[2012 Baseball Tour] Part 4: Dodger Stadium (Houston Astros at Los Angeles Dodgers)
After 4 years and 2 months, the long journey has finally ended. I have now gone to every (current) major league ballpark. and it'll stay that way until the (Somewhere else) Athletics get a new stadium, San Jose or elsewhere Let's go over the last game, at the last ballpark, Dodger Stadium.
Before the Game:
-Caught a bit of the Indy 500 before leaving. (TANGENT ALERT!) My loyalties have been shaken up this season. You see, now there is manufacturer competition within IndyCar (at least for engines); Team Penske, who I have been loyal to since 2008, now runs on Chevy engines. (Before this year, from 2006 to 2011, EVERYONE ran on Hondas.) Being a Honda employee, this is now a problem. :P Double problem: Chip Ganassi Racing, their big rival, stuck with Honda. Guess I'll have to learn to like them... (END TANGENT)
-Maybe I should have watched the race a bit longer, as the entrance to the stadium itself didn't open until 2 hours before the game. (This is a HUGE negative for me. I like to get there super-early, and they won't let me here.) So I drove around the area, figured out an exit strategy, and waited in line for about 20 minutes at the gates. :P (It may sound stupid, but it isn't.)
-Today, I tried to get a Clayton Kershaw shirt, but they didn't have it in my size. FML. (Reply: YDI FOR BEING FAT) All Kershaw stuff was 15% off too! Why Kershaw? I've had him on my fantasy team since I started playing fantasy baseball. I don't think I'll stop keeping him in this keeper league until the distant future. (I had their superstar hitter, Matt Kemp, as well, but he had a bad 2010 and I had another young stud pitcher to keep in the Marlins' Josh Johnson.)
-Eventually went into the stadium, 90 minutes before first pitch. I was in the outfield, which is cut off from the rest of the stadium, so I couldn't do much exploring, but I can't imagine I missed much. This thing was built in 1962, so it probably didn't have the amenities of a modern stadium within the stadium itself.
-I was in the all-you-can-eat section, so there was a line to get nachos/peanuts/pretzels, Dodger Dogs, and then drinks. Ended up eating 4 Dodger Dogs in total, and a basket of nachos.
-Took some pictures, but couldn't take a lot because I was busy eating! Really, all I had were pics of the Astros warming up.
-They showed the end of the Indy 500 on the Jumbotron. Takuma Sato crashed on the last lap going for the lead ;_; But at least Honda finished 1-2. (It was the two Chip Ganassi guys.)
-Throwing the first pitches: Boxer Victor Ortiz (the guy who lost in embarrassing fashion to Floyd Mayweather when he let Mayweather sucker-punch him square on for the KO), and Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue!
-That's pretty much it for the pregame stuff, let's go right to the pitching matchup: the Astros' J.A. Happ (the very promising kid the Astros got in the Roy Oswalt trade) vs. the Dodgers' Chris Capuano. (Other pre-game game notes: Matt Kemp was injured, and AJ Ellis, their main catcher, the hero of last night's game, and my fantasy league catcher, had the day off.)
Top 1st: Jose Altuve got the game started by hitting a fly ball to right center, JUST out of CF Tony Gwynn Jr.'s reach! It went all the way to the wall, and he got a triple out of it! Jed Lowrie would try to hit him home, but a GREAT diving grab by Dee Gordon prevented a hit! The run still scored on the groundout, however. 1-0 Astros
Bottom 2nd: While the previous play wasn't Gwynn's fault by any means (Matt Kemp would have gotten it, however), he'd be able to make up for it here. Matt Treanor, whose at-bat theme is the A-Team theme, singled himself on base (followed by Hannibal's "I love it when a plan comes together"). Dee Gordon singled himself on base too, but after a failbunt by Capuano, Gwynn dropped one into left for an RBI single! 1-1 tie
Bottom 3rd: Really only one thing to note here: Jerry Hairston Jr., who was not retired all game, hit one right in front of me! It hooked away from RF Matt Downs, so he had no shot at it, and it dropped for a double! He'd get stranded, though.
Top 4th: We aren't talking much about the Astros' offense, are we. Well that's because they whiffed all game against Capuano and company; Capuano would notch two more Ks here.
Bottom 4th: Remember Treanor? He led off this inning with a homer to left. 2-1 Dodgers
Bottom 5th: Let's talk about one of the stars on this team, Andre Ethier. He (along with Matt Kemp) drive in the runs for the Dodgers, but he sure as hell wasn't doing that for most of the day today. His first two at-bats were strikeouts, and here, he wasted a Hairston bunt single by getting doubled up. So to this point, 3 plate appearances and responsible for 4 outs. :P
End 5th: The Dodgers did a bit on the scoreboard (they're actually pretty light on stadium bits): If you were a superhero, which superhero would you be? A couple (including Matt Kemp) went easymodo and picked Superman. Also: >someone picked Aquaman; >no one picked Batman. Dodgers, YGSIU. (You gotta step it up)
Top 7th: Capuano's pitch count was creeping close to 100, but he'd be able to finish the inning, including getting his 8th and final strikeout of the game.
Bottom 7th: Happ was at about 100 pitches going into the inning, but he'd get left in. Bad move, Astros. Hairston got another single (he's 4-for-4 at this point!), then Ethier reached on an E5 (still 0-for-4 on the day to this point), making it 2nd/3rd 1 out for James Loney, pinch-hitting for Scott Van Slyke. (It was also after this E5 that Happ got pulled for Fernando Rodriguez. Well he was just in to throw an intentional walk to Loney, as after THAT he'd get pulled for Xavier Cedeno after the Dodgers brought in Bobby Abreu to pinch hit. Welp, he went from two strikes to 4 straight balls, bringing in a run. Bases loaded for Treanor, with Enerio Del Rosario pitching (that's their FOURTH pitcher this inning!) and 1 out... 1 pitch, 2 outs. So, let's recap this half-inning: 4 Astros pitchers, 2 hits, 2 walks, about 30-40 minutes... one run. Thanks for the sunburn, jackasses. :P 3-1 Dodgers
End 7th: They did a Jukebox bit; I forgot the first song (it was something old; 50s old), vs. "Get Up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley, vs. the defending champ, "Higher Ground" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. (Insert Power Rangers: The Movie jokes and references here!) Marley ended up winning.
Top 8th: The Dodgers might have brought in Josh Lindblom to relieve Capuano, but Lindblom picked up right where Capuano left off, with 2 strikeouts to bring the team total to double digits.
Bottom 8th: And now it just got sad. Dee Gordon led off the inning by base hit, then stole second, then got to 3rd on a ground out by Adam Kennedy. (...............Kennedy.) Gwynn, who played a lot like his father this day, drove Dee in with a single, and then after a walk by Elian Gonzalez Herrera, Hairston struck once again with his 5th hit of the game, driving Gwynn in! Then Ethier notched his 3rd strikeout of the game, making him 0-for-5. :P 5-1 Dodgers
Bottom 9th: Jose Guerra, who I gotta guess is Mexican due to the huge pop he got (today was Viva Los Dodgers day, which obviously brought a lot of Latino, primarily Mexican, fans), came in to finish this game, even though it was a non-save situation. He got the 1-2-3. FINAL SCORE: Dodgers 5, Astros 1
After the game, I returned my rental car, got picked up at the airport by my cousins, then we went back to that theater we watched Snakes on a Plane at in 2006, to watch The Avengers! (For me, this was the 2nd time.)
All in all, I didn't like Dodger Stadium as much as I was hoping I would. Its age is definitely showing (I thought they were going to renovate it for this year), I was cut off from exploring the rest of the stadium (and thus robbing myself of the based-as-fuck view of the outfield into Chavez Ravine), and the whole parking-lot-does-not-open-until-2-hours-before-the-game bit. Also, legroom is almost Fenway bad. But it'll still be about mid-table when I do the final rankings, whenever that is.
And here are 152 pictures from Dodger Stadium. Mostly in-game stuff, as I spent most of pre-game eating, and there's not a whole lot of between-inning bits.
Before the Game:
-Caught a bit of the Indy 500 before leaving. (TANGENT ALERT!) My loyalties have been shaken up this season. You see, now there is manufacturer competition within IndyCar (at least for engines); Team Penske, who I have been loyal to since 2008, now runs on Chevy engines. (Before this year, from 2006 to 2011, EVERYONE ran on Hondas.) Being a Honda employee, this is now a problem. :P Double problem: Chip Ganassi Racing, their big rival, stuck with Honda. Guess I'll have to learn to like them... (END TANGENT)
-Maybe I should have watched the race a bit longer, as the entrance to the stadium itself didn't open until 2 hours before the game. (This is a HUGE negative for me. I like to get there super-early, and they won't let me here.) So I drove around the area, figured out an exit strategy, and waited in line for about 20 minutes at the gates. :P (It may sound stupid, but it isn't.)
-Today, I tried to get a Clayton Kershaw shirt, but they didn't have it in my size. FML. (Reply: YDI FOR BEING FAT) All Kershaw stuff was 15% off too! Why Kershaw? I've had him on my fantasy team since I started playing fantasy baseball. I don't think I'll stop keeping him in this keeper league until the distant future. (I had their superstar hitter, Matt Kemp, as well, but he had a bad 2010 and I had another young stud pitcher to keep in the Marlins' Josh Johnson.)
-Eventually went into the stadium, 90 minutes before first pitch. I was in the outfield, which is cut off from the rest of the stadium, so I couldn't do much exploring, but I can't imagine I missed much. This thing was built in 1962, so it probably didn't have the amenities of a modern stadium within the stadium itself.
-I was in the all-you-can-eat section, so there was a line to get nachos/peanuts/pretzels, Dodger Dogs, and then drinks. Ended up eating 4 Dodger Dogs in total, and a basket of nachos.
-Took some pictures, but couldn't take a lot because I was busy eating! Really, all I had were pics of the Astros warming up.
-They showed the end of the Indy 500 on the Jumbotron. Takuma Sato crashed on the last lap going for the lead ;_; But at least Honda finished 1-2. (It was the two Chip Ganassi guys.)
-Throwing the first pitches: Boxer Victor Ortiz (the guy who lost in embarrassing fashion to Floyd Mayweather when he let Mayweather sucker-punch him square on for the KO), and Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue!
-That's pretty much it for the pregame stuff, let's go right to the pitching matchup: the Astros' J.A. Happ (the very promising kid the Astros got in the Roy Oswalt trade) vs. the Dodgers' Chris Capuano. (Other pre-game game notes: Matt Kemp was injured, and AJ Ellis, their main catcher, the hero of last night's game, and my fantasy league catcher, had the day off.)
Top 1st: Jose Altuve got the game started by hitting a fly ball to right center, JUST out of CF Tony Gwynn Jr.'s reach! It went all the way to the wall, and he got a triple out of it! Jed Lowrie would try to hit him home, but a GREAT diving grab by Dee Gordon prevented a hit! The run still scored on the groundout, however. 1-0 Astros
Bottom 2nd: While the previous play wasn't Gwynn's fault by any means (Matt Kemp would have gotten it, however), he'd be able to make up for it here. Matt Treanor, whose at-bat theme is the A-Team theme, singled himself on base (followed by Hannibal's "I love it when a plan comes together"). Dee Gordon singled himself on base too, but after a failbunt by Capuano, Gwynn dropped one into left for an RBI single! 1-1 tie
Bottom 3rd: Really only one thing to note here: Jerry Hairston Jr., who was not retired all game, hit one right in front of me! It hooked away from RF Matt Downs, so he had no shot at it, and it dropped for a double! He'd get stranded, though.
Top 4th: We aren't talking much about the Astros' offense, are we. Well that's because they whiffed all game against Capuano and company; Capuano would notch two more Ks here.
Bottom 4th: Remember Treanor? He led off this inning with a homer to left. 2-1 Dodgers
Bottom 5th: Let's talk about one of the stars on this team, Andre Ethier. He (along with Matt Kemp) drive in the runs for the Dodgers, but he sure as hell wasn't doing that for most of the day today. His first two at-bats were strikeouts, and here, he wasted a Hairston bunt single by getting doubled up. So to this point, 3 plate appearances and responsible for 4 outs. :P
End 5th: The Dodgers did a bit on the scoreboard (they're actually pretty light on stadium bits): If you were a superhero, which superhero would you be? A couple (including Matt Kemp) went easymodo and picked Superman. Also: >someone picked Aquaman; >no one picked Batman. Dodgers, YGSIU. (You gotta step it up)
Top 7th: Capuano's pitch count was creeping close to 100, but he'd be able to finish the inning, including getting his 8th and final strikeout of the game.
Bottom 7th: Happ was at about 100 pitches going into the inning, but he'd get left in. Bad move, Astros. Hairston got another single (he's 4-for-4 at this point!), then Ethier reached on an E5 (still 0-for-4 on the day to this point), making it 2nd/3rd 1 out for James Loney, pinch-hitting for Scott Van Slyke. (It was also after this E5 that Happ got pulled for Fernando Rodriguez. Well he was just in to throw an intentional walk to Loney, as after THAT he'd get pulled for Xavier Cedeno after the Dodgers brought in Bobby Abreu to pinch hit. Welp, he went from two strikes to 4 straight balls, bringing in a run. Bases loaded for Treanor, with Enerio Del Rosario pitching (that's their FOURTH pitcher this inning!) and 1 out... 1 pitch, 2 outs. So, let's recap this half-inning: 4 Astros pitchers, 2 hits, 2 walks, about 30-40 minutes... one run. Thanks for the sunburn, jackasses. :P 3-1 Dodgers
End 7th: They did a Jukebox bit; I forgot the first song (it was something old; 50s old), vs. "Get Up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley, vs. the defending champ, "Higher Ground" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. (Insert Power Rangers: The Movie jokes and references here!) Marley ended up winning.
Top 8th: The Dodgers might have brought in Josh Lindblom to relieve Capuano, but Lindblom picked up right where Capuano left off, with 2 strikeouts to bring the team total to double digits.
Bottom 8th: And now it just got sad. Dee Gordon led off the inning by base hit, then stole second, then got to 3rd on a ground out by Adam Kennedy. (...............Kennedy.) Gwynn, who played a lot like his father this day, drove Dee in with a single, and then after a walk by Elian Gonzalez Herrera, Hairston struck once again with his 5th hit of the game, driving Gwynn in! Then Ethier notched his 3rd strikeout of the game, making him 0-for-5. :P 5-1 Dodgers
Bottom 9th: Jose Guerra, who I gotta guess is Mexican due to the huge pop he got (today was Viva Los Dodgers day, which obviously brought a lot of Latino, primarily Mexican, fans), came in to finish this game, even though it was a non-save situation. He got the 1-2-3. FINAL SCORE: Dodgers 5, Astros 1
After the game, I returned my rental car, got picked up at the airport by my cousins, then we went back to that theater we watched Snakes on a Plane at in 2006, to watch The Avengers! (For me, this was the 2nd time.)
All in all, I didn't like Dodger Stadium as much as I was hoping I would. Its age is definitely showing (I thought they were going to renovate it for this year), I was cut off from exploring the rest of the stadium (and thus robbing myself of the based-as-fuck view of the outfield into Chavez Ravine), and the whole parking-lot-does-not-open-until-2-hours-before-the-game bit. Also, legroom is almost Fenway bad. But it'll still be about mid-table when I do the final rankings, whenever that is.
And here are 152 pictures from Dodger Stadium. Mostly in-game stuff, as I spent most of pre-game eating, and there's not a whole lot of between-inning bits.