We were all shocked about Jose Lima’s death.  He was only 37 years old.  He had only pitched one year with the Dodgers in 2004 but left a mark on all of us.  He was fun loving, enjoyed baseball more than anything.  He died of an apparent massive heart attack on Sunday morning.  His wife thought that he was having a nightmare.  Prayers to his family. 

Sunday was a glorious day.  The weather forecast called for possible rain in the afternoon but the sun was out to celebrate Jose’s life.

The flag was at half staff which reminded us of our tragic loss.

Raffy Furcal was being tested by the head trainer.  He actually looked pretty good.  He should be activated Tuesday for the Cubbies game

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Jamey Carroll has been doing a great job at shortstop but it will be good to have Raffy back.

Here is a closeup shot of Carlos Monasterios, one of the relief pitchers.  Many fans have wondered what he looks like.

A nice shot of lefty reliever Kuo.  Taiwan night was the night before when he pitched a scorelesss inning.

Matty taking part in batting practice.  I love pictures of the players without their baseball caps.

It was nice seeing so many Dodgers out during batting practice. 

Even Manny made an appearance although he didn’t play except to pinch hit.

I even was able to catch Jeff Weaver, our long reliever, with a big smile on his face

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But look who I saw, Virginia.  Andre Ethier.  He is on the 15 day DL with a fractured right pinky but is progressing well.

He seemed to be in good spirits.

Aha, a capless Andre

How about an unusual picture of Andre drinking water???

Smiling Andre.   Ok, I guess I have made up for no Andre pictures for a while.  These pics were especially for Nelly June and Virginia.

And here is a picture of Russell Martin for Rosie.  He had a 15 game hitting streak and now will have to start over again.

Our pitcher was Kuroda San who had a bad first inning, giving up 3 runs.  It seems our pitchers have scary first innings.  If we could just start the game in the 3rd inning, we would be fine. 

A supposed fan sitting behind me was annoying me.  I usually don’t pay attention to what people are saying unless they are really obnoxious.  This guy kept calling Kuroda San “Karaoke” which I found to be demeaning.  He also was telling his friend that Kuroda San was Korean.  A few innings later he stood up and stretched and clipped me in the head pretty good.   That was about the time I decided I had enough.  So much for annoying fans.  I moved rather than put up with any more of that.

I love George Sherrill and hope he gets his confidence back but why does Joe keep trotting him out?  He continually gets put in do or die situations and drowns.  Such was the case when the game went from a 4-2 to 6-2.  I could only cover my eyes.

The Dodgers still did win the series but didn’t sweep.  In fact the Dodgers had a great homestand.

The night before was better.  It was My Town Taiwan.

It was a huge Taiwanese crowd.  The tourism board of Taiwan gave away several netbooks to fans.

  I had a wonderful treat.

I met Nancy Bee, our organist.  She may be the last of an usual entity, playing live organ music during a baseball game.  I told her that I wanted her job and that I would do it for free.

There was a fan sitting behind me dressed unusually.  His son didn’t seem to mind.  He’s probably used to it.

Russell has been pretty happy lately probably because he is hitting so well

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Another pic of Russell getting his catchers gear on

A moment before the National Anthem is sung

Manny warming up

Russell and Ely talking it over on the way to the Dugout

A picture of former Yankee Johnny Damon, now with the Tigers  This pic is for Jane.

Here is another picture of Johhny looking right at me.  I suppose I am easily spotted sitting in the front row.  They always seem to see me taking pictures.

They interviewed Johnny after the Sunday game.  He is a well spoken man.  He is doing fantastically with the Tigers.  Now why, Jane, did they let him go??  He didn’t have a bad thing to say about anyone.  He even spoke nicely about Manny which most rival teams don’t do.  He wished the Dodgers luck as well.  I was impressed.  He sounded sincere  

Here is Manny taking a break capless.

A scary moment when Tiger Jackson was hit in the head by a pitch.  I’m glad he is okay.  He had to spend the night in the hospital for observation.  I know Kuroda San knew what Jackson was going through..

The Dodgers had a great homestand.  They were tied for first place with the San Diego Padres for a brief moment.  Just a couple of weeks ago they were in dead last.  The pitching is better.  The offense is picking up.  The guys went errorless for many games. 

Now they are on the road again.  Back to reality for me.  That means I am back at work…seven nights in a row, all 12 hour shifts.  My sister will be having her brain surgery tomorrow.  I know all my friends in MLBlogs will pray for her.  It helped her the last surgery.  Thank you everyone.

I hope your team is doing well.  Thanks everyone for stopping by.

It really seems that the Force has been with the Dodgers this month.  They have the best record in baseball (15-4) in May.  April seemed to be a losing monthh.  Nothing seemed to go right.  The pitching was scary, the defense ridden with errors.  The only plus was the superb hitting of our wonderful Andre Ethier, now on DL because of a fractured right pinky.

I have a few pictures from eariler in the week when I sat in Baseline Club and Dugout Club.  Pictures in Baseline are not that great since it seems I always have a big head in my way, usually someone with a shiny head or poufy hair.  Usually all I can get are shots of the players in batting practice, stretching before the game, or on base.  But the food is great.

Last month I think I spent a lot of time going back to the Club to eat since i dreaded watchng the Dodgers pitching.  Here is some of the food I had this week.  You’ll see why I spent so much time in the Club.

Here is some of the great food in Dugout Club.  The peppercorn tri tip was delicious along with the grilled veggies and Louisiana sausage.

Salad looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

I was able to tear myself away from the food to talk to the very sweet David Eckstein and get a ball autographed.  He is a very nice guy, talked about Hyunyoung and asked how she was.

James Van Der Bleek threw out the first pitch.  Someone told me that he was on Dawsons Creek

Here is Matt Kemp before the game.  He usually bounces up and down like a boxer, anxious to get out to the field.

Here is a picture of the wonderful David Eckstein. The great thing that I have learned through my search for autographs for my friends, is that all the players no matter what team they are on, are very nice young men.  I can’t understand how fans can be so unpleasant to fans of other teams.  We all love our teams.  I have met players from the Yankees, Pirates, Angels, and Padres and have found they are all very pollite and nice.

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Here is a picture of Reed Johnson, Casey Blake, and Jamey Carroll, all contributors to the Dodger success.  I miss seeing Andre hanging on the rail

Matt Kemp stretching his neck muscles while standing on base.

Another picture of Matty almost getting hit by a pitch

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.Waiting for a pitching change

A rare picture of Jeff Weaver at bat

The Padres having a discussion

Manny at the Plate

The first game with the Padres was a failure of the Dodger pitching.  The two Ramons pretty much spelled out doom for the Dodgers.

I know the above post is a a replay of the last post but I was able to recover the pictures which make it a little more interesting.  Needless to say, the night ended sadly.  Besides that, the game was very long.  I didn’t get home until after 11 PM. 

The next game was much better.  Baby Kershaw was pitching.  I was sitting in Baseline Club.

The salad was my favorite chopped iceberg, Caesar salad, and Italian pasta.

The garlic rubbed sirloin was the best I have ever had.  The Jasmine rice and grilled veggies completed my dinner.  I was ready for some baseball

Our Clayton Kershaw has matured into a skilled pitcher.  Since his meltdown last month, he has been stellar.

Little did the first place Padres know that this young pitcher would be so good,limiting them to only one run

A picture of a smiling Russell just for Rosie.

Talk about a flexible Matt Kemp

OK-Go threw out the first pitch

Russell and Clayton walking to the Dugout together.  I am already jumping up and down in my seat.

Here is a picture of Manny on the rail.  This is the fist time I have seen him there.  I do miss taking pictures of Andre.  Hurry and get well, Andre, everyone misses you.

Here is a picture off Broxton, Big Boy, who is doing well as closer.  His size is a bit scary.

The final score was 4-1 with our guys prevailing.  The next night would be against the dominat Tigers.  This was the night we needed the Force to be with us.

I had bought a ticket to the Star Wars section in My Town.  I wanted to get a My Town Star Wars shirt for my son. 

Of course, the ticket included food.  Here is a clone burger, nachos and two Dodger Dogs

Here is the sign they put up behind the section.  it says A Galaxy Far Far Away.  Sitting up there I felt far far away

I felt a little dizzy being this high.

The Think Blue sign seemed to be eye level to me.  I am so used to being at Field level that this was just too far away

Chad Billingsley, our pitcher of the night, did everything right

A closeup shot of my Matty

Jamey Carroll, our shortstop until Raffy Furcal returns, probably Tuesday.

Chewbacca  threw out the first pitch, of course.

He came with an entourage

Another view of the super nachos

Darth Vader gave us the Rules of Dodger Stadium

It definitely was Star Wars night.

A picture of Manny on base.  Not sure what these two are saying to each other

Another picture of Matty on base

Here is Matty pointing to the heavens or is he pointing to the Force, after the game.  The Dodgers beat the Tigers

Today the Dodgers are tied for first place in the Western Division of the NL.  Who would have believed this would happen when only a few weeks ago they were in last place and going nowhere fast.  I always believed that my guys would start winning

The key is the pitching.  When the Dodgers pitch well, they win.  Today John Ely will take the mound.  He has been amazing.  Today we can take over first place.

Thanks everyone for stopping by.  I’m going to take my Dad out to breakfast and then I will be going to Dodger Stadium for My Town Taiwan.   I am sitting in my season seat by the left field foul pole.  I think I have eaten enough this week.  Today I eat peanuts.

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It was quite a ride the Dodgers had….a nine game winning streak

It almost made us forget our pitching problems.

And there it was again to remind us

However I wasn’t about to let the game ruin my fun in the Dugout Club.  The picture gremlns took my pictures from last night so I will add those to this post when they turn up again.

I had a fantastic dinner which consisted of the best peppercorn tri tip ever.  I also had grillled vegetables, a delicious crab pasta dish and salad from a salad bar.

I had my usual chicken strips when I sat in my seat plus a huge dessert plate.  Someone in the seats behind the Dugout Club yelled at me “Where’ you get the cake?”  From then on I felt self conscious that he was watching me take all those trips back into the clubhouse for a little comfort.

I didn’t sit next to Robert as I usually do.  He must be busy with one of his many projects.  Instead I sat next to a group of young Hollywood writers.  The young man who sat next to me told me he was just a television writer while the others he was sitting with wrote screenplays for movies.  I asked him which shows he has written for and he said Smallville, Criminal Minds and Dead Zone.  Very Edgy.  Very nice guy.

The game itself was pretty dreadful.  The two Ramons made me ill.  I ended up taking several trips to the Clubhouse in search of food.  Today I woke up feeling too full to be comfortable.

I kept yelling at Joe to warm Weaver up.  He didn’t listen until the two Ramons (Ortiz and Troncoso) had totally put the Dodgers in a bad position.  The general consensus among us Dodger fans is to sit Ortiz out and put Monasterios in. 

Usually five runs would be enough to win a game but not if your pitchers are allowing homeruns and hits.

The true highlight of the game for me was meeting Hyunyoung’s David Eckstein.  What a nice wonderful person he is.  Here I am decked out in Dodger blue from head to toe (including my Dodger blue nail tips and Dodger earrings) and he stopped to talk to me.  I have to say that the Padres are very nice young men.

I asked David if he knows a very nice young lady by the name of Hyunyoung.  He gave me a great big smile and asked me how she was.  He also wanted me to say hello to her.  So Hyunyoung, David says hello. 

The Dodgers seem to be hitting well.  Casey Blake has found his swing again, hitting homeruns in two consecutive games.  Russell Martin has a 13 game hitting streak.  Last night Manny had an injured toe so only hit as a pinch hitter.  With Andre out on DL, it seems to have messed up the pitching.  Go figure.

The beginning of the week was, of course, wonderful.  Winning is fun.  Losing last nights heartbreaker to the Padres reminded all of us that the Dodgers need another pitcher.  Kuroda is holding his own.  Billingsley and Kershaw play well most of the time.  John Ely is the big surprise.  He is awesome. 

Here is a picture of him taken last homestand

Here is a picture of the last Andre walkoff win.

The Andre bobblehead night was very crowded.  It was a sellout of over 55,000+.  I was so happy to see NellyJune from ITD there with her Mom, brother and nephews.  Hi Jane.  It was too crowded to go from one end of the stadium to the other so I was unable to see them again.  I’m glad that the winning streak didn’t end that night.

I have been busy with work.  Getting the days off for the game means that I have to work a lot in between.  My Dad fell last week but seems to be okay.  My sister is going to have brain surgery next week.   We need all your prayers.  Kitty had a noneventful birthday, thank goodness.

Julia, thanks for the nice post on my facebook.  You made my day extra special.  You are definitely a mind reader.

I have my fingers crossed that it wll be another great outing for Clayton Kershaw tonight.  His last two games have been stellar.  I am worried that Joe will send Ortiz back out again for another start.  I forgot how depressing it is to lose.

Thanks everyone for checking my blog.  I will be better about posting.  I hope I can recover those pictures from last night so please come back and check this post again

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The Dodgers have won 6 games in a row.  They were in last place in the Western Division.  Now they are possibly going to sweep the first place Padres.  They are stellar when playing teams in their own division.  They could be within 2 games of first place if they can pull off the sweep.

Yesterday the bad news was that super star Andre Ethier broke his little finger at the first knuckle during batting practice while swinging the bat.  More news will be available after he is examined in Los Angeles.

Sorry I haven’t posted but it has been a busy couple of weeks.   I’ll try to be better about posting my pictures from the games next week when the Dodgers are back in town. 

Our team seems to have settled into a nice comfortable winning streak.   Hope it continues.  Thanks for checking in so often.  Hope your team is doing well.  What about those Rays???

No one can say that the Dodgers do not have a flair for the dramatic.  We fans definitely have our ups and downs with the team but no one can say that the Dodgers are boring.

Tonight was the perfect example.

It seemed at the beginning of the game that we could possibly get a victory against the Brewers after two horrendous losses.  The Dodgers scored early on, always a good sign.   John Ely who probably got the start by default was pitching well.

But let’s start out with the fine Dodger food as I usually do.  I couldn’t believe how good the green beans were.  They were sauteed with red onions and were outrageously good.  Only the wonderful Dodger chefs could pull that off!  One of my seatmates brought a containerful of just green beans to her seat to eat, that’s how good they were.!

Here are two of my favorite chefs of the Baseline Club Third Base Side.  One of the chefs told me one of his superstitions on gameday for a win is saying hi to me.  I felt honored that I was part of the tradition for him.

Tonight the food was especially wonderful.  There was honey thyme chicken, pork loin with a decadent sauce and those fantastic green beans.

The salads also were exceptional.   The cole slaw is one of my favorites, totally old fashioned.  The red skinned potato salad has large chunks of unpeeled potatoes with a sensational dressing,.

The meal ended with ice cream and chocolate chip cookies.

The evening just seemed perfect.  I  sat next to two charming girls: Nicole and Eveline.  They are hard core Dodger fans as I am.  They also could eat more than I can which I thought was impossible.   I saw one of my favorite people, Landon, who is the owner of True Blue Tattoos.  It is always good to see him.  Anyone who ever wants a Dodger tattoo should look him up.  He does fantastic work, one of his clients being our own Matt Kemp.

I spoke to Matt Kemp and had him sign the cover of my Nook.

It’s hard to see in this picture  It is more like an engraving..

However the evening was about our Andre Ethier, the king of Walkoffs.  Tonight’s walkoff is his eleventh.  It also happened to be a walk off grand slam homerun   Somehow he has nerves of steel..

Andre is amazing.  He has said that his teammates believe in him which seems to make these walkoffs happen.

He gave credit to John Ely, a young rookie who pitched a great game.  Jeff Weaver is being activated from the DL and Ely was the most likely to be sent back down. However, if he is sent down after tonight’s game, it would be a crime.  He only allowed one run, retired 16 men in a row,. No, Joe, don’t do it.

Andre has more homeruns, RBI’s and the highest average of anyone else in the National League, meaning he has the triple crown..

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At the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied, Jamey Carroll, X Paul, and Matt Kemp  on base, Andre was up to bat.  The fans were on their feet screaming for a miracle.

Everytime Andre hits one of those walkoffs, I am truly amazed.  It has become so typically Andre.

His fellow teammates mobbed him with the win, giving Andre the love he deserves  Ooooh be careful of that sore ankle.

 

We all left the game believing that the Dodgers had seen another miracle….the miracle of Andre Ethier.

 

Thanks for stopping by.  I feel exhausted but can’t wait until Friday night when I can congratulate Andre in person.

Have a nice Andre night.

 

First of all I want to say Happy Birthday to my cat Max.  It is his 18th birthday and I am grateful to have him home again.  Today he has been wandering around and seems so restless.  He didn’t sleep much last night, getting into everything.  I guess no one has told him that he is an old guy now, a senior citizen

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I was totally unprepared for the game that followed.  It was fleece blanket night but it looked like many people got their blankets and went home to watch the Lakers on tv.  They saw a better game.

 

I watched batting practice as usual.  Linda was out looking for Randy Wolf who now plays for the Brewers.  Watch out Randy.  She’s wearing that wolf hat.

 

Matt Kemp was being stretched by the trainer.  Today he admitted that Rihanna is “his girl.”  At least he acknowledged their relationship although all of us fans already knew.  Some fans call him “Rock Star.”  I hope that it doesn’t affect his play.  He did do better yesterday with a base hit and a double.  He also made a grreat catch.

He just hasn’t looked as happy and carefree the last few games.   I shook his hand and said “Hi.” before the game.  I want to see my happy Matty again.

 

Andre looked as gorgeous as ever.

 

The offensive player of the game was James Loney.

He hit a three run homerun in the eighth inning.

I told Dr J not to leave early or she might miss something.  Sure enough, she left before the homerun.

 

At least the Dodgers did not give up after the second inning.  With the score 10-0 at one point when Ramon Ortiz allowed another homerun, the Blue still played hard.

When a team is down 10 runs, it can be very depressing.  The final score was 11-6 which wasn’t a total embarrassment.

Tonight we play the Brewers again with Chad Billingsley pitching.  I will be sitting in my season seat with my subway sandwich and Dodger peanuts.  I seem to get better pictures there being in the front row.  When I sit in the Baseline Box Seats, there is always a few heads in my way. 

I boiught another new camera so I am getting used to using it.  Please bear with me

 

Manny and Jeff Weaver will be coming back by the weekend so that should make a difference.  Jeff has taken the role of long reliever and has done well.  Manny seems to spirit on the offense.  Nick Green was called up when Raffy Furcal went on DL not so much to take Raffy’s position, but to possibly substitute at second and third. 

 

Thanks for stopping by and everyone have a fun Cinco De Mayo!!!

 

 

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It feels wonderful to be on track again even though we have so many key players on the DL.  Word has it that Raffy Furcal will be the latest on DL.  Jeff Weaver and Manny are rehabbing tomorrow in a minor league game.  Vicente Padilla will probably be out through May with a sore elbow.  However Kuo is back and so is Belisario.

John Ely will get another start on Thursday.

Here he is signing my ball

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Kuo and Charlie Haeger warming up

Charlie Haeger signing my ball

Russell laughing and putting on his catchers gear

Kuroda-San and Russell walking to the Dugout

Kuroda pirtched a fantastic game.

The umpires trying to figure out how to make the Blue miserable

Wonderful Andre who blasted 2 homeruns that game.

Another picture of Russell

Oops, forgot the food picture.  The food was great as usual

Here’s Andre calmly eating sunflower seeds right before smashing another homerun.

Most of the Bullpen is shaping up.  Sherrill has his ups and downs.

Ramon Ortiz, Belisario, Kuo, Broxton and Troncoso have been super.  For a while they seemed to be floundering but have found themselves again.

lJames Loney has been doing well offensively.  He has always done his job at first.  Blake DeWitt had four hits out of four his last outing.

Today was an off day.  Tomorrow will start the series with the Brewers.  It is also Fleece Blanket day, one of the popular giveaways.  I will be sitting in Baseline so will be enjoying eating again.  Hopefully it won’t be too cold.  I am thankful for the blanket my sister made me for Christmas.

 

One big event occurring in my family is the 18th birthday of my cat on cinco de Mayo.  As everyone already knows, he was my lost cat for almost a month.  I am thankful he is back with me again.  We definitely will be celebrating.

Sorry I haven’t been keeping up with my blog but I have been busy with work.  I also have been tired partly because of a throat infection that I have been fighting.  I am allergic to almost every antibiotic so I am trying to deal with it without any medications. 

I am feeling much better.

I think that when Manny returns to the Dodgers, things will fall into place.  I miss seeing him on the field and it seems that the bats are more alive when he is playing.  Andre is hot now anyway with most homeruns, highest batting average.  He is truly awesome.

Here’s to you, Andre.  Here is the homerun swing.

 

Thanks for stopping by.  The Dodgers have won a season high 3 games in a row.  They have a way to go but it is a good start.

 

 

After a pretty dismal roadtrip, the Dodgers were able to win the series against the Pirates.  The Dodgers are starting to look more like themselves.

I usually start with a picture of food, so I won’t disappoint.

Probably the only good thing about the first game was the great food in the Dugout Club.  I did have great luck snagging autographs from the very nice Pirates

Here is the batting circle before they started the game.

It was an extremely cold and windy day.  It was miserable.  But I was determined to get my autographs for my friend Matt.

My seat was right next to the Pirates Dugout so I was at least close to them.

Here is an empty Pirates Dugout

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More views of the Dugout

My seat was right behind the batting circle.  Here is Jones warming up.  I was able to get his autograph.

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Michael Cooper, a former Laker, threw the first pitch. 

It was USC night.  We all got a Dodgers cap in USC colors.  Michael Cooper is a USC grad.

Here is my Michael Cooper autographed ball.  I didn’t have a basketball for him to sign!

View from my seat

Andy LaRoche, a former Dodger

My delicious dessert imcluding an apple tart, lemon square, brownie slice

I finished that off with some homemade caramel apples  My friend Robert Wuhl (he is an actor who was in the famous baseball movie Bull Durham) told me it looked like I have a sweet tooth.  He left for a few minutes to talk to Rob Reiner.   Sitting next to him is always fun.

There was very little about that game that was good.  The Dodgers played a sad game.  What can I say?

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But my mission was accomplished!!  The ball above was autographed by Crosby, Young (also a former Dodger and a fave of mine), McCutcheon, and Jones.  I will be sending out the ball to Matt soon along with the ticket to the game for his collection.  It happened to be the only game that the Pirates won.

The following are a few pictures I took when I defrosted a little that night.

Russell

Andre

Matt, bouncing like a boxer before the game.  He is looking right at me.

It looks like there’s something under Andre’s shirt that is bothering him

He kept on checking under his shirt.

Batting Practice

That first game was sad, a 0-2 loss for the Dodgers although Kershaw did well but did throw too many pitches

There were many pluses to the night although it was very blustery.!

I did see Matt after the game.

I did get to touch bases with my friend Robert.

I ate great food.

The Dodgers were home again.

I was able to get autographs for Matt.

Life is good. 

Another post to follow.

Thanks for stopping by.