Results tagged ‘ Andre Ethier ’
Opening Week 2012 at Dodger Stadium
Opening Day was a beautiful day. As is my tradition every year, Nancy Bea Cd played in the background while I got ready to go to Dodger Stadium. I drove to Union Station and hopped on the shuttle from there. My brother Vic and took the first shuttle at 9:45 AM. We got to Dodger Stadium at 10 AM. Game time was 1:10 PM. I heard of other people driving or taking the shuttle late and it took them an hour to get there from downtown. While waiting for the shuttle I heard about Vin Scully not being able to make it to the stadium.
Get well Vin Scully! We Love you!!
I had seen Vin Scully in San Diego and he looked good there but those colds cn sneak up on you. When I ran into him I told him “Good to see you Vin!” He looked back, smiled and said “Good to see you too!” I did not want to bother him so I did not ask for autograph or a picture. He responding to me was good enough for me.
Back to Opening Day! I took out my brand new scorebook and started keeping score. One thing I don’t like about it, is it does not have the little squares to keep track of balls and strikes but I sneak them in there. My outfit for Opening Day was one that I wore in San Diego -The Magic Johnson yellow shirt with my #32 Sandy Koufax white jersey over it. They both wore #32. The only thing with the shirt is that is the same color as the Pirates.
Picture from the LA Times. Nice man to my right with the grey Clayton Kershaw jersey. He liked that I was keeping score. He wrote the name of my blog.
Dodger Stadium celebrating 50 years on its inagural day of April 10, 1962 had members of that year being honored. It would have been great for Vin Scully to introduce them as Opening Day has been the only day that Vin Scully addresses the crowd at the stadium. Pic by Jon SooHoo.
The Beach Boys , also celebrating 50 years, sang one song and the National Anthem. Pic by Jon SooHoo
Our lefty Clayton Kershaw went seven strong innings. He left with no decision. @Skinnyswag_ Dee Gordon continues making the games excting. I love this team! Pic by Jon SooHoo
Andre Ethier in his 30th birthday hit a homerun to right field! in the 8th. Kenley Jansen pitched the 8th and Javy in the 9th for the save! Did I say that I love this team? Pic byLa Times.
Dodgers celebrating the win on Opening Day!
Chad Billingsley pitched the second game. He had another great game and another win.
Dodgers going for the sweep tonight 30% chance of rain with those chances increasing into the night BUT It can’t rain. It never rains in Calfiornia. haha. Just in case, I got my raincoat. Go Dodgers!
Check Jon SooHoo’s MLB blog at http://dodgersphotog.mlblogs.com
Dodgers White Sox First Spring Training Fan Fest
My friends Lorena, Rosie, Amanda and I are waking up pretty early on Saturday to head to the Dodgers White Sox Spring Training Fanfest March 3rd. Hmm, let’s see…gates open at 8;30, a six hour drive. Man! that is pretty early and this is a turnaround trip.
Here is the information
DODGERS/WHITE SOX SPRING TRAINING FAN FEST
Saturday, March 3, 2012, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
FREE ADMISSION!!! Batting practice & autograph sessions:
Chicago White Sox batting practice 9-10:30am
Chicago White Sox autograph session 10:30-11am
Los Angeles Dodgers autograph session 11-11:30am
Los Angeles Dodgers batting practice 11:30am-1pm
Activities & Promotions:
Concourse Activities include the Free Agent Sports Marketing Sports Card and Memorabilia Show, speed pitch, fan photos, kids’ inflatables, a Phoenix Coyotes booth featuring Howler, a Glendale fire truck, and a Cactus League book signing with Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry.
Promotional items include bobbleheads (first 250 children 12 and under), Coyotes ticket drawing for the March 3rd game at neighboring Jobing.com Arena, spring training raffles, and other sponsored giveaways.
Arizona Sports 620 Radio will broadcast from the stadium during the event.
Concession stands and the Clubhouse Store will be open.
The ticket office will be open from 8:30am-4pm for fans to purchase game tickets.
Event url: www.camelbackranchbaseball.com
Andre Ethier, Dodgers Road Trip to New York and Pittsburgh
Congratulations to Andre on having a 30 game hitting streak. The hitting streak ended on the second game at Citi Field but Andre got back to hitting on Mother’s day when he belted his fourth homerun of the year. Andre also had a single so is nice that Andre is back to hitting. During the 30-game hitting streak, he had the other three homeruns.
The most important thing is that the Dodgers were able to salvage one game with the Mets. Is on to beautiful PNC Park now to play four with the Pirates. I’d like to go back to PNC again as the only time I was there, I was only able to watch one game, stay the night and fly back to LA the following morning. .
I have not been updating my blog as often and not visiting the blogs. We had a dead in the family. My dearest tia (aunt) Nena passed away with Cancer. May she rest in peace. Tia Nena was never a baseball fan. She would ask me how I had become such a fan when noone in my family was a baseball fan before. Another reason I have not updated my blog is I have not been feeling well but I am going to try to get back into the swing of things. I got to get ready for all the exciting upgrades to all the Fan MLB blogs. We have all seen it with the Pro blogs. Now is our turn!
During the last Dodgers homestand, I got to meet Steve Soboroff who is the Vice-Chairman of the Dodgers. . My friend Lorena had invited him to come and talk to season ticket holders in the Top Deck when she read that he was going to be viisting the Pavilions so he showed up with Drew McCourt.
In the picture, Drew, me, Gaby (Lore’s friend),David (we had a good laugh ’cause he snuck in the picture), Steve Soboroff and Lorena.
Steve and Drew asked us for stadium suggestions so we offered some suggestions and since they had to go, they asked us to email them suggestions.
The following day, during batting practice, we noticed a white hair gentleman that Deuce’s dad _William thought it was Tom Schieffer. Currently, Schieffer oversees the operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers on behalf of the Commissioner of Baseball. Sure enough it was him. His security guy was close by. We talked to him briefly and snapped this picture.
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Spring Training 2011: Goodyear Ballpark and Getaway Day
This is from our getaway day on Tuesday March 1st. The Dodgers were playing the Cleveland Indians at Goodyear Ballpark.
We checked out from our Presidential suite which we loved! and headed to Camelback Ranch to watch our boys in Blue practice.
Andre having a snack. Manny Mota’s bicycle in the background.
We could hear Davey Lopes chewing the guys for some of their running blunders.
Trayvon Robinson. I remember when I went to to an Inland Empire game at San Bernardino, he made a great catch.
Andre Ethier posing with us. He was so nice that he waited for Lorena to join us in the picture.
On to Goodyear Ballpark.
Caption: “Something stinks here”
I love this banner at Goodyear Ballpark remembering Bob Feller.
They were selling Bob Feller baseball cards with proceeds going to the Bob Feller Museum so I bought this one:
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And Randy of http://heirloom.mlblogs.com/ send this signed photo of Bob Feller! Thank you Randy!
I Love Andre (We Love Him)
My friend Erik is hosting my blog again! I love the post! I love Andre!
Take it away Erik!
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I was watching a rerun of Inning 5 of Ken Burns’ great documentary, Baseball, and I started wondering where the days went when baseball players would have song written about them? Think about it, that’s not done anymore.
Those are some great songs about some great players. Some include Less Brown’s song “Joltin’ Joe”, and perhaps the best of all, “Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball ” by Buddy Johnson and Count Basie. It reminded me that I wrote (or modified) a song about my favorite player, Andre Ethier. It was penned during the fervor surrounding his home run-hitting prowess early last season. Yeah, I know, he didn’t keep it up, but, G-d willing, I have faith that he’ll get things back on track this season. At which point we’ll all be signing the song I offer. Well, maybe not you, but I’ll be belting it out, and I bet Crzblue will be right there with me. Here it is, sing along, you’ll recognize the tune.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBOQiMxwk1o&feature=related
I Love Andre (We Love Him)
Runnin’ down the 3rd base line
Big nasty homer out the right field side
Maggie Ethier looking hot in the Lodge
She is full of pride
Mow down the pitcher, put da Blue on top.
Crank up Vin Scully, baby
Don’t let the hitting stop
We’re gonna cheer him ’til we just can’t cheer him no more
From the Top Deck to the Pavilion
From the Stadium Club to the Dugout Club,
Everybody’s very happy
‘Cause the man is hitting all the time
Looks like another homer’s on the way
I love Andre (We love him)
I love Andre (We love him)
Look at that homer
Look at those doubles
Look at that catch out there, man
He’s down on his knees.
Look at those walk-offs
There ain’t nothin’ like ‘em nowhere.
St. Mary’s High School (We love him)
Chandler-Gilbert College (We love him)
Arizona State University (We love him)
Dodgertown (We love him, we love him)
We love him!
We love him!
We love Andre!
By Erik C.D. Belmal,
Adapted from Randy Newman. “I Love L.A. (We Love it).” 1983.
So, there! Trust me, I know it doesn’t come close to the genius of the other songs I mentioned, but I hope you recognize the same spirit…the spirit of devotion to a player, and a game.
Thanks again for the opportunity to post Crzblue.
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Thank you Erik!
Spring Training Camelback Ranch, part two
Let’s start the pictures with El Guapo de Andre Ethier.
Margie getting her baseball autograph by Tommy Lasorda
Chad Billinsgley!
Kenley Jansen
Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.
The X man, Xavier Paul
Lorena and Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda greeting the umpires. He then went inside the dugout, spend a few innings there then went slowly up the stairs. Next thing I knew he was upstairs in the booth being interviewed
Matt Kemp, DeJesus next to him while Trayvon Robinson is at bat
Kershaw pitching while Juan Pierre is on third base
Welcome back home Davey Lopes!
Jerry Sands
Jerry Sands
Spring Training 2011 Camelback Ranch Pictures. Part One.
On Sunday February 27th, Camelback was opened around 10:30 A.M. Usually they open at 9 AM.
When we went in the boys were exercising
I ran into Jose Mota of the Angels talking to his dad Manny Mota of the Dodgers. Jose was on the outside of the fence.
Camelback Ranch Scoreboard advertising the Dodgers against the Angels
Emma, Margie, Lorena & Roberto of VinScullyismyhomeboy prior to the game
I spotted Mike Scioscia signing autographs so I headed to the visitor’s dugout. He signed my Union 76 giveaway pictures from back in his playing days.
Jason: It was great that you got to serve as the bat boy!
Andre Ethier!
As bat boy Jason was getting back to the dugout after giving the umpire some baseballs we yelled “LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BAT BOY!” Jason turned around and waived. Some fans behind the Dodger dugout turned to see who was yelling that.
After the game with another lemonade wtih watermelon flavor for the road.
“Lemonade, lemonade, just like grandma used to make!” Yum yum! Also try the Island noodles with vegetables and Teriyaki Chicken.
Dodgers defeated the Angels 5-0. We spotted Efrain with this t-shirt. Here is the front
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Here is the back of Efrain’s shirt:
We had a great first day.
next post: Spring Training 2011 Pictures, Part Two
Think Blue and Act Green. First Stop: LA River
What a great idea this year for the Dodger Caravan to make it a community event where the fans get to contribute along the Dodger current and past players! Today on Valentines Day, the first stop was the LA River cleanup.
Here are some of the current and past Dodger players waiting to get dirty. Rudy Law, Bobby Castillo, Kenny Landreaux, Tommy Davis, James Loney and Don Mattingly. In the background you can see the train tracks, where my commuter train goes by.
Andre Ethier was not there yet but he arrived a little later. He was coming straight from the airport.
Andre getting dirty
I am ready to work.
I had a pink wristband so I belonged to Don Mattingly’s group
Lorena & Erik. Erik gave us beautiful handmade Dodgers pins. Thanks Erik!
The trash bags collected
Afterwards, Tommy Lasorda giving some advice to Don Mattingly and James Loney.
My Loney has a first name, is J A M E S. My Loney has a second name is L O N E Y. Oh I love to see him everyday and if you ask me why I’ll say… ’cause Loney has a way with H I T T I N G. That is what is in the back of Erik and my shirt. Loney was pointing it out to a sportscaster from Fox Sports so the guy was singing it as he read it.
I scraped my leg trying to pull a shopping cart that had some sharp wires, Christmas lights and whole bunch of stuff. I had rain boots but it happened above the rain boot.
When we left, we heard a “clump clump”. Erik asked me if I had someone in my trunk. It ended up that was my cellphone I had left on top of my trunk.
Even with scraping myself, alergies acting up and losing my cellphone, I enjoyed my day helping cleanup the LA river with Dodger players and Dodger fans.
It was great sharing this day with friends on Valentines Day! Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day. I can’t wait to go to Santa Monica tomorrow to continue cleaning up with our Dodgers!
Scott Boras at the SABR 2011 Conference and the Winter Meetings
SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) 2011 Conference.
The 2011 SABR conference (#41) will be in Long Beach, California next year! the dates are July 6 to 10, 2011.
I went my first SABR meeting last Saturday with the purpose of volunteering . There were 15 guys at the meeting and me.
Anyway, I found out that Scott Boras will be one of the speakers Also Arte Moreno for the Angels and THE speaker from the Dodgers is still pending. The player speakers will be announced at a later date.
The Dodgers and Angels are in town so the Dodger game that we will be attending from the conference will be Thursday July 7th when the Dodgers play the Mets. This is also Andre Ethier Bobblehead night so It will be a popular night. The Angel game will be on Saturday against the Mariners. There will be much more added to the conference. In the meantime,
Make Your Room Reservation for SABR 41 Now
SABR 41 is starting to take shape. The Long Beach Hilton is accepting reservations at the convention rate of $119/night.
For more information visit the SABR website at http://www.sabr.org/
Hot Stove and Winter Meetings
Don’t you just love all the Hot Stove trade rumors coming out of the 2010 Winter Meetings? My head spins on one direction then another with all the rumors. Are the Dodgers going after a left fielder or Prince Fielder?
In the meantime the Dodgers have signed Vicente Padilla for 2 Million. I like this signing at this price. Padilla must like it here in LA.
Note also that SABR will be at booth #1907 during the Baseball Trade Show at the Winter Meetings, December 6-8.
The McCourt divorce.
And just to make things more …..interesting for the Dodgers, the judge has ruled in favor of Jaime McCourt so she owns 50% of the team. These two have not played nice since the divorce started so what now? Do we move into appeal hell now? Does she get her office back? Do they sell the team? What does Selig have to say? Stay tune for more of “As The Dodgers turns”
Get well Dave Roberts. Congrats to DeWitt and Andre Ethier
Best wishes to Dave Roberts who is being treated for lymphoma. Roberts was diagnosed in mid-March and he says the cancer was detected early. He says the prognosis is “good.” He has undergone two rounds of chemotherapy so far.
Roberts played center field in Los Angeles from 2002-04. The former UCLA Bruin hit .262 with 273 hits and 164 runs for the Dodgers. He totaled 118 stolen bases, ranking third in the National League with 45 in 2002 and 40 in 2003.
I still remember this matchup with the Yankees a few years back at Dodger Stadium when Dave Roberts doubled and sped all the way home when Matsui misplayed the ball in left field for a two-base error, giving the Dodgers a 5-3 lead in the bottom half. The ball bounced past Matsui on the rubber warning track and he chased it down near the Dodgers’ bullpen.
“I was thinking two. I saw the ball get by him and at that point, I was thinking four,” Roberts said. “There was a lot of silence when I was running and then an eruption when I got to home plate.”
That was exciting watching Roberts get all the way home on that double and error play. I was at that three game series against the Yankees. I will be there come June for all three games.
Get well Roberts!
A big congratulations to Blake DeWitt for going 4 for 4 yesterday and Andre Ethier for belting two homeruns!
Los Cerveceros (Brewers) de Milwaukee will be at Dodger Stadium starting tomorrow.
Go Dodgers!
Fantasy baseball update: Los Locos Azules are in second place in their division. Did I mention that Andre also plays for the Locos Azules?
Go Dodgers!
crzblue
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