july theme day: the color green

this month the city daily bloggers are focusing on the color green.  i hope you like my choice!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants


and.....

HAPPY CANADA DAY to all my canadian friends and family.  i'm heading out of town for a little while, so this blog will be on autopilot.  if i take a while to respond to comments - that is why!

meeting matt kemp

remember when i met andre eithier?  and then jonathan broxton?

as it turns out, these kinds of things just keep popping up for dodger fans in los angeles.  thanks to the incredible dodger blog, vin scully is my homeboy, i found out that dodger superstar matt kemp was going to be in burbank yesterday at a bank of america branch.  i showed up with my daughter and we stood in line and were able to meet kemp and get his signature on a baseball.  you can read more about that baseball over at one of my other blogs.

unfortunately, the camera was on the wrong setting so when our picture was taken, it turned out like this...

jonathan broxton visits pasadena

i noticed that temporarily demoted dodger closer, jonathan broxton, was going to be at the at&t store in pasadena's hastings ranch neighborhood yesterday.  i decided to head over to get an autograph on this photo that i took earlier this year.  the event was pretty well attended, but i got there after it had started and was still able to get my photograph signed. 

i'm trying to decide if i should start adding non-hall of famer autographs to my new blog...  take a visit and chime in.

i get the sense that the dodgers do these kinds of community events more than other mlb teams do.  maybe because they have another team so close by?  either way, i'm not complaining.  other teams should take notice.

jonathan broxton vs. albert pujols

one of the best power hitters in the game faces the dodgers best power pitcher. fortunately for dodger fans, last night the pitcher won the battle, striking out pujols on a check swing (on broxton bobble head night i might add).

the dodgers beat the cardinals 1-0, and moved ahead of the padres for first place in the national league's western division.

oh, and i think there was a basketball game last night. at least i think that's what these people were watching in the dodger stadium concourse...

move the game!

next year's major league baseball all-star game is scheduled to be held in arizona. while normally i'd be excited for the fans of that great baseball state, some recent political decisions in arizona have inspired a campaign to have the 2011 all-star game moved to another location.

last sunday a few of us got together after church to show our support for this movement, and you can too...

show commissioner selig that baseball fans want the all-star game moved unless arizona's anti-immigration law is repealed - put on your favorite baseball team's gear and send in a photo to moveon.org.

play ball!

the dodgers play their first game of the 2010 season today against the lowly pittsburgh pirates. i took this picture at their last spring training game this weekend against the angels.

the grass is green, and it is time to play ball!

the dodgers shop trader joe's in pasadena

i recently noticed that the dodgers caravan would be coming through pasadena. the idea was that several current and former dodgers would have 30 seconds to fill a grocery cart with as many items as they could possibly fit in. each cart would then be donated to the los angeles food bank.


i had no idea what to expect, but i was pleasantly surprised to find that although the store was teaming with dodger fans when i arrived, there was still plenty of room for me and my camera. it was pretty interesting to see local baseball legends running around in a grocery store. it was also amazing to see how willing they were to hang out for a little while after the event to chat with fans and pose for pictures.


all in all, a very fun afternoon. if you'd like to see more photos and a rundown of the event, check out the facebook album i created, right here.

final images of the dodger's season from barney's beanery

sadly, dodgers fans who were hoping and dreaming of a world series will have to wait until next year. it was a fun season and a wild ride, but they came up a little empty against the phillies in the national league championship series.

i hoped they could pull out a win in last night's game to bring the series back to los angeles (something they should have done in game 4), but sadly it was not to be. the crowd at the beanery was enthusiastic until the bitter end.

fortunately in baseball, there is always next year.

meet zack hample

not only was wednesday's dodger game one of the best i've ever been to, i also got to meet an obscure hero of mine. zack hample is a self described 'ballhawk' from new york, but he happened to be in los angeles to 1) go on the tonight show, and 2) snag some baseballs at a playoff game. i was also at the game early and was surprised to recognize zack from his fantastic blog (here is his account of that particular game).

you have to keep your eyes open - for starters, he changes his shirt and hat depending on which team is taking batting practice because players are more likely to throw baseballs to their own fans - dodger blue above, cardinal red (which wasn't such a fan favorite) below.


zack is unique because he knows how to get baseballs. a lot of them. he has written a book about how to snagging them. this season he has actually been collecting them for charity. his story is often featured in the media - plenty of youtube videos our there and here is a recent espn article on him. in real life he's just as i imagined him. a super nice guy (willing to sign my ticket stub), but also totally preoccupied with snagging baseballs. the whole time i was near him he had his eyes on the field, and while talking and signing for those who recognized him he was leaping around trying to snag that next ball.

oh, and for the record, after that game (in which he snagged 7 balls), his lifetime count currently stands at 4352 total baseballs.



the dodgers wrapped up round one of the playoffs yesterday by sweeping the st. louis cardinals. this is exciting news! next up is round two, although their opponent has not yet been decided. if there are any extremely generous dodger fans out there with extra tickets to round two, please pass them my way. sadly, round one was about as much as a seminary student (or his wife) can afford.

dodgers win, again!

oh my. down by a run with two out in the 9th inning. a fly ball gets dropped and the dodgers get a lucky second chance to win the game. two singles and two walks later, and dodgers stadium was exploding in shouts of joy. 3-2, dodgers win. you can watch the game tying and winning hits right here.

it was by far, the best baseball game i have ever experience live.

dodgers win!

last night the boys in blue took down the st. louis cardinals in the first game of their best of five playoff series, 5-3. it was an exciting game (if a bit long) to be at - this photo was taken just after matt kemp's two run home run in the first inning.

game two is at 3:00pm today.

national league west champs!

it took longer than expected, but last night, in the second to last game of the season, the dodgers clinched the national league western division championship. this photo is from an earlier game this year, but i figured they deserve to be praised even if i don't have a picture of the actual event.

bring on the playoffs - i'll be at home games one and two of the upcoming playoff series.

russell martin, los angeles catcher

russell martin - fellow canadian - is by default, my favorite dodger. i started liking him well before we moved to la county and i began to adopt the dodgers as my national league team - simply because he plays for team canada. now i get to watch him up close - that is, whenever i go to dodger games.

the dodgers are right in the thick of a pennant race. they lead their division by a slim 3 games over the persistent colorado rockies. i'm hopeful that everything clicks at the right time this year and they bring the world series to los angeles. only time will tell!

how sweep it is!

the dodgers won their third straight game last night, eliminating the chicago cubs from the postseason (their 100th straight season without winning the world series). i was privileged enough to be in attendance, although as you can see from this image, my seats were pretty high up. it was one of the most amazing games i've ever witnessed live. the atmosphere was electric and the fans were hanging on every pitch, twirling their giveaway white dodger towels at every chance. final score - dodgers 3, cubs 1.

gotta say thanks to my friend evan for joining me in the experience.

lets go dodgers!

did a couple of pretty fun things this weekend so it was hard to know what photo to lead with on monday morning...



i ended up deciding on the dodger postseason rally that i attended last night at dodger stadium. three pictures for your viewing pleasure today. it was pretty fun to attend an event like this. my blue jays haven't been in the playoffs since their last world series championship in 1993, so a chance to attend something like this for my adopted national league team was pretty special. 10,000 fans ended up coming to this free gathering.

it got me very geared up for their first home playoff game coming up next weekend against the cubs - and lucky me, i was able to snag a pair of tickets for the big game. should be great!



tommy lasorda got things kicked off with a very inspiring speach about what it means to be a fan of the dodgers.


after several announcements that the team bus was leaving the airport, on the 105, heading north on the 110, in downtown, passing the staples center, getting off at the dodger stadium exit, etc., the team finally arrived. manager joe torre spoke a few words then handed the mic to nomar garciaparra and manny ramirez to thunderous applause.

you might say i've come full circle this season.

you'll see what else i was up to this weekend when you see tomorrow's photo.

baseball is back

i had the pleasure of being a part of the record-breaking crowd on hand last night to witness the dodgers play the red sox. while the score may not have worked out for our boys in blue, it was amazing to experience 115,300 people at a spring training baseball game played on a football field. From the lines and crowds to the noise to the quirkiness of the whole thing - it was a sensory overload - and I'd do it again in a heart beat.

religious icon?

click for gallery of pasadena/jackie robinson photos