Yet again I've caught the opening night run of Widespread Panic at the historic Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The band has returned for their third consecutive year for another 3-night stand in this venerable establishment.

Lats night marks the 60th Widespread Panic show I've attended according to my records. After 12 years I think I've counted all of their gigs I've seen to date! Normally I count my ticket stubs, but I've lost track of where some of those may be so have them penciled into a notebook.

Anyway, last night was a fantastic night, but I still feel that they could have turned up a few more notches. I had the feeling they were a bit subdued and noticed a couple of miscues. None the less I think they''ll round out the rest of the weekend very well. It's a shame that I'll miss tonight's show, but I'll be with genevieve_l  celebrating her 24th birthday. Which is actually tomorrow, but her party is tonight.

However, I will be returning to the Orpheum on Sunday for the final night of Panic. Which I look most forward to!

Here's the set list to last night's show:

All right, earlier I read an article in my local paper regarding the lack of scary costumes or even ones that are non "sexy." The short of the story was that most choices for women were heavily based on sexy, trampy looking outfits.

Granted, I am a male and I don't mind seeing my *peers* that choose to dress in such a way who understand and know what they're wearing and the reasons behind them.

However, when it comes to the general populace, teenagers and younger youths I find it incredibly discouraging and plain wrong that those type of outfits are actually being sold to children of that age.

Tonight I saw a few of them that would make me as a parent question why these young girls are wearing such a mature looking costume.

I would be worried for the safety, (as well as any wrongly perceived image) of girls dressed in such attire. It baffles my mind that some of these parents, some of which are escorting their children out in the streets, allow them to walk in public.

With the numerous pedophiles and perverts out there I would think that some of those parents would think of their children first and not merely a holiday occasion that propagates such a deviant perception of girls in costume.

Vicente Padialla has become the pride of Nicaragua now as a Dodger. Facing his former team the Phillies in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. Going 7 and 1/3 innings allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 run on a solo home run and 6 strikeouts. He pitched well enough to earn the win, but left the game in the 8th trailing by a score of 1-0.

( Read more... )
He is hands down one of the best pickups made in the second half of the season and has been more than rising to the occasion to show that he has what it takes to compete against formidable opponents in post season play. He's been a great asset and fits well in Los Angeles despite what his former team the Rangers say in letting him go for being a bad team mate.

Padilla began his career as a Diamondback in 1999 then went to Philadelphia in 2000 in a trade that sent Curt Schilling to Arizona. His time with Philly was from 2000 to 2005 in which he became an All Star in 2002 which was his first full season with the Phillies. After the 2005 season he was traded to the Rangers where he stayed until late August this year before being picked up Los Angeles.

What a game last night. Not so great to lose the first game of the series, but I still enjoyed being there and watching it unfold. We outhit the Phils, but they outscored us and the number of walks issued is a clear reminder how they can hurt you in a crucial situation when making strikes and getting outs is important.

The highlight of the game?

Furcal's foul ball Foul ball off the bat of Rafael Furcal off a pitch by Ryan Madson in the 8th inning at Dodger Stadium. I picked it up after it bounced off a few fans into an empty seat in front of me. Section 15 Reserve Deck, Row F, Seat 13. Oct. 15th, 2009.

Let's get 'em tonight boys! I'll be cheering for you Padilla and the rest of the Blue Crew from the confines of my living room today.

It goes without saying that when baseball season is happening I fall off the edge of the blogging world. I generally try to keep up reading other folks entries, but I get scarce when posting my own. For that I apologize, but I honestly don't wish to babble infinitely about baseball for 6 months out of the year, lol! Well maybe I do, but to spare you numerous posts whether they applaud or rant about the games I watch or attend I just blog about them from time-to-time. ;)

That said, I'd like to say that I had a wonderful NLDS! Watching them play the Cardinals hard and sweeping them in three games was exciting and joyous! I attended both home games here in Dodger Stadium and watched the 3rd from St. Louis on television. What was unimaginable by the so-called "baseball expert" analyst pundits occured. The Dodgers beat the Cardinals. Not just by simply winning the series but by sweeping them. Beating both NL contenders for the Cy Young Award. Something that will further go down as the upset of the season. So very much like October of 2008 the Dodgers sweep their second consecutive NLDS against a highly lauded team with stats off the charts.

Being at the first two NLDS games in person was a thrill for me. I went to Game 1 with my parents and son and for Game 2 I went with my good friend
genevieve_l.

I must add that Game 2 was incredible! The bottom of the 9th inning finish and winning in walk-off fashion never gets old and I was both on the edge of my seat and loudly groaning a bad call and every strike against us, breathing a heavy sigh with each called ball and foul that landed in the stands and out of play while booing the opposing defenders, but most of all cheering loudly with every opportunity that our team came up with to capitalize on a botched fly ball to Matt Holliday that he dropped, (it hit him in the nuts no matter what anyone says about it being the stomach) with 2 outs.

TWO OUTS! Holliday cannot come up with that with closer Brad Lidge on the mound. What looked like the end of a losing Game 2 for the Dodgers turned into a second chance and infused the fan-filled stadium with new life. It just got louder and louder and more frenzied with each pitch thereafter. Loney reached 2nd on an error to Left Field by Holliday. What ensued from there can only be described as an incredible come-back of the season.

After Loney reached 2nd they inserted the speedy pinch runner Juan Pierre. Next up to bat was Casey Blake who worked a 9 pitch walk after being down in the count with 2 strikes on him after a badly checked swing according to the first base umpire. The way Blake hung in there to walk was beautiful. Ronnie Belliard comes up to single on the first pitch to bring Pierre home to tie the game up at 2. With Casey Blake now at 2nd and Belliard at 1st Russell Martin walks on four consecutive pitches to load the bases up for pinch hitter Mark Loretta. Lorretta who was 0 for 15 against Lidge hits a looper on an no ball, one strike count that falls in shallow left center and the Dodgers come back to win 3-2!

I won't comment about the 3rd game and sweep. I think it stands alone to say that Vicente Padilla pitched a fine 7 inning game in a 5-1 victory for the Boys in Blue.

Today is a new day, a new series and the one that will determine the 2009 National League Champion. I'm going to be there with my family again in the hopes of seeing yet another victory for Los Angels to propel them forward on a trip to the World Series. First thing is to win 4 out of 7 against the Phillies. Man I love this time of the year!

Kern Gurnick wrote this article for MLB.com and I just had to take an excerpt  from that and share it with my LJ readers:

"If you saw the movie "Major League" and you remember the voodoo-practicing ballplayer Pedro Cerrano, you knew what reliever Ramon Troncoso was building in his locker before Saturday night's Dodgers clinching

With a miniature Tommy Lasorda Hall of Fame plaque flanked by bobbleheads of Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake and Matt Kemp, Troncoso had constructed a shrine to the baseball gods. It was complete with a random collection of a cigar; a plum and a banana; a packet of chewing tobacco; assorted drink cans; a Jonathan Broxton cowboy boot; and a glass half-full with what could have been dark Caribbean rum -- all gathered to chase away the evil spirits that had kept the magic number stuck on one for a week.

"If we win tonight," said Troncoso, "I'm taking this thing everywhere."

And the Dodgers won, snapping their longest losing streak of the year. In a season of losing Ramirez to a suspension and Opening Day starter Hiroki Kuroda to three different injuries, let Troncoso believe he exorcised the clubhouse of all the negative vibe."
 

I know I haven't been posting a whole lot lately and partly the reason is because I've been watching a lot of baseball in that time. Primarily Dodgers games of course. Though I have also been watching other games in the National League when they've been televised or watching the updates vie the internet.

Well I'm pleased to say to those that aren't in the baseball realm of awareness that my Boys in Blue have won their Division to make it back-to-back National League West Championships! Something that hasn't been achieved since the late 70s. This will be the 3rd Dodgers trip in the past 4 seasons. Congratulations boys! You so richly deserve this!

Not only did we finish as NL West Champs, but we also retained the best record in the National League securing our home field advantage for the next two rounds of post season play! The competition will be stiff, but that goes without saying when you're playing the best teams from their respective divisions along with the team that has the 4th best record in the NL.

Tomorrow play begins between my Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals who have been playing us very tough throughout the long history between our ballclubs. This season especially. The Cards have a fantastic starting rotation and two Cy Young Award contenders in Carpenter and Wainwright, but the Dodgers also have a fine selection of starters that haven't created much of a buzz yet have the abiliy with a mix of veteran experience to go the distance and be toe-to-toe with the Cards.

St. Louis may have headline making starters pushing for the Cy Young, but we have the better team ERA for pitching along with the best bullpen in the Majors. As for the offense, they may have the amazing Albert Pujols, but we also have a great assortment of sluggers in our lineup that can bring some pop and manufacture runs in addition to speed to run the bases. Yes, this will be an entertaining series.

I'm especially happy to be attending the first two games of the home series opener! I truly will be rooting for my team and loudly cheering! I may lose my voice before the end of Thursday night. =P

Yup!

Tentative schedule next year will have the Dodgers in interleague play facing the Red Sox at Fenway. Also they will be hosting the Detroit Tigers as well as the New York Yankees.

I look forward to this and hope there are no changes to this tentative schedule. I intend to plan a trip to Boston with me and my son to catch that Fenway series so we both can take in a great series between two great and storied teams in one of the last remaining historical ballpark bastions left in the Major Leagues.

Awesome!

Looks like I needed 2 hoses replaced that are located above the fuel tank which required the fuel tank to be dropped to access them. My catalytic converted is indeed bad and needs to be replaced. I have a bad oxygen sensor that needs replacing and to top it all off I need new brake pads and rotors! This is in addition to getting it to pass smog. Roughly $800 worth of fun! -_-

This has been a rather interesting month on the driver license renewal and registration renewal on my Jeep. Both expire this month. Well, my registration expired on the 8th and I had yet to renew it because I misled myself that it was due at the end of the month. My DL expires on my birthday which is the 29th. However, because the DMV in CO says I still owe them money ($95) for an 18 year old fee I was never informed to pay is holding me back.

So yeah, I take my Jeep in to get the smog check taken care of and it fails two tests. I'll know more in about an hour or so what the final word is and how much *more* it will cost.

Also, I have to have one of the three forms I need to fill out for the CO DMV notarized which will also incur another fee!

Someone really is testing my patience with the whole driving priviledge process and keeping them up to date and in good status. =P

My sincerest apologies for the lack of updates regarding my trip to Eurofurence 3 weeks ago and my past weekend in Rosarito, Mexico. I will try to amend that tomorrow hopefully. Today is work and then I rush off to see my beloved Los Angeles Dodgers play the inept Pittsburgh Pirates. Until then, ciao!

What a fantastic convention too! I wish I could have alloted more time to stay longer. I would have loved to have arrived much earlier into Germany and left later as well. The jetlag was pure Hell! Especially when each night was a late night and many drinks were had over the course of the week. It's unbelievable how much alcohol was consumed by the convention goers and how rare it is to have practically no problems associated with it.

The Ringberg Hotel is a very nice establishment and it makes me sad to know that this was the final year EF would be held in that lovely place. My only complaint is the one key per room policy which made it inconvenient for my roomies and myself to have open access to our room. Especially when one of us wanted to sleep and wasn't able to find a roomie to take the key back to reception so they could retrieve the key later when they wanted to sleep.

I left the con early today so that I could be in Frankfurt to catch my mid-day flight tomorrow. However, my early arrival to the hotel was very rewarding and I managed to spend a great deal of time with Zuki, Theo, Al, Pickle, and Aggie. I met up with a number of good people that includes Kaarlo, Scauron, Korrock, Ultraviolet, Kurt, Zotcoon, Kay, Cookie and others I would have to mention later when I can recall much better.

I didn't get to see any of the panels really and missed the performances which was a bit of a disappointment, but it was one of those weeks when every waking hour was not left unspent nor wasted. I primarily socialized with the many friends I rarely get the opportunity to see due to great distances and every minute was treasured well. I did manage to sit in on two of Zuki's SIGS and eventually participated in Saturday's SIG he held. I also did try to bid on a few pieces at the art auction, but was only able to walk away with one piece. However, one of the artists did have some originals that didn't sell in which I picked up before the Artist Alley closed.

Anyway, just a brief update and will try to get some photos up to post later sometime after I return home and get settled back in.

Hiroki Kuroda was hit by a line drive from Arizona pinch hitter Rusty Ryal in the bottom of the 6th innning.

With a 2-2 count a comeback line drive struck Kuroda on the side of the head and sent him to the ground clutching his head in pain. It was a horrifying scene to watch and made my blood run cold as I sat in front of the television and witnessed it happen. He had to be removed from the field on a stretcher, but was still conscious as they carted him off the field and took him to the hospital.

The Dodgers went on to lose the game 3-4 in 10 innings which was 3-0 before Kuroda was injured in the 6th and removed from the game. Broxton blew the save by allowing 2 back-to-back solo homeruns to Mark Reynolds and Miguel Montero. Ramon Troncoso saddled with the lose in the 10th on a long single to center with the bases loaded.

I'm deeply saddened about what happened to Kuroda and pray that he'll be alright. God be with him and his family tonight.

I'll never be able to get that image out of my mind and the sickening sound of the impact of the baseball as it hit him. It leaves me with a dull, hollow feeling inside.

In terms of what this means to the team it is a tragic loss. Hiroki was battling back into fine form this second half of the season after being out for nearly three months when he went on the disabled list after his April 6th Opening Day start.

Him being out of the Dodgers starting rotation will affect the team greatly. Especially as things stand now without a definite 5th slot pitcher and a rotation that struggles to go more than 6 innings. Topping it off, the club has been playing .500 ball ever since the middle of June and allowing the Giants and Rockies to shorten the gap for the lead in the National League West.

May the team be able to pull through this lull and very significant loss of an ace pitcher who was invaluable last season and was crucial to us in the 2008 post season. Be well Kuroda and my prayers are with you.

Story can be found here.

Congratulations Tommy!

Read the complete story here on CBS 2/KCAL 9's website.

Yet another fantastic milestone and achievement for one of baseball's most enigmatic representatives.

Yesterday's Dodgers @ Giants finale was exciting and frustrating to watch. The best game of the three even though we took the extra-inning game into the the 10th for a 2-4 loss. What I must say is that I am very impressed with the Dodger pitchers that stepped up to face the Giants ace Tim Lincecum. Without having a clear 5th starter in our rotation and placing Jeff Weaver on the mound to start against him was tough and very trying.

Weaver pitcher a very ugly game, but yet still managed to pitch 3 scoreless innings making 61 pitches. Mind you, this followed another three scoreless innings of relief that he pitched three days ago. The 3rd inning was a tightrope act for Weaver when he was able to escape a bases-loaded with no outs jam by not surrendering a run. If only the naysayers and Weaver haters could properly put that into perspective and actually see and show some appreciation for his pitching performances this season.

I have to give my thanks to Juan Pierre for a great pinch hit as well has Furcal stealing second which allowed Ethier to single him to tie the game in the ninth and spoil Lincecum's complete game masterpiece.

Tough loss, much excitement and a nailbiter all the way through. My heart jumped a few times and beat hard just watching it on the television. Now let's get those D'Backs tomorrow and serve Dan Haren with another 'L' in the box scores!

My son started his first day back in Little League for this season's fall ball by attending the first practice. The practices will be small since some of the players are still playing tournaments on All Star teams and others are playing football or soccer. Only a handfull of the team are dedicating all their time to baseball and the fall ball team this season. It'll still be fun and good for all of them and will keep them playing and staying sharp for the upcoming regular season next year.

Seth's Braves teamate Josh and I were doing warm up tosses and man does that kid throw hard. He had my hand stinging from a few throws that were throbbing until late last night. He also threw one low and I had to dodge it unsuccessfully taking a hit to my right calf that still stings today.

All in all the kids looked a little rusty and hesitant, but that will all work itself out once they get into a routine and find their rhythm. Another practice today, but Seth will have to arrive late after he finishes his tutoring session.

When it comes to buying tickets one would never expect to be doing so from one such as Snoop Dogg, but when the Dodgers debuted their new Ticket Truck (which kinda looks like an ice cream truck) they had Snoop promoting it on it's first day out. I find that highly amusing considering who Snoop is and his background. At least the only thing that G was slanging that day were only Dodgers tickets. You can check out the full story here.

At long last I picked up a new iPhone. Since I qualified for the free upgrade I went ahead and picked out a 32GB 3Gs. This baby will not be left at Dodger Stadium and will be permanently grafted to my flesh.

Also, of all things I relented and set up a Twitter dumpsite. Watch if you like. I don't predict a wealth of epiphanies to erupt from my 140 character limit Twitter dumps. Fret not, I'll have enough oozing, yet succinct and headscratching brain fodder to belch out. I won't completely bomb it with ruthlesslesly mundane tasks or wallpaper each submission with Dodgers updates. Unless of course I happen to be witnessnessing a jaw dropping event at the Stadium like Manny's pinch hit homerun into the Left Field Mannywood section.

Apparently in my enthusiasm of last Wednesday night's win and sweep of the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium and the still ongoing euphoria of Manny Ramirez's pinch hit Grand Slam to give the Dodgers the lead and Billingsley his 10th win of the season, I left/lost my phone near my seat and hadn't realized it until well after leaving the ballpark and dropping off genevieve_l .

So if you're trying to call or text me and I don't reply you'll know the reason. I haven't yet looked into replacing my iPhone just yet. The cost is what's going to ding me the most though.

So basically, I'll need to get everyone's telephone numbers all over again...

Just a brief announcement.

My grandmother passed away this morning. My brother, father, I and my son will be leaving to Texas most likely this evening or tonight. Not quite sure. It'll take 22 hours to drive straight through though.