As the first day of baseball gets closer, the excitement grows.

The Belisario watch…yes, he did finally arrive.  He will not play a a few weeks since he missed almost all of Spring Training.  Someone had put him on a wanted poster and decorated the locker room with it.

And Russell Martin is way ahead of schedule.  He will play in the exhibition games this week. 

The contentious McCourt divorce is unfortunately in the headlines here in California.  She still wants $1 million a month in support.  What could she possibly do with that much money every month?? 

Now why do you suppose that the forecast is rain in sunny California on the first day that the Dodgers will play at Dodger Stadiuim???  Yes, there is a 70% chance of rain on Thursday.  

The fifth starter still has not been announced.  Who will it be??  We know it won’t be Stults.  Possibilities are Haeger, the knuckeballer or Ramon Ortiz.  Joe has said that he may not decide until the exhibition games. 

Meanwhile the Dodgers seem to be red hot, especially Casey Blake.  

A sad note:  Dougie Baseball has been told he probably won’t make the team.  I know Jane will be sad.  But then, maybe the Yankees will pick him up.

I am busy getting my Dodger gear ready.  My camera is ready to go.  I bought some MLB balls for signing.  I am wearing my new Dodger earrings that Dr. J gave me for Christmas.  I also have my blue fingernail tips.  I am putting my water bottles in the freezer.  I am ready,

Thanks for stopping by.

It was announced today by Joe Torre that the opening day starting pitcher will be Vicente Padilla.  The pitcher on opening day at Dodger Stadium will be Clayton Kershaw. 

And where is Ronald Belisario??  It seems that he always has visa problems.  He obviously will not be on the opening day roster.

Russell Martin may be ready for action on opening day.  He was 2 for 2 playing a minor league game.  Yaaaay, Russell.

My first glimpse of the Dodgers will be a week from tomorrow at Angels Stadium.  The minutes are ticking down.  Soon.

I know, I know.  I keep telling myself that it is still Spring Training.  But when will the real Dodgers show up at a game?  I could barely watch the Sunday game with the Cleveland Indians, it was so appalling.  The final score was 12-5.  I finally told my Dad, who was watching the game with me, that we should maybe watch a little golf instead.

Blake DeWitt hit a homerun (Yaaaaay!) but also committed his third error of Spring Training which does not grant him ownership of second base. 

On the bright side, our wonderful Vin Scully was announcing the game yesterday and looked fantastic.  I can’t imagine the Dodgers without him.

Also of note, our catcher Russell Martin who has been out since March 5 with a strained groin muscle, took batting practice.  He was to be out at least 4-6 weeks but seems to be ahead of schedule.  It is assumed that he will have to take a rehab assignment before he actually does play.  Meanwhile our other catcher Brad Ausmus has a lower back problem which means that AJ Ellis has the position all to himself since Lucas May was sent back to minors. 

The big questions facing Torre is 1) who will be the opening day pitcher?  Some think it should be Kuroda-San since he is the veteran.  Others think it should be Kershaw, the future of the Dodgers.  Still others think it should be Billingsley just to give him a vote of confidence.  Maybe it should be Padilla who did so marvelously in postseason.  2) who will be the fifth starter:  Haeger, Monasterios, Russ Ortiz???  3)  why can’t the Dodgers just go out and get another pitcher???  It just seems so wrong!!

I just received my baseline tickets in the mail.  Hmmm, the management has an offer that if I buy even more tickets, I can go on the field during batting practice. (Oh, like I don’t get hit by foul balls while sitting in my seat??) my children can take the field before the game and get autographs (I don’t think my Lieutenant son wants to do that) many enticements which make me wonder maybe I can suggest some nice perks like, a one to one interview with one of my favorite Dodgers (is it Matty, Andre, James, Kuroda-San, Russell, Manny??) sitting in the dugout during a game (I certainly could get nice closeup shots of my guys) a free Dugout seat (oh, boy, the buffets!) I might consider buying some more baseline tickets.

Actually, I think I have enough tickets.  Sometimes I feel like Ticketmaster.  Everyone always asks me if I have any spare tickets.  Someone at work even told me he would give me a ticket to the Grammys for a ticket to the game.  Is he kidding???  No way.  I would much rather go to a Dodger game.

I have to mention the passing of Fess Parker.  He may not have been the best actor but he was a memorable one.  Many baby boomers will remember him as Davy Crockett, then later as Daniel Boone.  Another passing was Peter Graves, known for Mission Impossible and Naked Gun.  And they say that show business folks go in threes…there was also child actor Corey Haim, who did not have a chance to grow old.

Thanks everyone for stopping by.  Julia, I hope your Dad is better.  Jane, I hope you are recovering from jet lag and Spring Fever.  Elizabeth, you certainly had a great time at Spring Training with your Sox!  

I can’t wait until you return home, Dodgers, and we can watch some baseball.

I decided I just couldn’t wait until April 3 to see my Dodgers for the first time so I bought tickets to see them a day earlier at Angel Stadium.  That makes it only 2 weeks from today that I can finally see them!!!

I miss them.  I miiss Andre

I miss the official Dodger photographer John Soo Hoo.

I miss Russell.

I miss Matty.

I miss Kuroda-San

I miss my seat at Dodger Stadium

I miss Baby Clay

I miss Manny

I miss Dodger food

I miss getting autographs (this is a Tommy Lasorda ball)

In other words, I miss everything about the Dodgers.

I have only two weeks to wait.  My seat at Angel Stadium is close to the visitors dugout so I will be able to at least see my guys. 

 

Thank goodness our wonderful Vin Scully is okay.  Apparently he fell last night when he got up too quickly from bed, became dizzy and fell bumping his head.  It’s a condition called orthostatic hypotension, when blood pressure is low on arising too quickly.  He will be at Camelback to call his first Spring Training game on Sunday.  He is a real pro.

Get well to Cory Wade after shoulder surgery.  It will be at least a month before he can even throw a ball.

Also hopefully Russell is improving from his groin injury.

 

Thanks everyone for stopping by.  Life is good.  My family is all well and thriving.

The latest news on the distracting McCourt divorce is that Jamie had an eye on politics, ultimately the presidency of the United States.  The plan was described in a document called Project Jamie.  She went so far as to hire a consultant.  That would explain her desire to open baseball fields, have programs for women, etc.  I don’t believe that she actually ever had an interest in the Dodgers as a team but as a vehicle to achieve her goals.  She has said that she will settle for nothing except what she deserves.  I can say what she deserves but it’s not a million dollars a monh for support.  I hope this doesn’t affect the Dodgers negatively

On the Spring Training front,  Eric Gagne has been sent to the minors which is another roadblock for him.  Ronald Belisario stll has not reported to camp, still hung up with visa problems in Venezuela.  Pitchers Leach and Schlichting, and outfielder DeJesus were all optioned to minor leagues.  Joe Torre is back from Taiwan as well as Manny and James Loney.  How Russell Martin is doing is anyones guess.  The word is that he gained all that weight on his own without telling anyone.  Hopefully he gets better soon from that groin strain.

I just returned from New Jersey where it rained everyday.  It was cold and windy.  It’s been the worst winter ever according to my Irish relatives.  The newspaper there called it a Nor’easter.

There was much flooding around the area.  My most prudent decision was to bring my rain boots.

The backyard was pretty much a lake.

However I was in New Jersey for a couple of parties, one being a huge family St Patricks Day party.  Nothing could keep us from celebrating for two days, not even flood and wind.

The place was decorated

Everything was very green

There was much singing

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Lots of party favors.

Food was really great

At least most people thought the cake was good.

Everyone was in a great mood, especially after a Guiness or two  One of the relatives on the left is an actor.  You might recognize him from his appearances on Law and Order  He says he usually is a bad guy.  I asked him if I had to pay him a royalty for this picture.  He assured me not.  Hopefully I don’t get a bill in the mail

Yum, the corned beef and cabbage was wonderful

Lots of young folks ready for fun.

On the second day, most people had a bit of a hangover,

We had catered Italian food.  In the front is the asparagus.  Behind that is the eggplant parmesian.  At the very rear is a wonderful chicken dish.  I must be getting ready for those great buffets at Dodger Stadium.  Bring on Baseline Club food!!.

Here is my dish.  Funny having Italian food at a St Patricks Day party.  I guess everyone had a fill of Irish food the day before.  The absolute best thing was the barbeque brisket that my son made from scratch.

Look at the wonderful green cupcakes.

Birthday girl Caitie enjoyed the cake.  I decided I liked her cake and helped her eat it. 

Someone has a sense of humor.  The top sign says:  Help Wanted.  No Irish need apply.  The bottom sign says:  No dogs or salors allowed on grass.   This is an Irish household with a Navy relative (my son),

I was welcomed back to California with a 4.4 magnitude earthquake this morning.  As though the inclement weather back east wasn’t enough.  Today in Long Beach California, it is 81 degees.  I feel like Mother Bear.  It was too cold and rainy back east.  It’s too hot here.

I watched Blind Side on the plane back.  Did any of you have a chance to watch it??  I loved it.  What a great inspirational movie.  I also watched Precious based on the novel Push by Sapphire. That was a difficult movie to watch. 

Thanks everyone for stopping by .  Baseball season is coming.  I can’t wait.  I miss my friends.  I miss everyone who works at Dodger Stadium.  I miss my Dodgers.

Max thanks everyone for their prayers.  I know that helped bring him back to me. 

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Today Nomar Garciaparra retired.  He signed a one day contract with the Red Sox so he could retire as a Red Sox.  I have fond memories of the time Nomar was with the Dodgers.  He definitely was a team player and played with all his heart when he wasn’t on the DL.  Good luck to Nomar.

There was another senseless young death today…Cory Haim.  They say he died of natural causes.  How does that happen? 

My cat Max is thriving.  I can’t be happier.  My Dad and sister are doing well.  My cat is back.  I will be going to New Jersey on Friday.  Life is good.

I hope everyone is enjoying Spring Training.  I have been too busy to keep up with baseball.  The good news is that I received word that my season tickets are in the mail.  Yes, life is good.

Thanks everyone for stopping by.

First of all, I’m very sad about the passing of one of our Dodger legends:  Willie Davis.  We will miss him.

As everyone knows, I won’t be able to go to Spring Training this year.  I happened to be looking at some pictures from last year’s..  They are posted on my blogspot blog.  The entry has the two pictures I took of Matt Kemp and James Loney out on the town.  Here is the address:

http://catlovesthedodgers.blogspot.com.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great Wednesday.

It’s only a few days into Spring Training and we already have our first real injury:  Russell Martin, our catcher, who has a groin pull and will be out 4-6 weeks, probably missing opening day.

Two of our pitchers, Eric Gagne and James McDonald had rough outings .  However Eric Stults and Vicente Padilla had two scoreless innings each.

Our Golden Glove Silver Slugger Matt Kemp has been outstanding and Manny has been hitting.

We just acquired Garrett Anderson and signed him for a minor league contract.  He is usually number 16 which is Andre Ethier’s number which he is willing to relinquish but Garrett will be taking “00″. 

The McCourt’s divorce is becoming the most costly divorce in Los Angeles history which is saying a lot.  The cost is more than they are putting out for the starting infield.  Yikes.

On the homefront:  Max the Kitty has gained one whole pound and spends most of his time purring and content.  My Dad is recovering nicely from minor surgery boosted by my cat’s return home.

The excitement of the day was the bank robbery of Farmer and Merchants Bank next door to the MacDonalds that I frequent to drink coffee and read the sports section.  It also is my Dad’s bank.  The police checked out the McDonalds for any accomplices.  I just missed the excitement by minutes.  A couple of the bank’s customers tried to be heroes but were shot.  The robber also managed to shoot himself.  Oh brother.

I will be making  a trek out to New Jersey this coming weekend to attend a Saint Patricks Day party.  It should warm up to 45 degrees.  Brrrrrr.  I only have California clothes.  At least the forecast doesn’t include snow. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Hooray for baseball.