Thursday, March 31, 2016

Getting Ready for the Season

Checking in from the Southernmost point in the US. Go Blue!

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Philippe's Making Pitch to Dodger Fans

Phillippe's is an L.A. institution and an SoSG favorite; this season, the restaurant is continuing its Dodger-blue ways. From a press relase:

This Friday the Petros and Money Radio show will be broadcasting, as well as streamed online, from Philippe’s restaurant in LA from 3-6 pm on Friday, April 1st.

This will be the second time the radio team will be broadcasting from the restaurant, only this time it’ll be better because they will be giving away a pair of Freeway series tickets, against the Angels to that evening’s game at Dodger Stadium.

Philippe’s is also helping prep fans for Opening Day, Thursday April 12th. The restaurant will be a pre-game site for fans, and even post game. The restaurant will also raffle off a pair of Dodgers tickets for a future game.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Dodger Blogger Luncheon


Getting the field ready - even the top of the foul pole


Shock top Brat

My favorite the Kings Hawaiian Dog


The Dodger organization kindly invited the various bloggers to preview the changes in the stadium, taste the new menu items, and preview the promotional items.  I was mostly intrigued by the new menu items especially with my obsession with baseball and food (see Blue Plate Specials).  Some of the rookies coming up to the plate are:

Levy Restaurants Menu Items

·      King’s Hawaiian Dog
o   All-beef quarter pound dog topped off with a pineapple salsa, served on King’s Hawaiian bread
o   Locations: Extreme Loaded Dogs: 248, 421, 736
·      Gouda Kobe Burger
o   1/3 lb. premium wagyu burger (“Kobe” beef) topped off with caramelized onions, pickles and special dressing (1000 Island)
o   Locations: Elysian Park Grill: 222, 223, 422, 747, 748
·      Chicken Verde Sandwich
o   Grill marked chicken breast on telera bread with jalapeno aioli, lettuce, tomato and tomatillo verde sauce
o   Locations: Healthy Cart: P420, P738; AMPM: 201; Marketplace: 205; Tony’s Stand: 420
·      Shock Top Bratwurst
o   Spicy pork bratwurst link infused with Shock Top beer served on a buttered and grilled lobster roll with caramelized onions and spicy brown mustard
o   Locations: Think Blue BBQ: 251 (Grill Area Only)
·      Specialty Nachos Verde
o   Crispy tortilla chips with tomatillo verde sauce, pickled jalapenos and fresco Cotija Queso
o   Locations: TBD
·      Smoked BBQ Wings Bundle
o   15 smoked chicken wings tossed in a BBQ sauce served with fries and veggie sticks with two soft drinks
o   Locations: Think Blue BBQ: 251

BBQ Wings

Salsa Verde Nachos
I really enjoyed the King's Hawaiian Dog and the Shock Top Brat.  The salsa verde chips got a little soggy and I thought that the BBQ wings were good, not great.  But everyone else was raving about the sauce.  The Kobe burger was nice as well.


They also had some promotional items that were on display.  Of course the bobbleheads were a big hit.  The AGon bobblehead and the replica stadium were neat to see and they look great.  Other items were the Turner Chia Pet and the Vin Scully Avenue T-shirt.  There was also a spacious cooler bag.  I always thought that a clear dodger bag would be a nice promotional item.  I think that fans would use them with the additional benefit of the security lines would be much faster as bags could be “searched” without opening them up.  I mentioned my idea, and hopefully they will act on it. 

Mock up of the Vin Scully Avenue shirt

Anon celebrating

Nice cooler bag

Replica stadium

More pins!

Dodger Promotional Items

·      Adult Hooded Sweatshirt
Presented by Bank of America
April 13 vs. ARI, 7:10pm
·      Adult Replica Jackie Robinson Jersey
Presented by Bank of America
April 15 vs. SF, 7:10pm
·      Knit Cap
Presented by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
April 16 vs. SF, 6:10 pm
·      Clayton Kershaw Bobblehead
Presented by Security Benefit
April 25 vs. MIA, 7:10pm
·      Fleece Blanket
Presented by LG
April 27 vs. MIA, 7:10pm
·      Justin Turner Chia Pet
Presented by Cedars-Sinai
April 30 vs. SD, 6:10pm
·      Kids Corey Seager Replica Jersey
Presented by Hi-Chew
May 1 vs. SD, 1:10pm
·      Dave Roberts Bobblehead
Presented by State Farm
May 11 vs. NYM, 7:10pm
·      Replica Stadium
Presented by Farmer John
May 14 vs. STL, 6:10pm
·      Kids Batting Gloves
Presented by Kellogg’s Rice Krispies
May 15 vs. STL, 5:05pm
·      Welcome Mat
Presented by Farmer John
May 17 vs. LAA, 7:10 pm
·      Neck Pillow
Presented by Emirates Airline
May 23 vs. CIN, 7:10 pm
·      Adrian Gonzalez Bobblehead
Presented by Time Warner Cable
May 25 vs. CIN, 7:10 p.m.
·      Don Newcombe Bobblehead
Presented by United Healthcare
June 8 vs. COL, 7:10 pm
·      Cooler Backpack
Presented by Your SoCal Honda Dealers
June 20 vs. WSH, 7:10pm
·      Reusable Tote Bag
Presented by MLB Network
July 30 vs. ARI, 6:10pm
·      Retired Numbers Pin Series (10 pins)
Presented by 76
May 9: Pee Wee Reese #1
June 4: Don Sutton #20
June 16: Duke Snider #4
July 5: Roy Campanella #39
July 7: Walter Alston #24
July 31: Jim Gilliam #19
August 8: Jackie Robinson #42
September 4:  Sandy Koufax #32
September 7: Don Drysdale #53
September 22: Tommy Lasorda #2


We then got to go on a tour of the stadium, from the Top Deck to down on the field.  We saw all of the awards and got to sit in the dugout.  It was a very windy day, but that made for clear pictures.  Seems like they were doing a lot of sprucing up the place from washing the seats to fixing up the dugout club.  They were also installing new palm trees along Elysia-- I mean Vin Scully Avenue.  It looks really nice.  
Hi Dad!

I thought that the pictures on the newer gold gloves looked pretty lame


I guess they fixed Ethier's rage dent

Old visitor's locker room

No more Nancy Bea (cries)

From the Vin Scully Press Box


In all it was a great time, and got me excited to get the season started.  Remember, Dodger opening day is on April 12th!  Go Blue!

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Soon

Wednesday, March 09, 2016

Guest Writer: Dave Roberts is a Man of the People

Thanks to guest writer Sunha Kim for this report from Camelback Ranch:

You might not get an autograph, but you will get really close to the stars!

Part of the thrill of going to spring training at Camelback Ranch is getting up close and personal with the players and coaches, and hopefully getting a few pictures or autographs. If you are solely going to Camelback Ranch to snap a pic or get a signature with the big stars, however, there is a chance that you will come away disappointed. It’s not that stars are mean-spirited, but it is important to keep in mind that these players are getting ready to deliver us, the fans, our first championship in nearly 30 years. Most of the time, the players are in their zone and ready to perform at the highest level possible. That's really cool to see!

If you come to Camelback Ranch on a weekend, there will be large crowds as our team is lucky enough to have a strong and loyal fan base. Dodger fans come to Camelback Ranch not only from Los Angeles, but from all over the world. During my time at Camelback, I met a ton of fans living in Arizona. One fan I met came from New York City, and some other fans I met came from as far as Japan.

At this point, you might be getting the sense of why it might be so hard to snag a personal moment with your favorite star. If you are adamant about meeting one specific player, the best thing to do is to come during a weekday, as Camelback will be less crowded. That is what Pat and Melissa Hughes did, and they got autographs from most of the stars!

Pat and Melissa Hughes.

While it may prove hard to get personal with most the Dodger stars, there is one exception. I was at Dodger camp this past Friday, and I was lucky enough to snag an autograph and share a story with new Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts and Dodger legend Shawn Green. As almost every player walked straight from the field to the clubhouse after morning workouts on Friday, Dave and Shawn were kind enough to engage the large crowd that was waiting in the designated autograph area after morning practice.

The skipper with the fans.

Both Skip and Shawn spent a good 15 minutes with the fans who were eager to share stories, take pictures, and get their stuff signed. If anything, it is good to know that Dave Roberts is a man of the people. But given the strong start to the spring, who knows? Maybe Dave is the chosen one to shepherd us to the promised land for the first time since 1988.

Sunha Kim is a lifelong Dodger fan and boxing journalist. His favorite player growing up was pinch-hitting master Dave Hansen. Sunha's writing has appeared in Yahoo!, the business news site Quartz, and now Sons of Steve Garvey! Sunha currently hosts a boxing podcast called Kim On Boxing, and he is developing a baseball-centric podcast with another Dodger fan called Bro Club Sports. Stay tuned and follow him @SunhaPKim!

photos by Sunha Kim

Thursday, March 03, 2016

Spring Training Game 1 Thread: Mar. 3 vs. White Sox, 12p


This is a photo of Elian Herrera as a Dodger. It was taken yesterday. I'm as surprised as you are.

Clayton Kershaw (for an inning or two, anyway) vs. John Danks

(shakes off rust)

A baseball game? Featuring real Dodgers? Like, I've even heard of this Clayton Kershaw guy. He was on last year's team, I think.

Another guy from last year's team who won't be making an appearance anytime soon is Brett Anderson. The real Bringer of Rain (Sorry, Josh Donaldson!) will miss 3-5 months due to back surgery. Some people have thrown in towel on the entire season because of this news. Yes, seriously. I mean, we're not exactly the positive bunch over here (Hi, Karina!), but I think we'll muddle through this somehow.

If you have SportsNet LA (I do now, but I'm at work and forgot to DVR the game!), I think this game is not one of the ones that were slashed from the schedule. So, enjoy!

Photo: Jon SooHoo