Pictures From Opening Day

I made the trip down to San Diego on Thursday to see the Dodgers play the Padres on Opening Day. I went with Angry Albert and we met up with Spiegel and two other die hard Dodger fans, Mike & Mike who were staying in SD for the night. 


When we got to the Gaslamp District, we noticed a lot of Dodger fans on the streets. I had never been to a game at Petco before, but I heard there was always large presence of  Dodger fans at the games. Let me tell you, this almost felt like a Dodger home game. Walking around Petco, we saw so many Dodger fans. We never felt uncomfortable, even the Padres fans were very respectful. 


I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I was enjoying every minutes of Opening Day and I just forgot to take the camera out of my pocket. Here are a couple of shots I did take though.

Spiegel stayed in SD. Here's the view from his hotel room.

The Fox broadcast in front of Tony Gwynn's statue

The view from our seats

Opening Day starter Clayton Kershaw about to warm up

As you can see, the I had a bit of an obstructed view, so I didn't see Matt Kemp's homerun go over the wall. The architect of this stadium should be shot!

Closer Javy Guerra warming up in the 'pen.

My boy Dee on the jumbotron

There I am!

If you love the National Anthem like I do, check out the flag ceremony. The Herrier jets that fly over the stadium at the end were awesome!

                      

I had a great time on Thursday, especially since the Dodgers won. I need to thank Spiegel and Mike C for hooking me up with the tickets, I really appreciate it.  I can't wait to go to Petco again!

I Needed To See Kershaw Pitch One More Time. Oh, And I Got Some Autographs Too

I made it up to Dodger Stadium tonight to see Clayton Kershaw pitch one last time this season and also to pick up a few autographs. The wife and I got there right as the gates opened, and we went straight to the field. We got lucky, running into Matt Kemp before he headed into the clubhouse. I thanked him for the pizza a couple weeks ago, and he signed two cards for us. Then we waited, and a couple of the guys came by, including Trent Oeltjen and Josh Linblom, but it was pretty dead otherwise.

Matt Kemp is the man! Thank you Bison.

We waited for a little bit longer when Steve Lyons strolled by. He was his usual "Psycho" self, joking around and making fun of the picture on his 1990 baseball card. We waited a bit longer, with no success, then headed over to get some autos from the guys in the bullpen.

Psycho signing

The relief pitchers didn't sign very long, but we did manage to get Javy Guerra, Nathan Eovaldi and a few others. It's been dead at the stadium all year long, giving many autograph-seekers some great opportunities to pick up sigs.

Who are these two studs? Javy and DB!

I like this Nathan Eovaldi kid.  I think he'll be around for a while.

Honeycutt smudge

Psycho, John Ely, Trent Oeltjen and Ramon Troncoso

Oh yeah, Clayton pitched a nice game, until he got thrown out in the sixth inning for beaning Gerardo Parra. Of course we all saw the retaliation coming after Parra's homerun admiration the night before, and Clayton letting him know how he felt about it. But it wasn't something Clayton should have been ejected for, especially without any warnings from the umpire. He did end up with the win though, and even lowered his era to 2.30,  bringing him one step closer to a Cy Young Award. I'm glad I got to see him pitch again before the season ends.

The Joy Of Completing A Project

Back in May, former Dodger Shortstop Bill Russell made an appearance at the local Sports Authority.  It was at that appearance that I decided I was going to work on getting autographs of all four members of the great Dodger infield, First Baseman Steve Garvey, Second Baseman Davey Lopes,  Third Baseman Ron Cey and of course, Russell. I picked up a picture of the foursome, and got Bill Russell to sign.

Two weeks later, I got Steve Garvey's signature. Then in June, I got Ron Cey. The only one eluding me was Davey Lopes. After finding out he would be doing Dodger Day at the LA County Fair on September 15, I realized it falls on a Thursday, the only day of the week I have to be in the office. If I wanted to complete this project soon, I would have to go to Dodger Stadium or take my picture to Frank & Sons.

I decided to take a shot at Dodger Stadium first. Tuesday night Mrs. Dodgerbobble and I met Alejandro at the Ravine, and we headed straight for the Field level. I wasn't down there for more than two minutes, when Davey Lopes walked past me. I had no time to react, I pulled out the picture, handed it to him, and noticed I didn't have my black Sharpie. The other three signatures were in black. Lopes was signing someone else's picture in blue Shaprpie when he grabbed my pic. He signed mine in blue too.  I was a little disappointed that his auto was a different color from the other three, but I was still happy to complete the picture.

While we were at Dodger Stadium, I got a few more autographs:

Maury Wills signing my hat

Maury Wills

Aaron Miles

Aaron Miles on the hat

Clayton Kershaw signed a couple cards for me

There was some innocent flirting going on between Javy and Mrs. Dodgerbobble. Cool! 

He signed the hat.

Kenley Jansen

Mike MacDougal

Scott Elbert

Matt Guerrier on the hat

Guerrier on card

Bullpen coach Ken Howell

I had a great time that night. I completed my infield project. I got a few autographs. I heard some great Beatles tunes. Andre Ethier hit a Grand Slam, and the Dodgers won!

Some Recent Dodger Auto Pick Ups

I've picked up a few Dodger autographs over the last few weeks. What I've been doing is trying to concentrate on some of the youngsters in the organization.

Here's a 2004 Javy Guerra/Justin Orenduff Upper Deck SP Prospects dual auto /175. Javy Guerra, the Dodgers current Closer, has been one of the few bright spots in this terrible 2011 Dodgers season. Can't say much about Orenduff, who retired from baseball in 2009, then came back to the Dodgers in 2011. He was released in July after posting an era of almost 9.

Ivan DeJesus Jr. has been up and down between the Dodgers and AAA Albuquerque a couple times this year. I'm sure he'll get a September call-up, but will he be on the roster next April? We'll see. Here's his 2007 Bowman Chrome Auto.

Another guy who's made a few trips between LA and Albuquerque is Jon Link. Link, who came to the Dodgers with John Ely in the Juan Pierre trade, has had a mediocre 2011 down in AAA. This is his 2010 Topps Chrome Auto.

One of the guys I'm most excited about in the Dodgers organization is Jerry Sands. He's another guys who's sure to get a September call-up, and hopefully he's a regular player in LA next season. Here's his 2010 Bowman Platinum Auto.

One of my latest pick-ups is this 2011 Topps Pro Debut Garrett Gould Auto. Gould was the Dodgers second round pick in 2009. He's currently playing for the Single-A Great Lakes Loons in the Midwest League, and has made some great strides over the last couple years. 

This last Dodger auto is one I wish I didn't have, but I figured I should pick it up in case anything becomes of him. This is a 2007 Upper Deck National Signatures Tim Federowicz Auto /275. TFed came from the Red Sox in the Trayvon Robinson trade. Robinson, of course was a top prospect in the Dodger organization and was sent to Seattle in the three-team deal. Federowicz well, he wasn't even a top ten prospect for the Sox. But the Dodgers lacked depth at the catcher position. Thank you Ned.

Player Appearance: Javy Guerra

Dodgers reliever Javy Guerra made an appearance at Video & Audio Center in Santa Monica on Saturday. He was scheduled to meet fans and sign autographs from Noon to 1pm.

I was looking forward to this event. Javy's hot right now as the Dodgers current Closer, going 8 for 8 in save opportunities and sporting a solid 1.85 era. I wasn't expecting a large crowd though because Matt Kemp and Tony Gwynn Jr. were signing at the same time over at Frank & Sons. I was right about that. When I arrived, there about 25 people in line, and when Javy started signing, there were only about fifty people there.

Guerra arrived on time, and he started signing right away. He was signing everything that was put in front of him, so I went with a  ball and an 8x10. He was also very friendly, chit-chatting with everyone and taking pictures. I had a chance to get back in line, but I figured two autos was plenty.

I had a great time at the event. Thanks to Video & Audio Center and Javy Guerra.