SoSG Road Trip: St. Louis (Part 4: Pre-Game Banter With Mattingly, And An Overdue Apology To Jim Peltz)

Jon Chapper of the Dodgers' PR motioned us over to the visitors dugout at Busch Stadium, right up the third-base line. As we got there, Dodgers coach Don Mattingly was coming up the clubhouse steps, so SoSG AC and I almost bumped into him. He shook our hand, we introduced ourselves, and he also laughed at the name of our blog. He made his way over to the dugout bench, put on his sunglasses, and sat on the top of the bench's back.

Out of nowhere, reporters started to gather around Mattingly. But there weren't many, which may be because we were on the road in St. Louis, or maybe because the Dodgers are a last-place team, or both. But I soon found myself standing there, among Patrick O'Neal from Fox Sports West (O'Neal was with cameraman, and the two of them didn't stay very long at the pre-game interview), Ken Gurnick from MLB.com, and Jim Peltz from the LA Times.

And this is where I want to digress a bit. Before I get into what Mattingly said, I want to talk about Peltz.

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First, let me set the stage. Gurnick, a veteran of the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner, stood most of the time that Mattingly spoke, with his pen and notepad at the ready. Gurnick was positioned just like you would picture reporters from the 1940s covering sports, sans fedora and cigar. From his vantage point, he was asking questions up to Mattingly. (SoSG AC and I were flanking Gurnick for most of the pre-game interview period.) Peltz, on the other hand, was sitting next to Mattingly's left, holding out a small voice recorder in one hand, and holding his notepad with the other.

I can't remember if Peltz was writing with his left hand or not, but I do recall that his position beside Mattingly almost put him at ease, like he was a pal of Donnie's getting ready to shoot the bull. The voice recorder Peltz held was so small in the palm of Peltz' hand, it wasn't really all that noticeable or intrusive. And for much of the interview session, Peltz didn't say much.

Mattingly was the focus, with Peltz sitting to his left and Gurnick standing in front of him.

Gurnick did most of the talking; Peltz spoke, but was a bit more reserved and mostly sat for this session (Chapper is in the background).

About ten minutes into the interview session, I hadn't said a word. I was listening to Mattingly speak mostly about the unusual lineup changes (Kemp batted third for the first time this year), and after filming Mattingly's responses for a while, I remember looking up at Peltz and wondering what he was thinking during the interview, what angle Peltz might be taking for the pre-game story he would write for publication the next day.

And then Peltz looked squarely at me.

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I remember when we first started blogging about the Dodgers back in 2006, it was for us. And then Sons of Steve Garvey started getting picked up by other magazines and traditional media, and we started to find our voice: ardent Dodger fans in our undying support, but also bitingly sarcastic critics of the team and management--not to be disruptive or corrosive to the Dodgers, but more to articulate the good and bad times with equal passion and fervor.

We gained a wonderful community of readers and commenters who interacted with us with equally barbed wit. Soon, the site soon became more like the neighborhood bar, filled with an infinite number of empty virtual barstools allowing all of us to watch the games "together" and share the ups and downs with other like-minded folk.

The democratization of media through blogging (as well as the internet in general) has been an amazing revolution for content. Content is everywhere. Content is free. Good content is rewarded with eyeballs and traffic and stickiness to websites, but even still, multinational corporations chock full of analytic braniacs (as well as tiny little blogs publishing for fun) are still trying to figure out how to monetize all of that traffic, what the tipping points are, and what "sells."

Blogging also has given a sturdy soapbox to the single voice who might not have the opportunity to speak his or her opinion in decades past. It has given access to the masses, and for the masses. No longer do you necessarily need the training and background and credentials to air your point of view. The internet puts experienced journalists and untrained individuals together, side by side in the starting blocks, and though cream rises to the top eventually, it's clear that many of the barriers to entry have been removed.

So in 2008, when Josh Rawitch of the Dodgers invited us, along with a handful of other bloggers, "into the fold" alongside mainstream press covering the Dodgers, things ratcheted up a significant notch. Suddenly, we had access to the players and team and management like we had never had before. We had press box access. We had field access. We had clubhouse access. We had Dodgers access, in ways we could not have dreamed ten years prior.

And now, for the first time in this blog's history, we had been granted field access on the road, 1,827 miles away from home. I'm not sure if the Cardinals franchise invites Cardinals bloggers with media credentials--I didn't see any Cardinals bloggers in the press box--but it felt pretty special to be on the Busch Stadium field, let alone in the dugout. I was standing there, alongside only two reporters from "real" mainstream media institutions, talking with the manager of one of the crown jewel franchises in all of Major League Baseball, let alone all of sport.

I was standing in a dream position, in the spot of a place one could argue I did not earn. I was enjoying a club membership having paid a fraction of the requisite dues--if any at all--paid by the peers around me.

What gives me the right to stand with them?

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I don't know if I have ever gotten into this personal detail on the blog, but at one point I thought I might pursue a serious career in journalism. I first learned journalism in high school, taking that elective all four years and ending up co-editing the high school newspaper, a bi-weekly eight page half-sheet, in my senior year.

I learned the craft on monstrous big blue typesetting machines that spit out words in specified column format and pica measurement. I honed the craft during late night production sessions, as well as high school journalism competitions that included "headline competitions" which forced competitors to come up with two-line headlines that not only were filled with brevity and wit, but also fit the arcane mathematical space constraints of aggregating the headline letters' widths ("i" was counted as a half a point, "e" was a full point, "w" was a point and a half). I snagged a trophy or two in these competitions. The school paper published on time all year long, with only minor incidents with the principal here and there.

By the time I was a high school junior, we had started converting to little boxy Macintoshes and the word processing program "Ready, Set, Go!", which allowed one to fit your headlines and adjust ones font sizes on screen. No more counting letter widths; you could size the font to fit your headline, rather than the other way around. Sure, there were still x-acto knives for amnual cutting and pasting on the 11" x 17" boards, and blue wax pencils for editing mistakes.

But the big blue typesetting machines had already become dinosaurs. Journalism was moving onward on the back of technological advancement. Process and equipment barriers to entry were already starting to crumble.

I then went to college, and fell into journalism again at school, first as a side extracurricular. Given my addictive personality, a five-hours-a-week venture metastasized into something more. Writing for the university daily was a decent gig, paying stipends to its editors as well as additional dollars for every article written. The stipends didn't come out to a decent hourly wage when juxtaposed against the myriad late nights spent around the grungy, fluorescent-lamp lit offices. But the camaraderie of the editorial staff, coupled with endless amounts of pizza and Coca-Cola, compensated well with intangibles. And every weekday morning, one could wake up and see the product of one's hard work.

I wrote some articles. I joined the beat of one of the sports teams on campus. I picked up editing the entertainment section, then advanced to become a news editor, in charge of a stand-alone full-sheet entertainment section each week. And by the time of my junior year in college, I had advanced far enough to find myself at the precipice of figuring out whether I wanted to really pursue journalism, not as an extra-curricular but as a professional career. This decision required commitment; Editors-in-chief stopped out of school for a semester in order to perform the full-time job. I needed to make the call if this was going to be my path for the next forty years of my life.

The decision ultimately ended up being made for me, for reasons I won't get into on this blog. But it wasn't because of anything journalism couldn't provide me, certainly not intellectually. I actually loved having the access that a press pass afforded, the verbal gymnastics of trying to ask the right question to provoke the necessary response or get to the core issue at hand, the challenge of slamming out thirty column inches at deadline and distilling complex issues into the most meaningful, salient, and sometimes controversial pieces.

Journalism requires being a great communicator, both listening as well as expressing. And there's a certain high to writing that is infectious, a challenging responsibility to communicate what you see and hear and sense with both vivid tones as well as accurate recall. I recall journalism being a pretty fun gig.

Years later, I've chosen a wildly different professional path. But I still enjoy writing, which is a lot of the reason why I've kept up this blog. But then, I never had to write for a living.

I'm not a professional. I'm no Jim Peltz.

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Fast forward a bit. After SoSG Alex Cora and I left the St. Louis game, Dodgers victory in hand, I called up SoSG Orel from my hotel and told him about the awesome day we'd had covering the Dodgers @ Cardinals game from the Busch Stadium press box. I told him about getting on the field, about meeting the players, about sitting in the press box. (SoSG Orel has covered many games from the Dodger Stadium press box, an experience I've not yet had.)

I told Orel about how I listened to Mattingly's pre-game press conference and how I stood beside Gurnick and Peltz.

"You stood beside Peltz?!", Orel asked, aghast. "Don't you remember what you wrote about his writing, a while back?" Orel is one of those guys who has a memory like a steel trap (an attribute which contributed to making him a great journalist, as well).

And then it came back to me. Two years ago, Peltz had written an article for the LA Times opening up James Loney to criticism, during a season where the Dodgers were rolling and would go on to sweep the Cardinals in the playoffs before succumbing (again) to the Phillies in the NLCS. In 2009, there were a lot of offensive problems in the lineup, but Peltz was pointing out that Loney's lack of power was becoming a real liability even as early as July. And I took issue with Peltz' spotlight on Loney, and said so in a post.

Soon after that post, Orel had told me that the next time he had covered a Dodgers game as media, he had heard (I think through another reporter) that Peltz wasn't happy about my post. I don't think Peltz ever spoke to Orel directly about it. I certainly hadn't met him before, either.

But I understand, right? Here's this amateur blogger, firing a potshot from a laptop computer miles from the stadium, shielded by the anonymity of a ridiculous pseudonym.

What the hell is this? What right does he have to even voice his counterpoint, let alone hide from discussion and debate?

Who the heck does "Steve Sax" think he is?

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What's more, Peltz' opinion two years ago...has proved to be pretty on the mark. In this woeful 2011 season, there continue to be offensive liabilities littering almost the entirety of the Dodgers' lineup, from catcher to second base to shortstop to third base to left field to even right field in the second half of the season. James Loney has had the extra problem, besides what is proving to be an unfortunately persistent lack of power, of batting unreliably and inconsistently this year at first base.

Loney's lengthy start-of-year slump seemed to be getting back on track after the All-Star break, but then plummeted again, before more recently ticking back upward. Right now he's batting .271 with an OPS of 64, giving him an OPS+ of 89, his worst season score. But even if Loney was consistent as a .285 hitter (his career batting average, coupled with a career .767 OPS), he'd rank in the bottom half of NL first basemen for average, and in the bottom quartile for OPS. His career 105 OPS+ is decidedly average. And at a position traditionally known for its power, having a player who struggles to hit extra-base hits is simply a liability we can't afford, certainly not when the rest of the offense is struggling at seven other positions.

I like James Loney, and have liked him since he started as a Dodger. In fact, we Sons like to think that our campaign helped Loney get out from underneath Nomar Garciaparra and into a starting position. But Peltz was right; situated in a sorry lineup, James Loney can't be the right fit. Two years later, I understand that.

You were right, Jim Peltz.

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On Monday at Busch Stadium, Peltz didn't say a word to me in the dugout, but since he was largely stoic during the Mattingly pre-game interview, I really didn't notice. When our clan of reporters got up to the press box, however, Gurnick and O'Neal were both so open and welcoming that Peltz' silence was a bit more palpable. (To be fair, I was sitting farthest away from Peltz, making idle conversation logistically more challenging.)

Peltz spent most of the game typing on his laptop or rifling through the press box papers, watching the game through glasses perched at the tip of his nose. His work area had stuff all over the place, but it seemed organized at the same time. He's clearly a veteran, reflected in the piece he submitted post-game, a story which required a quick late re-write as Aaron Miles' ninth-inning RBI triple and run at home changed the narrative completely.

Peltz is a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and it's clear Peltz knows his craft, much better than any of my amateur forays into journalism ever would have taught. Peltz mostly kept to himself in the press box, but talked to Gurnick every once in a while.

So midway through the game, I got up and introduced myself to Peltz as "Steve Sax" from Sons of Steve Garvey, and he smiled. I told him I liked reading his work from the LA Times (which is true). He politely thanked me, and that was about it. A pleasant thirty-second exchange.

I have no idea if he remembered me or my post of two years ago. I have no idea if Peltz even reads Sons of Steve Garvey in the first place. I don't know what he thinks of bloggers, if he thinks I'm just a poser in the press box, or a threat to his way of livelihood and income stream, or just an annoyance. Or maybe all three. Or maybe none of the above.

I do know, though, that even with the press credentials in St. Louis, that my being in the press box and dugout was a rare privilege, and I treated it as such. I'm no journalist, not by a long shot. I am lucky to have had the opportunity to even be situated amongst the professionals, and to have had a lot of fun doing so. But I know that a lot of that luck derives from the advancement of media and media platforms, moreso than the little bits of journalism skills I have picked up along the way.

I will continue to enjoy writing my opinions and thoughts on this blog, reflecting my passion for the Dodgers and love of the game. It's certainly a lot of fun, even if it's not always LA Times-grade material, if ever. Heck, most of the time, I don't even have time to proofread the post before publishing. But I think some of the stuff is pretty good. And I know there's value in airing my opinions, too; I believe our avid audience of followers and rabid community reflects that value.

But the real reporting? Yeah, that should probably go to the professional journalists first. I agree.

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Earlier: Part 0, Quick Thoughts From The Cardinals Press Box; Part 1, Getting to St. Louis; Part 2, Press Pass Access Onto The Field; Part 3, Inside Busch Stadium, Before Anyone Else

"The One Good Thing That Came Out Of This Blog"

There's a lot of reasons why, seven years ago, we started this blog. To make a repository for thousands of emails that would inevitably be sent anyway among a small group of friends who happened to be Dodger fanatics. To provide an outlet for writing for some amateur journalists who, in a former life, might have pursued the craft, rather than being stuck in fields which do not cultivate the written art. To build a community where Dodger fans young and old, rich and poor, crazy and sane, could bring healthy doses of sarcasm and enter a virtual bar of sorts where snark and sarcasm were encouraged, alcohol was ever-present, and commentary was always fresh.

Never, in my wildest dreams, however, did I think Sons of Steve Garvey would do this.

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"Franklin Stubbs," formerly known as "Mr. Customer," was one of the SoSG regulars from the start. Witty, erudite, cutting, and full of rapier-wit sarcastic comments that evidenced his worldly experiences and literary depth, Stubbs was always a really fun guy to have hanging around a GameThread, whether we were talking about the game itself, riffing on a string of bad puns, or making reference to an obscure European royal. When it came time for Stubbs' call-up to the majors, it made a lot of sense; we appreciated Stubbs not only for his encyclopedic knowledge of the Dodgers, but for his facile mind that made him a great teammate for online puzzle hunts. Through attendance at SoSG Fests, and a couple of late night puzzle-solving sessions, I've gotten to know Stubbs a bit, and he's a pretty cool guy. Stubbs picked up the PCS and, despite being pummeled by work, has continued regaling us with his enigmas this season.

Stubbs, as a fellow Son, is like a brother of sorts to me.

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karina popped up on the blog sometime early in 2008. Like a pack of acne-filled junior high kids who don't know how to talk to girls, most of us frequenting Sons of Steve Garvey found a girl's presence refreshing, intimidating, and curious all at once. Through the course of karina's regular attendance, coupled with the emboldened nature of blog commenters shielded by anonymous handles, we got to find out bits and pieces of karina, all of which helped build her mystery. She hailed from Maracaibo, Venezuela. She loved baseball, specifically Aguilas de Zulia as a local team, and of course the Dodgers, about whom she was quite knowledgable. She suffered through power blackouts and the pregnant pauses of mlb.com GameDay to track the Dodgers' progress, and reveled in the rare occasion when the Dodgers were actually carried on international television. We all loved having karina part of our community.

Apparently, however, some of us loved karina more than others.

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All right, so I'll skip ahead to the punchline (which you already know): Stubbs and karina got married this weekend, in an intimate ceremony that SoSG Orel and I were privileged to attend. While the Dodgers were dropping a turd in lack of support for Zack Greinke, Orel and I were in happier confines watching much more blissful action. (SoSG Dusty would have been present too, if not for a bout of the flu; SoSG Nomo was busy getting violated.)

And the wedding was really fun. Orel and I were lucky to get some great quality time with Stubbs and karina during dinner, which included Ardbeg scotch--I'm a big fan! And the six of us (Orel, Mrs. Orel, Sax, Mrs. Sax, Stubbs and karina) were having so much fun hanging out and talking about the Dodgers, that Stubbs' mom actually had to ask them to circulate to the family tables! It was quite a fun evening.

Throughout the ceremony, I kept thinking how random this was. Here we are, watching two people join in holy matrimony, as they happily take vows to spend the rest of their lives together. They looked giddy and in love. They're united in their passion for the Dodgers. The two of them, and their families, came together to celebrate the marriage of the two main characters, but also their relatives, their cultures.

And our crazy little blog helped bring together these two lovebirds, bridging 3349 miles of distance (that's 5390 kms, karina).

Wow.

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A lot of cool things have happened to me because of this blog. I've gotten press credentials to Dodger Stadium, allowing me access to the field for batting practice, the press box during the game, and the clubhouse post-game. I've gotten press access on the road, covering the Dodgers at Busch Stadium for an amazing come-from-behind victory. I've met a host of Dodgers players and front-office executives. I've talked with Ned Colletti. I've toured areas of Dodger Stadium many have not seen (and not just the secret urinal rooms). I've amassed even more swag for my Dodgers memorabilia collection. I've even gotten scoops from the Dodgers PR prior to it going public, if at all.

But I never thought I'd see the blog unite a Dodgers couple in marriage. That absolutely takes the cake.

Sometime during the reception, Mrs. Sax looked over at me and smiled. Mrs. Sax has put up with my incessant late-night stints at the laptop while typing about a sports team whose draw on my time and mental energy has to be frustrating, if not altogether insane in its apparent (albeit not actual) prioritization (it's only six or seven months of the year, honey!). She smiled and, like only a baseball widow could articulate, said, "So this is the one good thing that came out of this blog."

I suppose so.

But even if I never get another perk from writing this Dodgers blog?

I'll take it.

Stubbs and karina, mid at-bat

Stubbs' record may only list 602 hits, but I think this qualifies as getting to first base.

Congratulations, Stubbs and karina. All of the happiness in the world to you both. And GO DODGERS!

A Change To The SoSG Lineup

It's the off-season, the time of year when teams can look at their lineups and address some of the gap areas. And we're going through this sort of exercise at the SoSG home offices as well.

When this blog started back in 2006, it was largely supposed to be a repository for a small group of guys who ended up emailing incessantly about the Dodgers anyway. Many of the original Sons had known each other since grade school, so it was easy to port our sarcastic brand of commenting and "reporting" into a medium that was ripe for witty banter.

Establishing a set of pseudonyms also helped keep the tone off-the-cuff, as well as allowed many of us to contribute content from all over the place (including blogging from work). In fact, there are a couple of Sons who work with colleagues who are huge readers of Sons of Steve Garvey, and they have no idea that the authors are standing in their midst. The veil of secrecy was a pretty critical point in our early days.

Soon, the Dodgers organization started inviting us into the fold, culminating with press box and clubhouse access as if we were media members. Of course, this required us to think about things a bit differently; the covenant we reached with the recently-departed VP of PR Josh Rawitch was that he was fine with the pseudonyms so long as he could always reach us individually if we wrote something out of line. We never did, by the way; Rawitch was always a great partner and helped give on- and off-the-record color to us all the time.

Meanwhile, about the same time, we started inviting some of our readers back behind the veil as well, including holding a couple of SoSG Fests (read: fully funded drinking while watching a Dodgers away game) for some of the most worthy. Through these events, and some Stadium rendezvous missions, we got to know a handful of our readers pretty well.

In addition, the ranks of the Sons have thinned. You, the readers, voted to kill off Pedro Guerrero last year. And as we emerged from this year's Hey Jimbo! April Fool's Day takeover, Lasorda was left off the 2011 roster. Finally, Eric Karros decided to call it a day following the end of the 2011 season. And that left four Sons o hold down the fort.

Meanwhile, let's face it, it's been a hard time to be a Dodger fan, what with two consecutive poor showings in the division, an opening day beating tragedy, and that whole McCourt ownership circus thing that casts a pall over the organization. It's yucchy. But the chaos might not have to be all-corroding; I believe that chaos is the time for the most opportunity, just as this is a time for the Dodgers to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. 2012 has to be better, right? And I don't want Sons of Steve Garvey to miss a second of it.

And that's why, for the first time in this blog's five-year history, we're ecstatic to welcome three new Sons to the fold. Please give a huge welcome to Dusty Baker, Hideo Nomo, and Franklin Stubbs.

All three of these new Sons have been around for years, they're familiar with the virtual bar we've created, and we've had a chance to meet them all on multiple occasions (all three attended both SoSG Fests as well as multiple ad hoc drink-fests in the Stadium). In fact, they're kind of like family now. Which is why we're ecstatic to knight them as Sons.

We're delighted that they're just insane enough to want to join the chaos on a first-hand level. But we're confident that their energy will help take this crazy crew of sarcastic Sons to the next level, just in time to herald the Dodgers' ascent back to our rightful place in championship lore (or at least, in time to welcome our new owner and a long-awaited change in front-office scenery). Plus, the new Sons' background checks came out relatively clean (only one bestiality incident that has since been expunged).

I'll leave their individual origin stories up to them, but you'll soon see their names in the Sons' blogroll in the upper left. (Congratulations to those of you who figured out our mystery last week, by the way. You damn overachievers.) So if you see any of these three anonymous identity-concealed Sons walking down the street, make sure to congratulate them with a big bear hug.

Welcome, Dusty, Nomo, and Stubbs!

SoSG Road Trip: St. Louis (Part 2: Press Pass Access Onto The Field)

We wanted to get to the field early because, as you already know from Part 0, SoSG was able to secure press credentials for the game (thanks to Josh Rawitch of the Dodgers and Terry Rodgers of the Cardinals). And really, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. After a quick nap at the hotel, we were off and running--ready to cover the game as "media"!

We can just leave our car out front of the hotel, right? Okay then.

Our hotel was a stone's throw from Busch Stadium, and on the way we passed the St. Louis Metro line...which has a stop right at Busch. A public transportation stop right at the stadium! What a novel idea!!!

Busch Stadium employees were already trickling in for work.

Busch Stadium facade, with its beautiful brick work and majestic iron arches.

I had been to the old Busch Stadium about a decade ago, but the Cardinals were not in town and so all I could do was walk around the stadium at night (I remember it being a big circle, unlike this newer model which is more square-like in shape). We didn't get to go all the way around this newer model (the new Busch Stadium opened in 2006), but I was really impressed at what a great job they did--especially considering that they had to rush to complete new Busch Stadium in between the end of the 2005 season and the start of the 2006 season.

To be fair, much of the right field was already completed before the 2005 season ended; and, one Busch employee told us that there were "a lot of problems" in that first season, particularly in the new section (he didn't get into what those problems were). But the end result is a seamless model which stands tall and has a lot of neat sights outside the gates, not just inside.

The brick pathway around the stadium has center plaques dedicated to some of the Cardinals franchise's highlights, with inscribed and donated bricks surrounding each plaque. Here's a shot of the sidewalk.

And here's a shot of one of the plaques in particular.

Then at the corner of Clark and Eighth Streets, there are all these statues (I forgot to count how many) of the Cardinals legends. They're small, but they're also very detailed in their faces--which I'll reference later, was key.

Ozzie Smith, in action.

Stan Musial, The Man.

Lou Brock, on a tear.

The Brock one was especially notable for me since we passed Lou Brock in the Stadium depths, one the way out of the stadium well after the game had ended. He stood out--he was being carted around with three other people, and was wearing a pink long-sleeved button down shirt that had a Cardinals patch on one sleeve. I thought it was Brock, but I wasn't sure. After we left the stadium, I ran back to his statue and confirmed it; sure enough, it was Brock. Or at least, someone who looks incredibly like his statue.

Bob Gibson, hurling with all his fury (I really liked the energy emanating from this one's pose).

There was this scavenger hunt thing going on, so we were descended upon by a horde of polo-shirt wearing dudes and dudettes while looking at the statues.

The Stan Musial signature piece from the front sidewalk.

The view right inside the gates into the Cardinals Club. No one has been let into the Stadium...yet.

Here we go, the moment of truth. SoSG AC and I walked up to the press window and gave our names...and received our Willy Wonka golden tickets:

Media credentials! Holy smokes!

Literally, my hands were trembling. How could I effectively pose as media when my first instinct was to start giggling like an thirteen-year-old schoolgirl? After a couple seconds to get ourselves together, we headed into Busch Stadium, making a beeline for the field.

Down the ramp, into the tunnels below Busch Stadium.

We snaked our way through labyrinthine tunnels to emerge up a small ramp below home plate. We worked our way down to the protective net behind home plate, and kept getting closer and closer:

Look at those views of the city and arch!

To the left of the protective fence, inching our way toward the field.

There was one gate that allowed on-field access, guarded by a gentleman you'll meet later. We showed our press passes and walked on through...to stand on the field at Busch Stadium. This was amazing, and I had to take more photographs as I tried to take it all in.

The center-field scoreboard, in detail.

Up the left field line was the outfield wall with Cardinals legends (I didn't know outfield walls didn't need to have just advertising on them! Cool!).

Center field, again.

Here's a picture of my shadow on the field.

We were near the third-base, visitors dugout and there were no other Los Angeles press folks in vicinity. I remember reaching down and feeling the dirt of the warning track, and putting my hand on the Busch Stadium grass (we were told to stay on the track itself).

But this was it, just me and SoSG AC, standing on the grass at Busch Stadium. This sort of access was just unbelievable. Off the top of my head, I can only recall being on the field at Kansas City (on this road trip), and of course Dodger Stadium, and it's always a neat experience to look up and think about what it must be like to play a sport with 35,000 to 50,000 people staring at you, from multiple levels of the stadium, cheering you on mightily or booing you lustily. One can't help but feel microscopically small amidst the towering tiers of the stadium. It's enough to send chills up one's spine.

And this is Jim Pool, the man who worked the gate behind home plate before the game at Busch Stadium. Jim and I had a nice conversation; he's worked with the Cardinals for years and still enjoys doing it. He was a hoot.

So we had to take a panoramic shot of the Busch Stadium from field level:

And then, a small handful of Dodgers emerged for some very early pre-game activity. We ended up seeing Jonathan Broxton out in left field playing catch under Stan Conte's supervision, and then Rafael Furcal came running out of the Cardinals' dugout to give Conte a hug. SoSG Alex Cora caught a picture of Raffy as he was coming back; we said hi and he waved to us as he snuck back into the Cardinals' dugout.

Raffy and Stan Conte embrace in left field.

There were also some Cardinals doing windsprints over in right field; one Cardinal was using a parachute trailing behind him for resistance. Apparently "Little Pujols," Albert's son, was also out there, and I recall him doing one sprint with the parachute as well. Jim Pool said that Albert Pujols' son was eight years old or so and was already pretty skilled at shagging long fly balls during BP. Heck, I don't think I could even do that, now.

A less exciting but quick video of Javy Guerra, pre-game:

Next up: Part 3: Inside Busch Stadium, before everyone else.

Earlier: Part 0, Quick Thoughts From The Cardinals Press Box; Part 1, Getting to St. Louis

SoSG Reports: "Inside The Dodgers" Blue Carpet Event, 4/23/07

SoSG could not make the special "Inside the Dodgers" RSVP-only event on the Fox lot last night, attended by Luis Gonzalez and Rafael Furcal (both "stars" of the evening), as well as Ned Colletti and Manny Mota (I'm surprised MLB allowed Manny Mota to attend this event at all, given their strict regulations on the number of coaches a team can have). Since we couldn't attend, we sent our beat reporter to the event for a full recap:

Knowing it was the Dodgers, I got to the Fox Parking lot early, as attendees were warned in advance to be "patient" as each guest had to be "checked off at the gate." Let me tell you, parking was fast, efficient and orderly...unlike an unnamed stadium on opening day...ha, ha.

Guests were directed to the commissary for the hour-long reception...WOW, it was quite a reception, food and drink flowed--stuffed breaded mushrooms, mini White Castle burgers, a platter of cheese, strawberries, figs and blackberries, platter of assorted vegetables with ranch dressing, foccacia bread, mini hot dogs, sausages wrapped in pastery...then with circulating servers--crab cakes, chicken quesadillas, coconut shrimp, beef wellington....the best part, open bar with beer--Amstel, Heineken, Corona--wine and soft drinks.

Roger Owens dressed in his fancy garb tossing bags of peanuts while chatting up the crowd; Ned Colletti was also working the crowd, meeting and greeting. Owens has been with the Dodgers organization for 50 years; there will be a special thing honoring him next year.

Two big televisions at each end of the room were continuously running "stories" about the Dodgers. They were difficult to hear, but the images were nostalgic. After an hour and a half of heavy gorging, grazing, laughing and gaffing...

At 8pm, guests were led to the Zanuck Theatre, escorted along a BLUE CARPET to the theatre (nice touch!) and were seated.

A SVP (Steve Simpson?) of Fox Promotions greeted the crowd and then turned MC duties over to Patrick O'Neill (?, I think he is the "on camera" guy) who set the evening's tone: "a collision of sports and entertainment, a real "collaboration" between Dodgers and Fox to provide "access to the fans." The fans were excited!

Three pieces were debuted and screened:

• 1) "Dodgers Insider: Campo Las Palmas" Profile of the famous baseball academy built by the O'Malleys in the Dominican Republic. Nice review of the Dominican Republic (which represents 12% of the players playing), the former sugar cane plantation, which is now a self-sufficient place from food to maintenance, and has two full fields, one half-field, a dormitory, and club house. It looks like quite an operation, a place that provides hope and training to aspiring players.
• 2) "In My Own Words: Luis Gonzalez" A portrait of a seasoned player making his debut with the Dodgers and having the right attitude and leadership qualities that will contribute to this year's efforts to WIN. Gonzalez said when he plays, he gives it his all, but when he goes home, he "has to take out the trash" just like anyone else. (Hopefully he gives his all taking out the trash too.)
• 3) "Before the Bigs: Rafael Furcal" A really moving story about a young boy from a Dominican Republic border town to Haiti, who was always told he was "too small and too slow." With perseverance and effort, Furcal overcame many obstacles to achieve his current place with the Dodgers, including his incredible season last year. His "Rookie of the Year" award [2000 with Atlanta] put his little town on the map. Furcal spent his first two years' pay to build his Mom and Dad a home back in his hometown.

Guests were "thanked" for attending, and given gift bags as they departed that included a "Blue Carpet Event" t-shirt, Dodger cap, bag of peanuts, "In My Own Words" Tommy Lasorda cd, a soft squishy mini-baseball and a Dodger blue PRIME FSN Ticket bag. More feature stories are coming, supposedly on Brad Penny and Manny Mota.

All in all, a great fan event, thanks to the Dodgers and FSN. And thanks to Sons of Steve Garvey for the "heads up"!

SoSG is often critical of Dodger management, and make no question that we feel that criticism is often deserved. But it's only fair to give praise where praise is due, and the Dodger management really made the 200 fans who attended this special event feel like part of a special family. In some ways, this event wasn't a big deal (these shows are all going to be aired on television anyway), but it's exactly the kind of nice marketing touch that pays dividends down the line. A job well done.

Thanks to Inside the Dodgers for the invitation, to Dodger management and FSN for organizing it, and for our fearless beat reporter for the recap. Go Blue!

UPDATE 12.55p: Dodgers.com also has a recap of the evening.

And by the way, when are we getting FSN Prime in HDTV?

At-Game Recap: Protecting The Kershaw Bobblehead (May 17 vs. Brewers)

It takes a strong man to stomach two consecutive Dodger games with this 2011 Dodger squad. But since ol' Sax here (and SoSG Alex Cora, I might add) have intestinal linings hardened from years of Dodger Dog consumption, we were up to the task, even after watching the Dodgers' pathetic 2-1 loss to the same Brewers team the prior evening.

To be fair, though, there were two huge incentives: (1) an opportunity to pick up the first bobblehead of the 2011 season, the Clayton Kershaw bobblehead, and (2) a sweet scorage of tickets with Stadium Club access, which proved to be a godsend for an elitist pig like Sax. But more on that later.

The crowd for this rare 3-0 Dodgers victory (only their third shutout this year) was an underwhelming 42K seats sold--75% of capacity on the bobblehead giveaway night of your best player--so it wasn't exactly an electric atmosphere. But down on the field level, it was still pretty hyped up and crowded, especially in the first inning when Matt Kemp launched a 379-foot HR to right field to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. People were whooping it up with excitement.

I for one was just getting into my seat with the Dodger Dog and beer in hand, and as I waited for my part of four to slide in, I actually crouched down as to not block the view of the guy on the aisle behind us. "Don't worry, dude, it's cool," he said to me. "Nah, I don't want you to miss anything." WHACK. He was cracking up, I was cracking up, and the next thing we knew we were high-fiving each other in euphoria. It was a great way to start the game.

The view from my seats.

And then, the rain started a bit. It never got more than a light drizzle, not annoying by any means on an otherwise warm Los Angeles evening. But with a coveted bobblehead to protect, the patience for sitting in the rain became very different.

I remember sitting on the field level for Eric Gagne Bobblehead night in the pouring rain, May 4, 2003. At this game, I went with my mother, my wife, and my sister, and the latter two were aghast at how I refused to leave the game early AND how I made them huddle up with the bobbleheads under their jackets to keep their Gagne bobbleheads protected. (The article says that attendance for that game was 53.8K, almost 12K more than the Kershaw bobblehead game--and the Gagne bobblehead game was in the POURING rain.) Dodger Stadium has only had 20 or so rainouts, so I knew that there was no way this game was going to be called. But protecting the bobblehead had to be the priority.

Before I left, I took some more shots of DiamondVision:

All the Dodgers players are standing with arms crossed and a menacing look this year. What's with the grumpiness?

A better shot of the new Universal Studios logo above DiamondVision.

And then, just as I was coming up the aisle to seek shelter, there was SoSG regular Josh S.! I hadn't seen Josh since SoSG Fest 2010, and MAN! he was looking svelte. Here's a shot:

On top of that, right as I got to the spine of the Stadium to take the elevator up to the Stadium Club, I popped in on SoSG Dusty Baker, who was styling in a sweet behind-the-plate field level seat that he had scored for $22. Wow. Dusty was decked out as well:

And then, the Stadium Club. This isn't the all-you-can-eat Dugout Club behind home plate, nor is it one of the Baseline Clubs down the foul lines. This is the club up on the club level in right field, just past the final suite. It has a nice long bar, a bunch of buffet stations, and tables with big screen televisions that play the game and other sporting events (in this case, the Dallas-Thunder NBA playoff game was on the other feed).

I'd been here before but on a night like this with intermittent drizzles, it was a good idea to just hang out and chill inside. Here's some shots of the view from inside:

I also found it cool that on the wall by the hostess stand, there are replicas of all of the Dodgers' Sports Illustrated covers, decked out in a cool grid. I must have spent 10 minutes looking at each one in order and reminiscing with the ones I recalled.

The most recent SI cover prior to Manny Ramirez? Kevin Brown. Ugh.

Some of the more recent ones, including the Bulldog himself as Sportsman of the Year.

And I had to take a picture of this classic cover with our father. After all, not a day goes by that I don't ask myself, "Is Sons Of Steve Garvey Really Too Good To Be True?"

Sax gets his ledger back in the win column, AND bags a sweeeeeeeet Minotaur bobblehead to boot. It was a good evening.

SoSG Road Trip: St. Louis (Part 6: View From The Dugout During BP)

Okay, so now we've finished the Don Mattingly pre-game press conference, and the Dodgers have come out to take batting practice. Ken Gurnick and Jim Peltz bolt, probably to go file a story or six. Jon Chapper of the Dodgers PR team stays down in the dugout as the team stretches and throws, and soon the equipment starts to come on the field for batting practice (the Cardinals having gotten in from Chicago the night before, opted not to take outside batting practice prior to this game).

SoSG AC and I could have gone up to the press box to start "filing" our stories, of course. But the Dodgers were on the field. Batting practice had begun. About a hundred fans were circling the areas of the stands around the Dodgers' dugout, hoping to get an autograph or at least a conversation.

And so, AC and I stayed in the dugout. We weren't going to move, not for anything. We were going to take all of this in.

The view from the dugout steps.

The lineup card, taped to the wall of the dugout closest to home plate.

Look at how weathered the wood is on the visitors' dugout bench. And this was for a stadium built in 2006, for pete's sake!

Fox Sports' Patrick O'Neal and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, shooting the bull.

Like all the pictures I had taken earlier while circumventing the stadium, looking at the people who couldn't get in, I couldn't help myself but take pictures of the fans who were looking down at us. I know, it's mean. But it was so cool, too!

Looking over the top of the dugout, Cardinals fans were trying to figure out what the hell we were doing down IN the dugout.

This Cardinals security staff member was trying to figure it out, too.

Jamey Carroll came down into the dugout as the teams were switching over (half the team fields while the other half bats). A fan asked him for an autograph, but Carroll firmly (but politely) said that he had to go take ground balls then. Seemed reasonable enough.

Carroll's trip into and out of the dugout to change equipment was the first in a parade of Dodgers that came down from the field into the dugout and then back again, with fans screaming at them all the way. Here's what I remember hearing (I took notes):

• A fan screamed at Matt Kemp, "Matt! I'm from Oklahoma!" To which Matt replied, "Oh yeah? Where?" and the guy didn't have a good answer, so Kemp shook his head, smiled, and walked off. Later on, Chapper asked Kemp what he thought of Oklahoma's pre-season #1 ranking, and Kemp remarked that he thought it was easier to be ranked lower and work one's way up. (Kinda like Kemp's 2010 season transitioning to his breakout year this year, no?)
• Andre Ethier was breaking out the Japanese charm with a couple of well-timed phrases to some Japanese in the dugout. Well done.
• James Loney was calm after his 4-for-4 outing the prior game. In fact, in the handful of times I've met Loney, he has always been calm, polite, and super-cool. I don't know if he ever shows much emotion.
• Everyone in the general vicinity, from cameramen to grounds crew to random security members, pilfered sunflower seeds and dubble bubble gum from the Dodgers' snack tray. I was sitting right next to the snack tray, so I saw a lot of it. I didn't take a thing, by the way.
• Trent Oeltjen, who had just hit an inside-the-park HR in the prior game, was very polite as well and smiling from ear to ear when I asked about his recent highlight. He talked a lot with stadium staff. His Australian accent goes far.
• Kemp was absolutely scorching the ball during BP, drilling balls over the fence in center and right almost effortlessly. Violent speed of the bat, with a crack sound that made you stop in your tracks. Incredible. And right after that session, Kemp returned to the dugout wearing his batting helmet backwards, joking with the rabid crowd of autograph hounds, smiling all the way. He really seemed comfortable with himself, which is amazing given the kind of breakout year he's had. And that's remarkable, when you consider what Kemp has to deal with on the road:

Kemp and Ethier, signing autographs for the fans.

Kemp and Ethier were the two Dodger players to actually enter the camera pit, right in the thick of things amidst the fans, and spend a good five minutes each signing autographs and interacting. Ethier was a bit more understated than Kemp. Both were signing as quickly as they could.

What must it be like to be under 30, and see this sort of scene very day of your professional career? What's it like having 50 people vying for 15 seconds of your time? I stood there and watched Kemp and Ethier sign for quite some time.

No one yelled "Sax!", so I didn't do much signing. Dee Gordon also got a lot of calls from the crowd, which might be because "Dee!" is such an easy cheer.

Finally, we're getting close to game time. The sounds system cranked up a notch as videos started being played.

Finally, BP was over, and Chapper told us that he'd meet us up in the press box. We got the hint, and we left the field the same way we came down, behind home plate.

Passing the Cardinals' clubhouse. There's a security guard right through the doors, by the way.

Before heading up to the press box on the fourth floor, however, we entered the media dining room. It was spartan, with about ten tables set out for media and Cardinals employees, and a buffet lining one wall with salad, chicken breasts and hot entrees, and some desserts. SoSG AC and I powered down a dinner, eating with only each other. We saw Charley Steiner, Rick Monday, and Jaime Jarrin all sitting together and chatting. It was interesting to me that all three were dressed pretty nicely, given they are radio broadcasters and could call the game in shorts and a t-shirt.

I've already talked about the experience in the Busch Stadium press box. Here's a video, though, of the view: Albert Pujols flying out to end the third inning:

Also in one corner of the dining room was this podium in front of a step-and-repeat. Tony La Russa does his post-game conferences here.

I bring up this last point not only because it was conspicuous in the dining room, but also because, following the game, AC and I were dawdling in the press box before we realized (as it was being transmitted over closed-circuit systems into the box) that La Russa was giving a press conference at that moment. Given the Cardinals' breakdown in the ninth inning, which was earmarked by the typical La Russa revolving door to the bullpen--the reporters were going for the jugular on La Russa in the post-game media session. Why did he bring in pitcher X, pitcher Y, pitcher Z.

And La Russa, whom we could hear via the press room speakers but could not see, was getting increasingly testy about it. "I've already answered that question," La Russa said a bunch of times. Eep.

So that's it; from then on, most of what transpired was already caught in Part 0 from the press box. Following the game, we ended up going over to the store (almost told by one security guard, as we were walking around the concourse, that we had to exit immediately--but I showed my media credentials and in no time at all we were past her), buying a couple of things, and then finally walking back to the hotel.

AC and I went down to the hotel bar for a nightcap. And there we found Colletti, Mattingly, broadcaster Steve Lyons, pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, Casey Blake and Clayton Kershaw in casual attire (you honestly almost couldn't pick them out, they blended in so well). AC and I started giggling again. What access! What a great, once-in-a-lifetime experience. What a great game, a ninth-inning comeback to steal victory!

What a great time. Thanks, St. Louis!

Earlier: Part 0, Quick Thoughts From The Cardinals Press Box; Part 1, Getting to St. Louis; Part 2, Press Pass Access Onto The Field; Part 3, Inside Busch Stadium, Before Anyone Else; Part 4, Pre-Game Banter With Mattingly, And An Overdue Apology To Jim Peltz; Part 5, Mattingly In The Dugout, Pre-Game

Remember All Those Kids Dodger Fans Ruined By Signing Manny Ramirez?

Jamie McCourt, quoted in the LA Times on November 26, 2008:

Would Dodgers fans react negatively if the team were to pay big money to free agents when the nation's economy is in sharp decline and many Americans are losing their jobs?

That was the question posed by Dodgers President Jamie McCourt as she made an appearance with her husband, team owner Frank McCourt, Tuesday at an event where it was announced the club's charitable foundation would help build 42 youth fields around Southern California.

"If you bring somebody in to play and pay them, pick a number, $30 million, does that seem a little weird to you?" Jamie McCourt asked in an interview at the Evergreen Recreation Center in East Los Angeles. "That's what we're trying to figure out. We're really trying to see it through the eyes of our fans. We're really trying to understand, would they rather have the 50 fields?"

As you might recall, these words tried to put the responsibility solely upon the shoulders of Dodger fans, who would have to stomach the consequences of signing Ramirez; in Jamie McCourt's mind, it meant that we would be jeopardizing the lives of young underprivileged children. It was positioned as a tradeoff of the Dodgers' limited resources: either we can spend the money to get a big-time slugger, or we could help the needy.

We ended up signing Manny. And who knows what happened to the fields, or the kids that hoped to play baseball after school. The blood of poor children everywhere was on our dreadlock-wig-wearing hands (not that the hands were wearing the wigs, but you get the idea).

Except, maybe those resources aren't exactly as limited as they were made out to be. After all, the McCourts aren't exactly suffering.

Jamie McCourt, in the court documents filed yesterday (from TMZ):

Respondent is employed and actively working, with what is estimated as a multi-million dollar cash flow. He will continue to enjoy the marital life of luxury, reside in the fabulous homes, enjoy the lush gardens, the pools, the spas, and all the other amenities of the family properties. He will continue to travel in luxury on private jets and stay in the grandest hotels. His life will be virtually unaffected by this divorce action.

Petitioner, on the other hand, is unemployed, after being discharged without notice from her position as C.E.O. of the Dodgers. She will require both very substantial pendente lite support and fee awards to maintain her former lifestyle.

Remember, that lifestyle includes a $2M salary as Dodger CEO, which Jamie has requested as a spousal support payment of $487K/month (only $321K if she is reinstated with her CEO salary). This spousal payment amount is net of taxes, mind you. And of course, she needs access to all the lifestyle benefits that she listed in great detail in the filings, apparently to match the "life of luxury" that Frankie will enjoy.

I guess my question is, if Frank McCourt has to make these monthly spousal support payments, and continues to use his private jets and first-class travel to enjoy the lush gardens and high-powered security detail in any one of his eight multi-million dollar properties; and Jamie McCourt continues to fly all around the world to visit her children and stay in Ritz-Carlton suites and entertain at five business dinners per week and have monthly hair coloring treatments and wear designer clothing picked out by her stylist and relax at all seven of their exclusive country clubs; then HOW MANY KIDS WILL STARVE?

How many inner-city baseball fields will have potholes due to Jamie McCourt's purchases of Prada shoes? How many cleft palates will not be surgically corrected because the McCourts maintain two boats (you can't sail just one!)? How many homeless children will have to suffer in the cold because the McCourts still fund rents, housekeepers, and living expenses for each of their four children, all of whom are in adulthood, with one of them employed at Goldman Sachs in New York (which is basically the same thing as Teach for America)?

My god, I'm going to throw up.

Look, I don't hate the rich. With all the SoSG income we've made, that would be wholly hypocritical of me. But the McCourts were hard to stomach when they tried to play the guilt card, and now that the sordid details of their lifestyle have been made public, it's absolutely nauseating.

And I'm not alone here. Jon Weisman takes note of the McCourts' rampant greed. MSTI has moved on from marveling at the avarice to harboring unbridled hatred. Rob McMillin predicts catastrophe.

I'm somewhere between depressed and angry. There has been so much for Dodger fans to love and appreciate in the past couple of years, and now we're just pissing away stability and financial solvency and likely fielding a competitive team. It's only late October--not even a week since the team's season ended--and we're already in a kamikaze-like nosedive.

The McCourts and their silver-spoon behavior will be absolutely vilified by the press, who hate the vanity and luxury of the wealthy, who will go to great lenghts to draw weak analogies between the McCourt's lifestyle and the glamour and glitz of Los Angeles. The press will conveniently forget that we Angelenos never liked the McCourts, that we never entirely trusted them, that we had smelled a rat even before the light illuminated all the chinks in the armor. I mean, I had liked the fact that the national press started covering the Dodgers again when we signed Manny late in 2008. But this press coverage is going to suck.

And let the wild rumpus start!

At-Game Recap: 2015 Blogger Night, Part Deux

My view for the evening. Not bad at all.
After a year off in 2014, the Dodgers reinstated Blogger Night with a special 2-night affair on June 8th and 10th, 2015. The team continued their streak of being incredibly generous to this here site by allowing us to split our four invitations and attend both nights. SoSG Alex Cora and Franklin Stubbs attended the first night (read AC's recap here, if you haven't already) and I attended Wednesday night's festivities. (SoSG Dusty was sadly and unavoidably detained.)

This was a different experience from past Blogger Nights I have attended, but still a very enjoyable event. The evening kicked off with a presentation in the Hall of Fame conference room on the Club level. It's always interesting to see areas of the ballpark that the general public does not have access to. The presentation was two-fold: To introduce us to the extensive lineup of summer promotions and to show off some of Dodger Stadium's new culinary options for 2015. In attendance from the Dodgers front office were Steve Brener from Public Relations, VP of Ticket Sales David Siegel, VP of Marketing and Broadcasting Erik Braverman, Director of Advertising and Promotions Shelley Wagner, Director of Digital and Print Content (and Godfather of Dodger Bloggers) Jon Weisman, Social Media Coordinator Matthew Mesa, Marketing and Broadcasting Coordinator Claire Miller, and Assistant Director of Public Relations (and Blogger Night mainstay) Yvonne Carrasco.

Siegel started off by walking us through the very strong lineup of upcoming Dodgers promotions and giveaway items. He mentioned always wanting to give the fans "added value" for their ticket dollar. He promised that the fireworks show after the July 4th game will be the "best fireworks show in Los Angeles." That game will have a 4pm start, and Siegel indicated that there will be entertainment for the fans in the downtime between the end of the game and the 8:45 (or 9pm) start of the fireworks show. There was a huge assortment of the upcoming giveaway items laid out in the conference room, ranging from beach bags to barbecue tongs to hampers(!) to, of course, bobbleheads. The prize piece, in my opinion, was this absolutely gorgeous Sandy Koufax perfect game bobblehead, which will be given away August 13th.


Here are a few of the other items coming later this year.


Dodger Headphones. Siegel said (jokingly?) that they got special permission to make them look Beats by Dre-ish.

Father's Day BBQ Set. I'm guessing this will be a post-game giveaway. (Also, unless I misheard, the Father's Day Catch returns this year.)

A great-looking Maury Wills bobblehead, though the angle of the slide is perplexing. Is he sliding *back* to first?
Also on display (but my camera failed me) were the Juan Uribe Bobblehead (which appeared to be staring at me the whole time, making me sad), a new Yasiel Puig bobblehead, where he's making a diving catch, and the rest of the Cy Young pin collection. Also mentioned, but not on display, was a new Vin Scully bobblehead.

The second part of the presentation revolved around Levy Restaurants' new food options at the stadium. (AC covered this pretty well in his post, but we did get a couple of items that the Monday group did not.) Unfortunately, head chef Jason Tingley was not available this evening, and I did not get the names of the people who talked to us about the food. I enjoyed everything I got to taste (everything tastes better when it's free, but I would actually pay for all this stuff). The wings and sweet corn nachos AC mentioned were indeed great. I also sampled a full slice of the pepperoni pizza from Lasorda's Trattoria, which I found surprisingly great. Far better than standard stadium or theme park pizza. I washed it all down with my first taste of a Dodger Stadium michelada, which I didn't think I was going to like, but I really, really did. The most, let's say, "interesting" option of the night was a "concept" that the chefs are working on for the Extreme Loaded Dogs stand, the Pop Fly Dog.


It's a hot dog with "beer cheese" and popcorn, on a pretzel bun. I'm going to be brutally honest here. This one is a miss, at least in its current incarnation. The pretzel bun isn't pretzel-y enough, the popcorn doesn't really add anything except the sensation that you spilled other food on your food, and the beer cheese, while actually quite delicious, is visually off-putting (to put it politely). I get that the current stadium food climate calls for attempts to out-weird one another, but this one needs more time on the drawing board.

Here are a few more photos of the food items. I am still cursing myself for not partaking in the gelato cookie sandwiches from Lasorda's.




L.A. Street Dog, St. Louis Dog (with brisket) and the Pop Fly.






The presentation wrapped up there, and there was a brief time to mingle (which I kind of missed out on, due to continuing to eat and take pictures) before moving on to watch the game. All of us in attendance were given tickets on the Club level (a first for me, other than having been in a suite before) and wristbands that gave us unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages from the Club level concession stand. (Wait, what's a non-alcoholic beverage?) I took FULL advantage of the free food. I'm still full two days later.

I kind of fell in love with the Club level Wednesday night. It's a great, intimate environment with a really good view and a full bar. Plus, its proximity to the Dodgers' offices make for fun people-watching. I spied Andrew Friedman milling about a few times during the night, but never worked up the nerve to bother him. I did work up the nerve to talk to Molly Knight and Lana Berry, though, so that was cool. Two of the nicest people you'd want to meet at a game, those two.

All in all, it was a spectacular evening, accentuated by the late-inning drama and walk-off heroics. Yes, it wasn't quite the same as past blogger nights (less socializing amongst the bloggers in attendance), and David Siegel was transparent (his word) enough to tell us that the team sees bloggers and social media people as promotional assets, but it was still special to be included in this great event. Thank you so much to the Dodgers front office for always being so kind to us Sons.