Attended Game Recap : Cardinals 4 at Dodgers 2 On June 7th, 2015

Even though I have been to a few games this year in multiple states I have been slacking on doing these game recaps. I wanted to get back to doing more posts that were not just about cards so I have started up the movie reviews again and I knew sooner or later that I would get back to these recaps and yesterday's game was the perfect one to welcome myself back.

I informed the wife earlier in the month that I wanted to go to this game as the hated Cardinals were in town for their one and only visit to Dodger Stadium during the regular season (see you guys in the playoffs though) and with this being a Sunday night game it would the perfect opportunity to grab a couple of tickets at a discount price and to insure we were sitting in the shade. Both of those goals were accomplished. I found out that Manny Mota would be signing at Viva Los Doyers prior to the game and even though I have a few autographs from Mr. Mota there was one a picture of him on his famous tryke that I wanted him to sign. With that we headed to the stadium early and went over to Lot 6 were Mota was signing. As always he was very nice and personable and signed everything that people put in front of him and he posed for pictures with anyone that asked.

Mota and I with signed photo

A closer look.

The pic is a little dark but his signature is in blue sharpie.

Thank you again to Manny for accommodating me and everyone else and their requests. 

After that the wife and I decided to walk around the event to pick up some freebies. We ended up with a couple of Dodger cups, milk chocolate and some lip balm. Everything is nicer when its free. Thank you to all the sponsers for their handouts.

With that done we headed into the stadium and since we were hungry (me moreso) we went straight to Fries, Fries, Fries as I am a fry whore. We tired the new Lasorda aka Italian styled version with meatballs. Not too bad. With stomachs full we headed to our seats in Loge 153 and that's where the fun began.

The game itself was decent enough until the Cardinals drove Greinke out of the game and our bullpen once again crapped the bed and what was a 2-0 lead turned into a 4-2 deficit. Zack did his job but the bullpen did not. It was nice to see Puig back on the field and it looks like his hamstring is doing much better as he scored from 1st on a double by Turner to give them a 1-0 lead. Yasiel is still rusty though as he let a "routine" single turn into a triple by Holliday which changed the whole dynamic of the game which the Dodgers could not recover from. 

The redbirds are the team that the Dodgers are going to have to figure out how to beat if they ever hope to make it back to the fall classic. Unless one or both of these teams completely collapses they are destined to meet once again in the playoffs and I am saying it right now that whoever wins between them will win the 2015 World Series no matter who comes out of the American League. Time for the Dodgers to man up. 

The game with the wife was fun but getting yet another 15 seconds of Dodger fame made it all the better. At the top of 5th inning representatives of the Dodgers made their way down our aisle and stopped at a couple behind us and asked them a question. I wasn't really paying attention till I heard "contest" and at that point I listened in more. They declined as English was their second language and we don't think they really realized what was being asked of them. My lovely wife steps in and volunteers me stating, oh yeah, he will do it. Now the pressure is on. The game I was to play was "Quarter Minute To Win It" where I was to be given a topic/word and I had to name as many words associated with that word and hopefully that would be more than what my Dodger competitor could name. My opponent? One Yasiel Puig. English barrier advantage for the Penguin. The prize?

The contest

Gift card at stake

Even though I don't shop at Sports Authority much if I was lucky enough to win it I could flip it for an eBay card for more autograph purchases. Yes, I already had a plan even though I hadn't won anything yet. 

This oh so friendly young lady came down with her camera man prior to the contest and set up shop. While nice enough she could have been more personable but I am sure she has to deal with a lot of problem people so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Giving the wife a thumbs up as I was ready to go. Let's do this.

Her and I talking as we are being broadcast over Dodger vision with me of course "talking" with my hands once again. Anyone that knows me knows I love to gesture talk.

Her and I again from a different view as everyone in the stadium can now see my lovely mug on Diamond Vision. You're welcome everyone. Ha Ha.

Time to play. What would the topic be? Hopefully something "easy". Here it is.

What luck as the wife just made us a fruit smoothie before we left for the stadium so "fruit" was still fresh in my mind. Now, could I name more fruits than Puig in 15 seconds? I was pretty confident but I still had to perform. Ding and we were off. I rambled off strawberry and banana, as that was in our smoothie, and then I paused for a moment. D'oh. Slight brain freeze but I started up again and named off some more and with a little help from the crowd (thank you) I believe I got up to 10-11 before my time was up. Now it was Puig's turn and he said banana to start off with and then said some Spanglish words that I couldn't understand and 15 seconds later I was declared the winner.

Here's me with gift card in hand rambling about the Dodgers into the camera. Thankfully I won as you don't want to be that person that didn't win. I've been to enough games to know how the crowd reacts to them.

So while the Dodgers didn't win the game and yet lost another opportunity to pad their lead in the west the wife and I had fun together and I got to have some fun and win a gift card. Thank you again to the Dodgers for running the contest.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Attended Game Recap : giants 1 @ DODGERS 9 on September 24, 2014

I am a season ticket holder but I only go to a handful of games a year in my actual seats. At the beginning of the year I picked about 10-15 games that I keep for myself and the wife or to give to a few select friends but I kept yesterday's tickets as it was the last game of the year versus the hated Giants and as the week progressed to Wednesday everything fell in line for it to be a very important game.

Wednesday's game now wasn't only a final game versus the Giants but now it was one started by the soon to be 3x Cy Young winner and probable 2014 NL MVP Clayton Kershaw. We were there in 2008 when he made his MLB debut on a sunny Sunday against the Cardinals and now we were there to see him put a bow on his incredible 2014 season. The Dodgers were also lined up to win the NL west division crown for the second year in a row. A great game was brewing and we had tickets. I have experienced many "firsts" with my wife but I have never been to a playoff clinching game during the regular season. The closest I came was 2004 against these same Giants but I was off by a day as they clinched a day after the game that I attended in the series. I couldn't wait for this game and it was well worth it.

Calm before the storm. 

Pic taken by the bonita esposa.

Didn't take too many pictures during the game as I wanted to take in every moment of it. First time I have seen the bubbles in my area as people celebrated when Puig hit his solo shot to put the Dodgers up for good.

Cell phone pics have come a long way but they still can be too blurry for my taste. Kershaw on the mound before he throws one of his signature 12-6 curve balls.

Top of the ninth and Brian Wilson is on the mound and trying to close it out for the blue. 

Let the party begin. Dodgers clinch  a probable date with the Cardinals in the first round.

Boom go the fireworks

A simple recap.
No autographs hounding, no nothing, just baseball.
I wanted to take in the atmosphere of the game and hopefully the clinching of the division. Thankfully I got that and now we wait till game one of the NLDS next Friday.
Go Blue !!!

Attended Game Recap : ANGELS 7 @ Rangers 3 On September 11, 2014

Outside of stadium.

Down in the heart of Texas is where the wife and I found ourselves for this year's trip to a new ballpark. For the second year in a row it involves her team (Angels) but next year its back to the blue as we head to Pittsburgh.

We wanted to see our granddad in Amarillo but headed to Dallas first to visit her mother and family first and with the Angels in town it was a perfect time to see all the family and catch a game in a new park for me. As always the main goal for me is to acquire a ball as that is a bucket list objective for me. Only parks so far I have yet to achieve that goal is San Francisco, San Diego and Arizona. At least though I will be heading there many more times in the future. Getting one at a ballpark where I probably won't be heading back is the problem. Batting practice toss up, batting practice home run, trade or foul ball. Doesn't matter just as long as I get one. The hunt was on.

Angels in the outfield

The wife dropped me off early as she and her mother did not attend batting practice. I headed in and the stadium is big. Everything is bigger in Texas right? Rain was in the forecast but thankfully it never materialized. Headed down to the 3rd base side to where the Angels were warming up and tried to acquire a ball from one of the players. No luck so I headed up to area behind the outfield to see if I could catch a home run ball. Again no such luck as when I was there no one was hitting them that far. Jason Grilli was finishing up his pre-game rituals when I caught his attention I was able to eventually get a ball from him. He gave me the third degree on it but it was all in good fun. So thankfully just 30 minutes in my hunt for a ball was over BUT the mother in law wanted one for herself so even though I had one I needed two now.

Grilli Ball

I headed back down to the third base side to see if I could get another ball but also to now work on acquiring some autographs. The only one of note to sign was Trout (as always) but he was mobbed both times I was down there and I did not have the Trout luck this time as I was shut out on autographs. No biggie, next time.

Headed to our seats where the wife and her mother joined me and we took in the pre-game festivities which included a moment of silence for victims of 9/11....

Great panoramic view shot by the wife.

During the game, which in the end the Angels came out on top 7-3 and included two HBP of Trout, I was able to get 3rd baseman and former Dodger Adrian Beltre to toss me up a ball. Now the mother in law was happy as I was able to acquire her a ball as well. Have to keep the ladies happy.

Beltre Ball

Mom in law with her new ball

It was a great time had by all as I/we got to experience a new ballpark, I got my hands on a ball for my bucket list collection, another one for the mother in law and some great memories. Enjoy the photos below and thank you for reading the blog and have a great day.

Yeah... everything is bigger in Texas

Looks like a jelly fish

Mmm... Taco, Texas style

Promotional race between innings. Blue won

I wouldn't mind cute girls at Dodger Stadium

Wife and I

Wife and mom

... and the three of us

Attended Game Recap : DODGERS 7 @ angels ZIP, ZERO, NOTHING On August 7, 2014

The home and home series between the Dodgers and Angels came to a close last night with the Dodgers looking to win the season series from that little team from Anaheim for the first time since 2006. To do this they sent Korea's favorite soon Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound to hopefully put an end to the Angel's recent dominance in the series. It also happened to be Mike Trout's birthday and the last two years on this day he has gone yard. Time to put that streak to rest as well.

The wife and I always attend one game at Dodger Stadium ( Tues with the Dodgers winning, natch ) and one game at the little A in Anaheim. This year our friend Eric joined us for the festivities and even though he supports the team in red it was a blast to enjoy the game with a rival fan. 

Mr. Ryu brought his A game and shut down the Angels. Even though the Dodgers were leading 4-0 in the bottom of the 6th you just knew that the Angels weren't finished yet. With 2 outs and Josh Hamilton at the plate he sent a Ryu pitch to deep center field which looked like it would go out for a 3 run home run until Puig caught up with it and recorded the out. The whole stadium was up and cheering but from that moment on you could tell the air was taken out of the Angel's sails. They would not threaten again and the Dodgers would tack on a few more runs for the final of 7-0. With that the Dodgers won both games in Anaheim and the Angel's rally monkey had this to say :

The atmosphere definitely had a playoff feel to it and seemed more Dodger leaning than when the teams played Monday and Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Dodgers showed up and manned up and took 3 out of 4 from the Angels. I finally have bragging rights within my household which has been missing for the past few years. In the end our group had a great time and we look forward to making this a yearly event.

Forever, Go Blue !!!

Happier times for the Angel fans prior to the game.

= )

Great looking horses in front of stadium prior to entry.

Disappointed they were not part of any pre-game ceremonies. 

Attended Game Recap : MAVERICKS 8 @ Quakes 5 On July 26th, 2014

With the Howie signing and movie behind us it was time for the wife and I to meet up with our friends in Ontario for the Quakes game.

Husband and wife Frank and Janet with their son Joey and his better half Kaitlyn were dressed and ready to take in a ballgame. We were celebrating my mother's and Janet's birthday and even though we don't need a reason to get together it is always great to see our friends.

We arrived about a hour prior to the start of the game and I was till in autograph hounding mode. I had 4 autographs I wanted to acquire. More Julio Urias before he is promoted or God forbid traded, James Baldwin, Chris Anderson which I knew became a long shot as I found he was the starting pitcher so that limited the window if and when he would sign and Tom Windle. I headed down to the area above the walkway from the dressing room to the dugout where the players come out and I chose to sit on the dugout side as no other autograph seekers were there as all of them were on the opposite side of the walkway. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Also, I wouldn't be post game graphing which meant I had to acquire all my autographs pre game.

First person that I needed that game out was Chris Anderson and he denied me and everyone else as he kept saying "after" he would sign which I assumed meant after the game. Well there went my chance for him for the day. Next up was James Baldwin and after he set his stuff on the bench in the dugout he came back and starting signing for fans but was doing the other side and not my side. Luckily I got his attention and I was the second to last person he signed for. Thank you for the autograph James.

Next up was Julio Urias. Now I already have his autograph on a few things but I want more. Yeah, I can be greedy. Since I was on my own and I wanted a ball and a photo signed I had to figure out how to do this. Well I was the second person he signed for and I handed him my 8x10 photo first of him in a Loons uniform as I already have him in a Dodgers uniform that he signed for me last month. I had him use this new blue paint marker I bought and I think it came out great. Thank you for the 1st autograph Julio.

Now I wanted a black ball signed by Julio so I stowed my photos away and went on the opposite side of the walkway where everyone else was and got in the back of the line and pulled out a ball I wanted signed along with a gold paint marker. He had some problem with the person next to me and I didn't have enough time to bleed out my pen prior to him grabbing the ball so he signed it with a slightly dry pen. Still a decent autograph and once again thank you Julio for signing for me and all the fans. You might be only 17 but you have been a class act every time I've met you.

After that I stayed around waiting for Tom Windle and he never came out. Don't know what happened but hopefully he and Chris Anderson will be there next year as I don't think we are going to another Quakes game this year. Well I guess 4 autographs for the day is better than no autographs for a day.

Onto the game.

National Anthem

Quakes mascot Tremor

The Quakes and the Mavericks had a dual no hitter going into the 4th inning but that quickly vanished as by the end of the game the teams put up a combined total of 13 runs. A couple of mammoth home runs by Quakes player Chris Jacobs and a Maverick player that I can't remember the name of as I am too lazy to look it up highlighted the scoring. It was an entertaining game even though there were multiple mental and physical errors committed by the Quake players.

The wife and I had a great time but the best part is always the time we get to spend with friends and family. As always it was great to see Janet, Frank, Joey and Kaitlyn and hopefully we can meet up again in the near future.

We are at a baseball game and mom is the only one watching the game

lol

At least someone is doing what you come to the ballpark for

= )

Attended Game Recap : Padres 0 @ DODGERS 1 On July 12th, 2014

It's been awhile since I have been to baseball game and even longer to Dodger Stadium. Life happens sometimes. It was finally time to head back to blue heaven on Earth. I decided this would be our one game this year were we would sit in the all you can eat buffet in the baseline section. Since I haven't been to the stadium I obviously haven't gone autograph hunting as well. Getting this seats also served that purpose.

The game went by fairly fast till the late innings but was void of any really action or drama other than Yasiel Puig getting ejected early in the contest for arguing balls and strikes. The Dodgers finally broke a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the ninth with a sacrifice fly by A.J. Ellis. With the walk off win it gave the Dodgers the best record in the National League. Go figure. With all the drama and issues the team has the best record in their league and the fourth overall in baseball. They need to pull away from the pack when the second half begins. The Giants are still only a game back and even with their problems are not going away anytime soon. Pick it up Dodgers.

With decent food in my belly it was time for me to go pre-game autograph hunting. Alex of Chavez Ravining and his buddy Dikran came down from Fresno to take in their first night time game. We met up prior to the game so I could get them in 3 hours prior so they could take in some up close batting practice. Dikran ended up going home with a ball as he got one that bounced into the seats. Congrats. Josh aka Dodgerbobble was also in the house as he was looking for more autographs to add to his massive collection. I had my big pile of pictures in hand as I was looking to add more to my modest collection.

During actual batting practice there was not much signing going on by the players. As I only saw two and only one that I wanted/needed. J.P. Howell tossed a ball into the stands and was asked over by other fans to sign. He decided to come over and then proceeded to sign for fans along the 3rd base wall. I rushed over and was able to get a 8x10 of him signed.

Went back to my seat as batting practice finished up for the Dodgers and everyone went back into the dugout. Most players did not sign as they went by. Miguel Rojas did but I was not prepared with a photo of him. My loss. Former Dodger player and current coach Davey Lopes did stop and sign for fans and I was lucky enough to be the last one he signed for. He looked at the photo and started saying that isn't him. Look at that fro. No way is that me. Ha Ha. Thank you for signing Davey.

Next up was the SportsNet broadcast team but I only saw Nomar in attendance. No Orel or Jerry. Nomar did sign for fans but was very business like and not overly friendly. He asked everyone what's your name as I knew he was going to personalize each autograph. I have no problem with that as I have no intention of trading or selling the autograph. Did ask him to spell my name right though with two "T's". Thank you for the autograph Nomar even though you weren't really personable.

That pretty much ended my dugout autographs so I headed back to my area and had some more food and waited for the beginning of the game when Kemp, Puig, Andre and others have and might sign. During that time Luis of the blog LgCollectibles got my attention as I still owed him a Ken Landreaux autographed 8x10 that he won from one of my contests. This was the first time I met Luis and we chatted awhile till I noticed a few balls being hit into the stands so I had to head back to the wife to "protect" her. Congrats on the win again Luis and great to finally meet you.

Game time was upon us and the only two players out to sign were Dee Gordon and Andre Ethier. Dee was further down the line and I noticed he only signed for a few people and walked away so I stayed in the Andre area and even though he signed earlier in the day at a paid signing he accommodated each fan and signed for a good 10 minutes and took pictures with multiple people. I know some people have issues with Andre but I am not one of them. He has always be a great guy to get an autograph from and today was no different as I picked up a 8x10 of him. Thank you once again Andre.

Now Kemp and Puig were the only two left that I hoped to acquire before the game but Puig never came out on the field to do his pre-game stretches and even though Kemp did he did not sign for anyone. Oh well, next time.

4 autographs at the stadium and another 2 earlier in the day at the Butera signing. Not a bad day.

Great to finally meet Alex, Dikran and Luis. It's nice to put a face and voice to internet friends. Always a fun time with Josh. Till next time guys. Go Blue !!!