We got there early and had to wait it out with the other cars to enter Dodger Stadium. Once we got inside to our seats in the left field pavilion (LFP), where the true baseball fans of Dodger Stadium are, we caught the Giants' batting practice. I had wanted to catch a BP ball but that did not happen. I came close though as a few baseball flew our way. I should have been more aggressive in my approach. Tim Lincecum threw a ball to us and I had the ball in my territory. I put my glove down to get it but this little kid reached under the glove and snagged the baseball away. Boy was I mad. Next time I go see a baseball game, I will catch a BP ball, whether it is a toss up or home run. I will be aggressive and do whatever it takes. Batting practice was the most fun part of the night!
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| Wearing the black shirt is Bobby Crosby. He's the creator of youtube.com/dodgerfilms. He brings his video camera to every game and films all the parts of the game. Watch his videos on YouTube. They show what a group of season ticket holders in the LFP at Dodger Stadium experience during the baseball season. Dodgerfilms' videos are awesome!! |
Sitting in the 5th row in the left field pavilion, our Dodger spirit was exuberant. Almost everyone was wearing Dodger blue. And when we saw a SF Giant fan walk up, we would boo and taunt them. That went on the whole night. When Jay Gibbons hit that home run to put the Dodgers ahead 4-0, everyone stood and cheered loudly. When the Dodgers needed some support, we would chant "Let's Go Dodgers" or "Giants Suck". And the most memorable part of the night was when the San Francisco Giants hit four home runs in the game, all to left field. After each Giant home run, we would chant "throw it back, throw it back", in reference to throwing the opposing teams home run ball back onto the field. The first two times, the ball wasn't thrown back, but the last 2 times, it got thrown back and everyone cheered even louder. The left field pavilion is the ultimate baseball fan experience.
Saturday was also Taiwan Day at Dodger Stadium, as the Dodgers celebrated the Taiwanese heritage. Pregame, they had this group of Taiwanese dancers perform out in center field to Lady Gaga songs. That got the crowd fired up. A Taiwanese character threw out the first pitch. Throughout the game, the Dodgers displayed ads and commercials about Taiwan. I went to the first Taiwan Day event back in May and they had similar festivities as it included Lin-Yu Chun singing a few songs. Taiwan is the only country to be represented twice in the Dodgertown My Town promotion. Hong-Chih Kuo pitched the Dodgers out of a 8th inning jam and was applauded loudly. Kuo has turned into the Dodgers best reliever this year, with an ERA of 1.42. Kuo was named an All-Star this year. Good to see Taiwan represented!This baseball game was exciting from the start to the finish. From the first inning, it seemed as if this game would be a pitchers duel between Ted Lilly and Matt Cain. But the Dodgers grabbed that 4-0 lead and Ted Lilly was dominate, leaving the game with the lead 4-2, as Lilly gave up 2 solo home runs. Then the bullpen came in for the Dodgers and Octavio Dotel gave up a solo home run. 4-3 Dodgers in the 8th inning. Kuo came in and retired 2 batters to end the threat. 9th inning, Joe Torre summoned Jonathan Broxton to close the game. He had lost his job as closer to Kuo with his blown slaves in August. This was supposed to be redemption for him to show everyone that he was the closer for the Dodgers. Instead, he gave up an infield single then a devastating 2-run home run to Juan Uribe, as the Giants took a 5-4 lead. I remember when Broxton entered the game, I said to Matt Chern "No, Broxton's gonna blow this save. Why did Joe Torre take Kuo out only after 6 pitches?" Sure enough, he did.
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