's open beers and wide smiles. Then came the trip's second amazing stroke of luck , buying box seats for under face value (the 1st being traffic). From there I went to the pro shop and bought the Dodger's on field proback. I don't want to complain that official hats now cost $30+ because I get a lot of use out of hats, I'm just hoping they stay at this price point for a few years.

I poked around the ballpark, went all the way up to the upper deck after waiting in a cue for the elevator and was surprised by 2 things. 1) The sheer incline of the top level, reminded me of the Staples Center. The LA franchises have a flair for the steep angles 2) The parking lot outside of the stadium was hazy due to smog! This wasn't even a half mile away! (See below)

Game Recap, Sorta:

The season ticket holder next to me groaned at the introduction of the Dodger's starter, Brett Tomko. The righty from Placentia's El Dorado High managed a no decision and no boos from the Dodger faithful. Tomko is alright, he went to the same HS as Green Day's Jason Freese and married a playmate. Nomar Garciaparra hit a jack in the 2nd inning for his club's only score. Luis Gonzalez struggled on offense going 0-4 and on defense and was responsible for Tomko's only run after colliding with Juan Pierre going after a pop fly. After hitting a single in the 1st inning Pierre stole 2nd and 3rd and proceeded to look lame in Center Field. The Mets won.

Wrap Up:

This park has charectar, not like Fenway but isn't sterile like say the Kingdome was or like, what's the A's park called? The organ player, a cute little old lady named Nancy Bea plays tunes which contributes to Dodger stadium's old school, 'good time at the ballpark' feel and the chant's from the center field bleachers should make any baseball fan feel good. The food selection sucks but also adding to the old school feel which is cool. The Dodger dog does come boiled or grilled and shouldn't be passed upon. The teamshops are tiny, bathrooms clean and the ushers were friendly enough. People were allowed to hang out by the Dodger's dugout in the frontrow to ooh and ahh at Nomar's windsprints before the game. A number of players signed autographs right up until the National Anthem, which was sung by a soldier with an amazing voice. If the Dodgers are playing the next time you're in the HelLa area check 'em out.

M's Drop to Yankees and Padres

I brought a bad vibe, apparently, to Safeco Field twice in six days watching two losses. First I saw the Evil Empire's only win at Safeco (5/12/7) during the 3 game series. Their were as many Pinstripes and Yankee probacks on Occidental Ave. as there was Mariner's gear and the atmosphere in the stadium was unique to A Rod (that guy STILL gets booed like he left town last week) and the Yankees being in town. After a few innings of freezing temperatures on the 3oo level I decided to walk around a little bit for the sake of warmth. I wound up in the jam packed team store overall a testament to the excitment of the game but really my poor choice of jacket got me in there. I eventually found a lapel pin made for the 3 game home stand against the NYY and stood in line for all of 5 minutes not moving an inch forward before I lost my patience and ditched 'em. On my way to the exit I saw a sign for pink mother's day bats for sale to benefit the Susan G foundation. After a few sly moves also know as manipulation, I charmed a cute clerk into letting me buy a bat at a closed register so 'I can get my mom one with her name on it'. Cute clerk said Safeco only got like 40 of them and $10 of the $65 sale price would go to Susan G. My mom's eyes lit up when she saw her name engraved on it the next morning!

Oh yeah, and the Yankees were in town. By the time I got out of the team store Mariano Rivera was warming up in the bullpen in front of nearly 100 people. There was a lot of excitement/heckling at the bullpen, I heard countless snippets of conversation in which a Mariner's fan would insult a Yankee fan then the Yankee fan would respond with something like, 'Go win a championship then we can talk.' Hearing that got old, but watching Mariano warming up was way cool. That guy is going to the HOF with Jackie's number, I think he is the only remaining player with 42.

I was looking to get a bobble head friend for Ichiro so I went to see the Padre's play Friday the 18th(pictured above). I showed up 1 hour before the first pitch and didn't get the Felix bobble. So I turned around and dealt with my pain at Pyramid brewery. The chili was good, the beer goes without saying and their were plenty of TVs to watch the Spurs beat up on the Suns. Then I went back to the ballpark and watched the Padre's bats get mad and effective on the M's pitching staff. I sat in the cheap left field seats which go for $18. I didn't realize they were bleacher seats until I got there, it felt like I was back in High School watching a my school's football team lose.
The Moose's 'The Office' parody on the jumbotron was hilarious and the tribute to Ken Griffey Jr. didn't really receive any acknowledgement from the fans. I did catch Mike Cameron watching it as he jogged to Center field between innings. I was expecting a lot more after the Jr. video played out, my reverent clapping was alone. This really shocked because of what I think Griffey meant to the city for years. Even from the bleeders in the Dome #24's swing looked so damn sweet. I'm starting to wonder if our fans are bitter; I mean who wouldn't move to Texas for 1/4 billion dollahs? I got your back, Pay Rod. When Ichiro bolts for a team that actually wins after this season not a single damn person will have a reason to throw boo-birds on the field, even if he winds up in Pinstripes.