Last night was my two year-old’s first Dodger game. Sharing a trip to The Stadium with someone for the first time is always an important day. To do it with a child for the first time can be pretty special.

To be clear, she just turned two a few weeks ago. Her usual bedtime is 7:00. I wasn’t sure she’d last.

It was hot early-on, but it’s the summer and it’s Dodger Stadium, so… . By Owen Main

But there’s something about the atmosphere of having 40,000-plus people in one place, isn’t there. Even if she isn’t paying direct attention to the game, the ebb and flow of the crowd’s cheers were stimulating enough to have her bouncing off the walls well past 9:30, when we left after the 8th inning. I had to respect the 3 1/2 hour drive and how tired I felt.

It was a family, group outing to the stadium. There were 14 of us on the reserved level. Your experience may differ, but here are a few do’s and don’ts for bringing a super young kid to the game, based on my vast experience roughly equivalent to a single Friday night.

Do: Bring some little things for the kid to play with.

We brought a little mini etch-a-sketch type thing with a magnetic pen attached. You can get minutes at a time of something to do. Five minutes of still attention is a good thing, whenever you can get it.

Do: Sit in the reserved section.

The section is super steep, which gave me the heebie jeebies at first. After a minute though, it was fine. We could keep the kid between the adults and, as luck would have it, there was a little playground at the top of the section we were sitting in at Dodger Stadium. The kid spent a lot of time up there with the in-laws.

The other thing about the reserved section — at least where we were — is you didn’t have to worry about foul balls. Later, we will make sure we sit where foul balls ARE possible, but for now it was nice to know that my toddler wouldn’t get inadvertently domed by an errant foul ball.

Do: Bring reinforcements.

Corralling a two year-old isn’t easy work, especially you kind of like to watch the game. For this night, the kid got passed between two in-laws, me, and the wife. I was fully prepared to hang with her all night, but it was nice to also be able to pay attention to the game for some of it as well.

Don’t: Have anyone in your group buy slushies. Or have a four year-old climb rows in the reserved section with a slushie.

You can probably imagine what happened here. My wife got most of a grape slushie poured on her by her nephew. It was an honest accident and hey, at least it was grape. It’s both the best tasting and it will come right out in the wash, right?

Don’t: Lose track of where the mother in law and kid are during important moments.

These include Adrian Gonzalez homers and also the seventh inning stretch. Two year olds like to sing and I should have found her prior to the seventh inning stretch and made sure I sang with her. I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time.

Do: Make the Dodgers win

There isn’t really any way to guarantee this, but it’s a nice feeling when the Dodgers win. Actually, if you figure out how to make this happen, let me know, k? Everybody’s a little happier when the home team wins.

Do: Get plenty of photos. The first trip to Chavez Ravine only happens once.

This one is self explanatory.

__________________________

All in all, it was a successful trip. We were home in San Luis Obispo before 1:00AM, which is a small feat unto itself, and the kid let us all sleep past 8:00 today. She probably won’t remember the trip but for all the photos, but like I said before, you can only do something for the first time once.

“You guys, this one’s different, I can feel it,” I say to my friends as they stare at me skeptically. “I really think this could be THE ONE,” I say with a glean in my eye.

Every time it starts the same; hopeful my luck is turning around. I won’t get obsessed. I won’t lose myself. I’m grounded this time, I tell myself. I won’t let it take over — I can’t let it take over, not like I’ve done before. I won’t neglect my friend. I won’t cry in public. I’ll play it cool this time – I mean, I am a grown adult, this should not be hard. I spend my nights awake with excitement, only to fall asleep and dream of the future, praying that this time things will end just as I’ve longed for since I was a little girl.

This is going to be THE YEAR. I just know it. By KennethHan (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

But then, just like all the other times, it happens. The ebbs and flows, the ups and downs slowly start to turn me. If we just did this, it’d be right – or maybe that. Strategy, we need strategy…no we need heart and passion, that’s what’s missing…or is chemistry?

“Why? WHY is this happening again?” I beg. “This was supposed to be my chance at real happiness,” I cry.

I start lying to my friends, telling them I am doing better than I am. I make excuses, start casting blame. It gets ugly, really ugly. I drink more than I should and cry to strangers. It’s an unhealthy vicious cycle.

And then tides turn, things change for the better. Excitement fills my heart, the spring in my step returns and I am simply giddy everywhere I go. “Nothing can change this feeling,” I think. We were made for this.

It gets bad again. And this time it’s worse. I pour my heart out to new friends, knowing the old ones are tired of this constant battle. We fail miserably and I am left in shambles wondering what we did wrong as I finally accept defeat. “This was supposed to be my chance at true happiness,” I wail, “this one was supposed to end in a ring…”

I still believe though. I won’t give up. I know someday the perfect kind of chemistry, heart and passion will meet and my wildest dreams will come true.

But seriously, guys, I think this is it. I think this is the year my Dodgers will finally win the World Series again.

The truth is, Juan Uribe has redeemed the first two years of his contract all season. In over 900 innings, he’s made five errors defensively at third base. His hitting got progressively better over the course of the season, and on Monday night, he sealed the fate of how his time with the Dodgers will be remembered with this majestic blast, turning a 3-2 deficit into a series-clinching 4-3 victory.

Wooooo!

Until last year, I was one of the biggest Uribe detractors. When Luis Cruz was hitting home runs in Spring Training, I didn’t really see the need for him on the roster, despite his big contract. Through it all, he apparently remained very professional and did what the team asked him to do.

This season, in his contract year, he seemed slimmed down and has been a solid contributor. In the first four playoff games, he’s been nothing short of incredible. So, an apology is due:

Juan, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I called you a fat toad. I’m sorry for getting frustrated and laughing at emojuanuribe.com. I’m sorry for the boos.

On to the NLCS!

Dodger Stadium was beautiful on Monday night. By Owen Main

Garvey almost blows it

Steve Garvey had the honors of saying, “It’s time for Dodger baseball” before the game, but he added a little more. The former Dodger emphatically predicted that this would be the last game of the NLDS moments before the first pitch with the Braves looking on. A few heads in the Braves dugout definitely turned pretty quickly at that moment.

With the Dodgers down 3-2 in the 8th, all I could think about was how the team and its fans looked like they might eat Garvey’s words, especially if the Dodgers couldn’t pull out the series at all.

Oh, but ye (me) of little faith… . Juan Uribe and his home run swing made it all better.

Man, that was awesome. Awesome Awesome Awesome! Bring on the NLCS!

Carl Crawford 2011-2012: .260/.292/.419; Juan Uribe 2011-2012: .199/.262/.289. Tonight: 3 HR, 4 RBI, one trip to NLCS

— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) October 8, 2013

In 2003, I was a senior in college. I assumed the story my Giant-fan friend told me was just a wives tale.

“I’m never going to Dodger Stadium. A Giants fan got shot in the parking lot there,” he said. I scoffed at the assertion. I call Dodger Stadium the happiest place on Earth. It turns out that, for me at least, Disneyland is third behind Chavez Ravine and probably the Staples Center. But I digress.

AT&T Park is known for being a beautiful stadium, close to the ocean. On Wednesday night, there was tragedy only a few blocks away. Photo via Wikimedia Commons

When I found out that the shooting story at the Dodger Stadium parking lot was true, I tried to rationalize it. Any big city has thugs and when you are consistently atop the league in attendance, one out of three million people who walk through the turnstiles probably won’t be the best guy in the world, no matter the fan base.

Over the past few years, Brian Stowe was beaten within an inch of his life in the Dodger Stadium parking lot and this week a guy with a group of Dodger fans was stabbed to death outside AT&T Park in San Francisco, presumably after a fan-based altercation.

I want to say so, so much about this. I want to slap any Dodger fan who wants to get in an actual fight. I want to say sorry for the times I laughed in the late 90’s at Dodger Stadium when I saw unsuspecting Giants fans get pelted with peanuts and not-so-empty cups of beer and soda. I am at a loss for what kind of fan behavior is acceptable and where the line actually is. It certainly has to be drawn well before stabbings and beatings are on the acceptable side.

Wherever the invisible line is, it has to allow for fans to do things like vehemently boo their hated rivals — there was nothing more fun than sitting down the left field line in a game where the Dodgers were playing Barry Bonds and the Giants.

I don’t want to be singing Kumbaya and holding hands at a game with someone in orange and black, either. I love to try to get under the skin of fans of other teams, especially when those teams come from northern California. A little good-natured trash talk can be fun. But this is insane.

In a game where “unwritten rules” have received so much attention this season, especially in Los Angeles, we are continuing to learn something about the unwritten rules of fansmanship.

With social media, there probably isn’t anything I can say that hasn’t already been said, as Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts put it so nicely:

I can’t imagine there’s any perspective to offer about the San Francisco stabbing incident that 99 percent of you don’t already know.

— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) September 26, 2013

Weisman is right. We all know better. And it makes me crazy.

Which Dodger outfielder will be the odd man out come playoff time? If they make it to the World Series, it won’t matter in the AL park. By Dirk Hansen (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

With a cannonball into the pool, Nick Punto was the personification of the feeling Dodger fans have had throughout the year.

When the team came out slow, reasonable fans preached patience. When Yasiel Puig was called-up, there was at least energy, if not a winning streak. When the Dodgers were 9 1/2 game back on June 22, things seemed bleak.

We all know what happened next. The Dodgers went 42-8 over a 50-game span and turned the standings upside down.

So, when Punto, Kershaw, Puig, and co. went swimming, Dodger fans let out an exhale that could be felt from here to Arizona. Here are some clinching and pre-postseason thoughts.

How good does this feel right now?

Dodgers fans have been through a lot. Not like Boston a lot, and not like Cubs a lot, but still. The team has not been to the World Series in 25 years. The stench of old ownership had to be washed away by a fan boycott and with help from Major League Baseball.

Criticism of new ownership came swiftly as they spent more money more quickly than an NFL rookie without a financial advisor. It made this fan somewhat nervous.

Now it seemed all worth it. The team is in the playoffs with plenty of time to have their aces lined-up for their first series.

Who will be left out in the outfield?

I think the Dodgers will probably go with matchups. Since they have two lefties and two righties in the outfield, I would expect Ethier to probably sit vs. lefties. Who they sit against right handed pitchers is a little bit more of a guess, but I bet Puig will be left out of the starting lineup at least 1-2 times per series. I guess it gives them pinch-hitting/defensive replacement flexibility though late in games, which is a good thing if the players buy into it.

The pitching staff is all lined-up.

Really, there are no excuses for this year’s Dodger team. They should be able to line-up Kershaw, Grienke, Ryu, and Nolasco. They should be able to bring all their position players into the playoffs healthy. We will get a real chance to see who the best team out there is, and as a Dodger fan, I’ll take the odds with a pitching staff like this one.

Uribe

The much-maligned third baseman who was either injured or didn’t hit at all over the past two years has come up roses down the stretch. A huge contribution from Uribe during a World Series run would make for poetic justice would be served for a guy who took a lot from fans like me. Emojuanuribe.tumblr.com is still one of the greatest websites ever, though. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

A footnote about Arizona

Spring Training was a blast the past few years. The Phoenix area is as hospitable as anywhere else to fans from all over the country.

Their local team, though, is nowhere near as friendly or reasonable. Early in the year, Dodger fans behind home plate were forced to change into Arizona gear. Then this happened.

So, whether the Dodgers disregarded the Diamondbacks’ request, whether they swam in the pool, and whether they peed in the pool, people need to settle down. I wonder how many times the pool has been peed in by D-Backs fans. Probably a lot… .

The opening series is over. The reality of 159 more games — 78 of them at Dodger Stadium is upon us. It’s going to be a fun Summer.

This week marked the unveiling of the newly-remodeled Dodger Stadium. While much of the work that was done is in infrastructure, we wanted to find out what was really different about the place for the fans. There have been lots of articles on what was coming up, but how was the fan experience really?

Here are some accounts (or portions of them) from three people. Two of them attended on opening day and one attended on Wednesday night. They are all Dodger fans with lots of experience at Dodger Stadium over the past few years.

Eric Becker – Glendale, CA

Eric Becker is a Dodger fan through and through. I met him when he was picketing the McCourt regime, but he quickly came back to the ballpark last season. Eric been going to games for years, usually getting a mini-plan and sitting all over the stadium throughout the years. Here is part of his account of Dodger Stadium on Opening Day.

From Eric’s blog:

“Once inside, the ballpark was very festive. Some great new features for Opening Day included bands stationed outside of different entrances. The Left Field side of the Reserve Level featured a band that had a sort of New Orleans/Mardi Gras feel to it, an old-style jazz brass band. The Top Deck featured a rock band blasting out hits from 1960 to about present. “I Want You To Want Me,” “My Sharona” and “Jumping Jack Flash” were amongst the selections I heard while up there. Whether the Dodgers continue this for all games or select games, or whether this was just a part of Opening Day Festivities remains to be seen. As for the pre-game, there was a performance by the Blue Man Group. Then of course the teams were introduced, the San Francisco Giants to continuous boos and the Dodgers to the enthusiastic cheers of a crowd that’s been waiting 25 years to bring a title home.”

[scrollGallery id=103]

Photos by Eric Becker

There is definitely something fun about live music. Having fans come early for a few drinks before the game in a fun, festive atmosphere sounds like a great idea to me. Live music is a wonderful way to provide this atmosphere. A little more from Becker:

This was truly an Opening Day to remember.  Koufax’s first pitch and Kershaw’s utter dominance of the game on the mound and at the plate set an incredibly positive tone to start the 2013 season.  There are 161 games left to play, and of course one game at the beginning of April doesn’t determine which teams will be playing well into October.  That said, Dodger fans have every reason to feel good about this team, and all indications are that this could be a special year at Dodger Stadium.

Shane Miranda – Arroyo Grande, CA

The view of the first level and field from the loge section. By Evan Moffitt

Shane Miranda is a UCLA alum who has joined those of us 3 1/2 hours north of Downtown Los Angeles in San Luis Obispo County. He played college baseball and also made the trip down to Los Angeles for the Dodgers’ opener. Miranda sat on the Loge level.

“I noticed how much lighter the concession area felt,” said Miranda. “There is lighter paint and more lighting.”

He had some criticisms too.

“They have a new speaker configuration in center field,” he said. “They also had speakers throughout the concession areas that were too loud in my opinion.”

Here are some other bullet points from Miranda:

GOOD:

* Big Screen TV’s you could see if you were standing in line for concessions.

* The new scoreboards looked amazing.

* New table-seating in the concession area

NOT AS GOOD:

* Blue Man Group – Felt a little weird and not quite baseball-relevant.

* Advertisements – Everything seemed like an ad. Ad’s seemed more prominent than in the past.

* Rumors of long bathroom lines, even for the newly remodeled bathrooms.

Last word from Shane:

“I’ve been to playoff games, but I’ve never seen the stadium packed so far before the 1st pitch and stay full through the last out. There were no stragglers and the only people that left early were the Giant fans. And there weren’t many Giant fans.”

Evan Moffitt/Kevin Qualey – San Luis Obispo County, CA

So I guess Dodger and Giant fans can live together. By Kevin Qualey

A pair of my softball buddies decided to go catch the rubber game of the series. Driving from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles and back for a Wednesday night game is the embodiment of fervent fansmanship, but it’s the reality for those of us who live in the far reaches of the Dodgers’ media market.

When they got there, they met up with an in-law Giants fan. With him, they watched the Dodgers lose the game and the series, their early-season offense still totally anemic. Here are a few of Evan’s comments:

* The video displays are AMAZING! It’s like sitting and watching an HDTV at home, except the TV is ridiculously gigantic.

* We sat in the Loge section in the front row. I really believe the Loge has the best view of the game. Better than the lower level even.

* There aren’t separated “boxes” anymore on the lower level. It’s just rows, which seems way better.

* The stadium looks better. You can’t tell all of what they’ve done from only one level, but it looks better overall. The new fan areas and concourses are really cool.

So, a more general assessment, but it was the next day on 3 hours’ sleep (which is what happens when you get back from a game at 2:30 AM).

So, the stadium renovations seem mostly positive. I wasn’t a huge fan of the sight lines created by the most recent renovation of the lower level and the seats there. Hopefully with this latest change, seats down the line and up higher in the first level will be facing a little more closely toward the action and sight lines will be a little better.

Have you been to the park? What do you think of the renovations? What have your experiences been? Post below.

Clayton Kershaw is the ace of a much-improved Dodgers pitching staff. By Owen Main

It seems like such a long time. It was only a year though. Twelve months, and a lifetime ago.

Last April, the Dodgers were in limbo. Frank McCourt was on his way out, but nobody knew who was coming in. The Dodger organization was one year removed from the ownership tipping point — the Brian Stow beating — and months away from the beginning of what Dodger fans hope is the great turnaround — Magic Johnson and the Guggenheim group leading the way.

This year, the Dodgers’ spring training was the first under their new ownership and the outlook is actually bright for the first time in a few years Here are five reasons why Dodger fans are justified to have a sunny outlook on 2013.

* Dodger Stadium has been renovated: For fans, this should be a nice change. I, for one, was not excited about the sometimes-compromised sightlines created by the previous renovation of the lower level.

But this renovation has been a little more complete. It’s about as much as a team can do to an existing facility like Dodger Stadium in a single offseason. New state-of-the-art scoreboards have been installed that, while brand new, keep the Dodger Stadium aesthetic that those fans who are more sentimental will appreciate. All initial signs point to a better fan experience — something Frank McCourt promised, but new ownership has actually delivered in less than a year.

The thing that may be the most fun about the renovations will be what team president Stan Kasten called “the most elaborate and the most extensive Wi-Fi network anywhere in baseball.”

“Pretty good for a 50-year old stadium,” said Kasten.

Have you ever been somewhere and there were so many people that it overloaded the wireless network? Dodger Stadium will be a place where that probably won’t happen anymore. Again, good news for the fan experience.

Magic Johnson and the new ownership group deserves a lot more than a high-5 from Dodger fans. By Owen Main

* Veteran Leadership: One of the best things about this Dodgers team is that they actually have had a whole spring to mesh. In the end, production, wins and losses, etc… are all that matters. But it’s interesting how often “chemistry” gets brought into the conversation. By all accounts, the Dodgers are generally getting along and fans should take heart that now that the season is starting, the team should be comfortable and have no excuses not to perform to their potential.

I’m as excited about Opening Day as anyone else, but the baseball season is a grind. This Dodgers team is filled with players who know how to get through that grind both mentally and physically. There aren’t a lot of rookies on this year’s team. It’s built to win now and there are veterans who have been through this before. If ever there was a team designed to withstand the scrutiny the Dodgers will go through this year, it’s this team.

* Depth: It’s a simple concept, but when you have a veteran team, guys will end up on the disabled list. Guys will need days off. When you sign a team with a lot of players who have some chance of injury (due to age or past history), you have to bring depth along with it. The Dodgers don’t have just anyone as their utility players without some bona-fides. Jerry Hairston, Nick Punto, Skip Schumaker, and Juan Uribe have all been on winning teams. Justin Sellars looks like he’ll get a real chance to play a lot in Hanley Ramirez‘ absence. Hairston and Schumaker both can play infield and outfield positions, giving Don Mattingly a little extra versatility in filling out his lineup card or making late-inning substitutions on any given day.

Uribe and Sellars might not be the best choices in the world, but keep in mind that the Dodgers have players with Major League experience like Dee Gordon, Elian Herera, and Alfredo Amezaga. The most important minor league player, though, might be Yasiel Puig. Puig has yet to see any major league time, but hit over .500 in spring training and could be the answer should an outfielder like Carl Crawford get hurt.

* Grienke: The impact of a second ace is not one to be taken lightly. Zach Grienke had a weird year last season, but should be well-settled in the new Dodger Stadium. Having a second top-of-the-line pitcher should take some pressure off Clayton Kershaw and the rest of the team. With Grienke, the Dodgers have two Cy Young Award winners and Josh Beckett, who has been a World Series MVP in 2003 and finished second in American League Cy Young voting in 2007.

Hitting and fielding isn’t the only place the Dodgers have depth. Having Kershaw and now Grienke at the top of the rotation makes experienced pitchers like Beckett, Chad Billingsley, and Chris Capuano bottom-of-the-rotation guys.

* Puig: Yasiel Puig will start the season in Chattanooga, Tennessee with the Dodgers’ AA team, the Lookouts. After a spring training where he hit .526 (with zero walks in almost 60 plate appearances), Puig injected additional hope for the Dodgers’ future. He is 22 and has some seasoning ahead of him, but if this year’s spring training is any indication, Puig may give the team trade and roster flexibility sooner than later. Also in Chattanooga is Zach Lee, the other top Dodgers prospect. Lee, only 21 years old, is the Dodgers’ top pitching prospect. In the quest to win now, the Dodgers have also not given up all their prospect talent, allowing them to avoid mortgaging the future for a chance to win now.

Scores of empty seats at weekend games in Chavez Ravine will become distant memories, the stain of the McCourt ownership already starting to be washed away by the solvent of the cash-infused new ownership group. For Dodgers fans, this opening day truly should be a new beginning.

With the movie Moneyball coming out soon, it’s a good time for people to legitimately re-examine his legacy as the Dodgers General Manager.

DePodesta seemed at the time like a smart guy. For those of us who read Moneyball, it was exciting to think that the Dodgers had the best of both worlds: a big market where money could be spent AND a general manager who had some kind of inherent advantage over everyone else.

When DePodesta was hired, Dodgers fans had visions dancing in their heads; not of sugar-plumbs, but of getting good value deals on some players and at the same time having money to spend on players the A’s never could (see: Jason Giambi, et al.).

His Wikipedia page includes entries like this:

During the 2004 off-season, DePodesta let Adrián Beltré, who had hit 48 home runs in 2004, sign with Seattle as a free agent.

As if it was only DePodesta who made the decision not to sign Beltré. The Dodgers’ failure to hang onto an MVP candidate in McCourt’s first offseason as the owner looks ominous in hindsight.

While the media lambasted DePodesta for action or inaction throughout his time with the Dodgers, they should have been looking at the office above DePodesta’s.

I’ll ask this question: If you were an owner without any real money who wanted to keep his team just good enough to compete without having to spend much money, who would you try to hire? I would try to hire DePodesta.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=VciA-lN5k7s

When the team didn’t turn around instantly and then had an atrocious season, McCourt needed a scapegoat. And he found one in DePodesta.

It was easy at the time to question the ability of Hee Seop Choi. I wonder whether anyone used the opportunity to question Frank?

Hindsight is sometimes a useless gift, but in this case I think we need to take a different view of Paul DePodesta. While his handling of Beltré, Choi, and some others were questionable, they weren’t any worse than some moves Colletti has made.

But we treat Ned a little differently because his boss is a bumbling fool. So was Paul DePodesta’s. Let’s not forget that.

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 In our final of four articles this week, and with the season winding down, we examine where the Dodgers might go from here. 

For the last two years, I’ve been saying, “anyone but Frank,” with visions of the Dodgers being owned by Oscar De La Hoya, Magic Johnson, and Mark Cuban dancing in my head.

With Oscar in rehab and Magic and Cuban everything but vocal recently, a group led by Bill Burke that includes Chinese investors and unidentified U.S. investors has made an offer to buy the team for probably more than it’s worth.

I am more certain than ever that Frank McCourt must be stopped, but I think Dodgers fans may be exhibiting a little more patience after the most recent offer. As Mike Petriello mused, Dodgers fans need to root for “the right sale,” and not just have an “anyone but McCourt” mentality.

Fans don’t know much about Burke, aside from the fact that he’s been involved with McCourt dealings in the past. To me, that doesn’t exactly bode well for him. With all of Frank’s sins throughout the years, fans shouldn’t want anything to do with anyone who has been anywhere near the embattled Dodgers owner (thanks MSTI! You rock!).

On the field, the Dodgers still have some young parts that could lead to success in the very near future. An article in today’s LA Times made a good argument for Matt Kemp as the MVP and Clayton Kershaw as a serious contender for the Cy Young Award. And the Dodgers HAVE won 9 of their last 10 games and are closer to .500 than they have been since June.

So things might be looking up with McCourt getting an offer and the team playing well. But where do they go from here?

On the field

With the exception of Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, the Dodgers’ everyday lineup is filled with mostly mediocre or unproven talent. Without an infusion of energy or money (see: change in leadership) this off-season, that probably won’t change. Dee Gordon has the potential to be an exciting player, but there isn’t much else to get excited about. Aside from Matt Kemp’s 31 home runs, only two other Dodgers are in double-figures.

That doesn’t sound like a real contender to me…

The team is in the bottom third in baseball in home runs and runs. Beyond Kemp, nobody in their lineup strikes fear into the hearts of opponents. This makes Kemp’s achievements all the more special this year, but if Kemp is out of the lineup, the bottom of the inning might be a good time for fans to go wait in the long Dodger Stadium concession lines.

Footnote: I was excited about a possible outfield of Trayvon Robinson, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier next year, but the Dodgers decided that Robinson wasn’t necessary and traded him for nearly nothing. Like most people who know a lot more about these things than I do, I think this is a move I think will haunt Dodgers’ General Manager Ned Colletti for the rest of his time with the team.

Pitching has always been the Dodgers’ focus. From Drysdale and Koufax to Sutton to Valenzuela, Hersheiser, Martinez, etc… pitching has always been the mainstay of the Dodgers organization. The Dodgers’ rotation has a bonified ace in Clayton Kershaw and a few serviceable mid-rotation guys in Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly. Again, depth is an issue though and going into the off-season, the team will probably have to make a choice between shoring up the pitching OR the lineup.

Off the field

In a Dodgers’ organization run like it is supposed to be run, this choice between one or the other should not have to be made. A team in the Los Angeles market should not have to make a choice between pitching and hitting. If Yankees and Phillies aren’t subjected to having to make a choice, neither should Dodgers fans. For an organization whose fans made them a Top-5 team in attendance for over a decade in the second largest media market in the country, having to make the choice is unacceptable.

The cross-town Angels have made free-agent acquisitions in which they’ve had to pay real money to real professionals. Torii Hunter turned out to be a much better acquisition (despite the money the Angels had to pay) than Manny Ramirez ever was. Recently, Jared Weaver signed an extension with the Angels and even gave them a home-town discount because he knows the Angels are committed to spending money and making the product on the field good.

Do you think Clayton Kershaw will give the Dodgers the same discount? What about Matt Kemp? The decisions Colletti, McCourt, Selig, and Jamie McCourt make will all contribute to whether the Dodgers get better or worse next season.

The end of the 2011 season is a crossroads in the history of the Dodgers. What management does or does not do this off-season will be closely scrutinized and, if it’s like past off-seasons, people who love the Dodgers in Los Angeles will not be much happier.

In the stands

If McCourt remains the owner, I believe the fans will stay away. The fans have spoken loud and clear with their absence this season. When McCourt sells the team, though, this fan will be sorely disappointed if fans do not sell-out the stadium during the following home games.

Let’s hope that home game is at a Dodger Stadium that Frank doesn’t still own…

If not, we could be permanently in a mental state about baseball similar to this young lady:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaDj6eT8hB0

I’m hoping against that.

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In part 3 of our 4-part series on the current state of the Dodgers, we examine how the lack of fans at the game is hurting the people who work in and around the stadium.

It was sad.

An empty stadium and too many vendors. Men and women walking around in 95 degree heat with ice chests slung over their backs having to walk a lot farther than usual to lighten their load. During the second inning, fans in one section saw the frozen lemonade guy go past them from section to section, covering 2-3 whole sections before he got a buyer. Instead of walking up and down the aisles, this vendor got smart and simply walked down one of the many empty rows.

In the third inning, still with plenty of inventory, the same vendor walked past the other way, hawking his sweet and sour refreshment. Such has life become in what used to be called the happiest place on earth.

Now it just seems like another place.

In just a few seasons, Frank McCourt has done the unthinkable. For many Dodgers fans, he has turned Dodger Stadium into a place filled with negative emotions. Had he truly tried, McCourt couldn’t do what he has done to slander the Dodgers’ reputation and name. From actual parking issues in the parking lot to security issues throughout the stadium, to the well-documented tumult throughout the organization, the confidence of Dodgers fans has slowly eroded like a tooth that only starts to hurt when a root canal is needed.

And the fans’  bad experience has to be affecting workers and other people who depend on Dodger Stadium for their livelihoods.

On a Saturday afternoon game in the heat of the pennant race on Saturday, the California Pizza Kitchen snack bar was closed on the Loge Level. Without enough people at the game, CPK and the Dodgers seem to have thrown in the towel.

For the first time maybe ever, there were no lines at the concession stands when I got a pregame Dodger Dog. My guess is that the “Save the Dodgers” rally before the game had something to do with that. And, not to be outdone (as Bill Plaschke describes), apparently concession lines were adjusted back to normal as long lines returned for today’s mid-week game vs. the Padres.

But what happens to all those people who would be manning the concessions just enough to keep my head from exploding from waiting in line? Do they just not work now? In an economy that’s already pretty bad, I feel for these Angelinos who are missing work. Sometimes, for things to get better, there has to be some pain.

What about ticket salesmen? Having taken a group of 15 or more to a game during each of the past 2 seasons, I got a call from one this year. I described to him my reasoning and told him to give me a call when the organization stabilizes and proves it can spend money on being a serious World Series contender. I haven’t heard back from him. I also described to him that the game I went to featured Felix Hernandez for the Mariners vs. Eric Milton for the Dodgers and we all know how that turned out. During that game, I actually texted the number they showed on the screen and, while I don’t blame him for the Dodgers’ trouble, I did turn Eric Milton in for disrupting my fan experience.

But I don’t want to digress. The main inspiration for this semi-rant was a scalper. On my way into the stadium on Saturday, walking up Elysian Park Ave., a man asked me if I needed a ticket. When I told him I was good, he replied with a four letter word that had an exclamation point at the end. Being a family site, it’s the one that rhymes with “McCourt is out of luck.”

As I continued on, I was a little sad. Dodger Stadium was always a happy place for me. Every game I’ve gone to since I was a kid involved a 3 1/2 hour drive from San Luis Obispo County. When we drove into the parking lot (from the Stadium Way entrance off the 110), the right field scoreboard was a huge and wonderful sight. The grand cathedral that is Dodger Stadium was poised to house all the happiness a young baseball fan could hope for. Much of the time, games were ventured to on somewhat of a whim and, in these cases, scalpers were often involved. They always seemed like happy sheisters to me — putting a smile on to make a buck from my dad, who always seemed to be able to talk them down from the exhorbitant prices they were asking for.

Again, I digress. The scalper on the sidewalk didn’t have a smile on his face. If he’s been around long enough, the man is probably used to actually selling his ticket to a weekend game.

As I walked into the emptiness that Dodger Stadium has become, I reflected on the scalper who dropped the F-Bomb. Where there used to be so many, I only saw one. What happened to the other guys? They didn’t seem like guys who had other jobs.

I don’t have all the answers to the questions about what has happened to these people. Maybe someone in Los Angeles can find out for us. The point is that due to the lack of people at the games, jobs have probably been lost, and even Dodgers fans who are boycotting the team have to feel for these people.

On the way out of the stadium, I saw the same gentleman directing traffic in the crosswalk as had been there on the way in. At least he still has a job, though with so few people at the game, one wonders how long that will last.

Dodger Stadium could once again be great. When McCourt goes away, fans will come back.

In the mean time, and though they seem to be using an interesting “volume reduction” strategy to solve the issue,  it’s nice to see that it only took the Dodgers 5 years to get the parking situation straightened out.

Visit fansmanship.com tomorrow for the finale to our four-part series on the state of the Dodgers: “Where do they go from here.”