July 4 Weekend Sports Highlights

• Mets vs. Phillies in Philadelphia (Fox at 1:05 - Saturday)
• All Williams-Final at Wimbledon - Saturday (again they're playing in the women's draw, which seems unfair)
• Williams Brothers in the Wimbledon Women's Doubles Final as well
• Andy Roddick vs. Roger Federer in Wimbledon Men's Final - Sunday
• Tour de France Stage 1 Time Trial in Monaco - Sunday
• NBA personnel carousel continues to spin (Allen Iverson is so desperate he actually said he wants to go to Memphis, poor bastard)
• Petco Park was invaded Thursday by a swarm of bees (apparently all attracted to a ball girl's jacket, about which the jacket company released this statement, "We can only guess that bees are attracted, as major league players are, to the warmth and comfort of our performance apparel."). This weekend it will be invaded by a swarm of thugs.
• Manny Ramirez returns to the Dodgers against the Padres, as exuberant Dodger fans completely forget that they ripped Giants fans for supporting Barry Bonds when he did the same thing Manny did, only it wasn't banned then...why is it that everyone else connected to steroids becomes a pariah for fans and media, but Manny is so beloved and forgiven? What did he do differently in the wake of his story breaking - or is it just that L.A. fans will get behind a winner no matter how bad a guy he is (not that I am talking about Kobe Bryant or anything)?
• O's at Angels (12:35 - Sunday, but this is only on the list because I am going)
• Russ Branyan's homer at Yankee Launching Pad Thursday should drop out of orbit and land again sometime Saturday
• Drunken pickup ultimate at the Rose Bowl all day Saturday

Dodger Stadium Vs. Citi Field

Ending on Tuesday, I watched the Mets play 5 games live over a span of 8 days, and being that I live in Los Angeles, that is clearly the most games I have ever seen in such a short span. The first three games were last week at Dodger Stadium, and the last two were this week at Citi Field. Much is made about the differences between one set of fans and another, one city and another in sports, and going to all these games provided me with an interesting perspective.

Essentially what I learned is that many Dodger fans are the uneducated (in sports terms, not necessarily in scholastic terms), obnoxious thugs that I had thought they were, but also that the "I have the right to ruin anyone's night"-mindset that many of those Dodger fans carry with them does seem to be native to Chavez Ravine.

A comparison between the two ballpark experiences:

Dodger fans were able to start "the wave" with ease at all three games, usually making upwards of 10 trips around the stadium, only ending when an inning ended. Mets fans got a "wave" going one night, it made about one-and-a-half trips and fizzled out. My section tried for three innings to start a wave in the second game and it never got more than two or three sections away. Perhaps Mets fans are there to watch a ballgame?

At least 30 beach balls were passed through the stands at Dodger Stadium during the course of each game. There was not a single one at Citi Field in two games.

Generally fans around me seemed more knowledgeable about the intricacies of the game at Citi Field than at Dodger Stadium (less booing when a pitcher holds a runner on, more overheard talk about pinch-hitting and relief pitching strategy, instant recognition of plays (double play balls hit, whether a ball will be caught, etc.).

Attendance at Dodger Stadium: 37,136, 37,857, 50,761 (bobblehead night).
Attendance at Citi Field: 41,103, 39,376 (50 degrees and raining).
Remember that these figures are the tickets sold, not the fans attending. I would guess that that actual crowds at Dodger Stadium in each game were far lower, while those at Citi Field were about accurate. I even saw two men walking out of Dodger Stadium's parking lot 30 minutes before a game after having picked up their bobbleheads and leaving!

Dodger crowds arrived late and left early, starting in the seventh inning (despite that all three games were decided by a total of five runs). The photo above is of Citi Field approximately two hours before game-time on Monday. Mets crowds arrived very early, and generally did not leave early (despite that the two games were decided by a total of eight runs).

Concessions and restrooms at Dodger Stadium do not compare to those at Citi Field, but this is an unfair comparison given that the stadiums are over 50 years apart in age. What is interesting is that the $6.50 Nathan's foot long hot dog is far better and far bigger than the similarly priced super Dodgerdog. This may seem like a trivial point, but it is certainly not: one of the nights at Dodger Stadium, I sat in a suite and even in this high-priced section, the dog I got came out of a pool of hot water, not off of a grill. Sitting in the right field-upper deck at Citi Field, my hot dog was grilled. All of the Nathan's dogs are grilled, while Dodgerdogs are steamed at nearly every concession stand. Besides the number of choices being better in New York, the prices were about the same...astronomical.

Dodger fans pour out constant abuse at fans of other teams from the moment they step out of their cars in the parking lot to the moment they get back into the car after the game. While the rivalry is better between the Mets and Dodgers, and there were more Mets fans as targets in L.A., I did not see or hear a single National fan get heckled or abused during either game. And there were Nationals fans in crowd with jerseys, hats, etc. Not once. I sat in $100+ seats for all three Dodger games - constant abuse towards Mets fans. I sat in good seats one night and upper deck-out field seats the next - no abuse towards Nats fans.

The view of the mountains at Dodger Stadium is no comparison with the view of the salvage yard beyond Citi Field. But the sight lines inside the newer stadium are fantastic, the seats are wider, and actually all face the infield. Whereas if you sit down the baselines at Dodger Stadium, particularly in the new seats that were added in the last five years, your seats probably face the outfield and you have to look around the person next to you (not in front of you) to see a pitch.

Generally speaking, I did not feel like I needed to watch my wallet at Citi Field (till I got back on the subway, of course) but at Dodger Stadium, the crowd is definitely more full of a "bad element." I have found that security and ushers at both stadiums are very nice. In L.A. they show the "fan abuse" hot-line number constantly throughout the game. I was not aware of such a number in New York, but I didn't notice anyone needing such a number. Mets security, ushers, and vendors wore red, green, and fluorescent yellow shirts respectively, making them very easy to spot. Dodger workers generally wear Dodger colors.

Citi Field had far more team stores, each with a different theme (the everything store, the women's boutique, the vintage-style store, etc.). But this is also a function of it being a brand new stadium.

Citi Field is far more family friendly (advantage of being new). There is an arcade, batting cages, a miniature scale-version of the field to play on, a kids area DJ, a "spirit team" shooting t-shirts into the crowd, and a mascot. Dodger Stadium doesn't.

The Dodgers' jumbotron and scoreboard pale in comparison to their brand new counterparts in New York, but the other scoreboards and stat-boards around the stadium are comparable. In fact the Dodger Stadium out-of-town scoreboards are easier to read than those at Citi Field.

Citi Field features picnic benches, standing bar tables and plenty of standing room all in view of the field for people eating. It is also much easier to navigate - the concourses are much wider. There are no trough-style toilets in the mens' rooms and there are bathrooms everywhere. It has more interesting playing-field features (varying heights of the wall, seats overhanging the field, corners and funny angles of the of wall).

Dodger Stadium has terrible sound quality. There are no speakers around the stadium, only those gigantic, booming ones in center field. So if you sit near them, you can only hear bass and if you sit far away, the sound echoes and is delayed from the picture on the jumbotron. Citi Field has speakers spread around the stadium so the music, organ, anthem, and P.A. announcer are far easier to hear clearly.

Dodger Stadium's cheapest seats are still better than at most stadiums, but they are further from the field than at Citi Field, which is more upright, smaller, and upper decks overlap lower decks more. Dodger Stadium's capacity is larger by more than 12,000.

Parking at Citi Field is actually more expensive than at Dodger Stadium ($18 and $15). However the reason is that Citi Field does not have space for a full crowd to park there and the Mets encourage fans to take mass transit. In fact, the first section of the Mets website's parking page is all about how easy it is to take the subway from New York City, and take trains from Long Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, etc. There is a subway stop in the parking lot. The Dodgers have made public transportation to Dodger games nearly impossible and while they created a shuttle to Union Station last year, it apparently was a disaster and seemingly has been discontinued. There is no information on the Dodgers website about it and a google search only yielded broken official team site links and angry fan-blog entries. Citi Field parking lots open four hours before games and I saw nearly no trash in the lots (we spent a lot of time there looking for the Shea Stadium infield plaques). Dodger Stadium lots open two hours before games and are covered with trash and broken bottles.

I accept that I could not be any more biased than I am about this particular issue, but these five games only confirmed for me what a terrible experience it is to go to a ballgame at Dodger Stadium.

In unrelated news, the spellcheck for this site suggested "Cambodian" when it did not recognize "jumbotron." They do both end win an n.

Dodging Dodger Stadium

Let me preface this post by saying that I am completely aware of these two things: this may somewhat seem like sour grapes, and many of these problems are likely the same at nearly every ballpark.

Last night marked the eighth straight year that I went to each Mets game of the season in Los Angeles and the streak will officially stop there; I have finally decided that I have had enough. Had they won one or two or three of the games, had Jerry Manuel not suddenly turn into the worst manager in baseball this week, my general mood might be better, but it wouldn't really affect the quality of the ballgame experience at Dodger Stadium.

For the first two games, we had very nice seats (right behind home plate in the second deck) but seemed both times to be stuck two rows in front of the one guy in the building that wouldn't shut up, got increasingly ruder, and had little or no clue what was actually happening. The odds of us actually finding the one guy there that night who was "that guy" are pretty slim, so it is safe to assume that "that guy" is basically in every section.

And they were nice seats...$100 face value, so while we did not have to deal with the brunt of the thug-element that has ruined Dodger Stadium, we still weren't completely shielded from it. And regardless of where you sit, you still have to walk to your car. I don't expect people to sit quietly and occasionally let off a dignified round of applause. But I expect to be left alone to enjoy the game. I expect to not have food, drinks, profanity and threats thrown at me. And I expect to not have to worry about my safety on the way out.

Wednesday night, I was insulated from these bad fans because I was lucky enough to sit in a suite. I heard a few playful taunts on the way into the stadium (I had a Mets jersey on) but nothing threatening or particularly annoying. Then I didn't hear a word from anyone all game long. It was really pleasant to go to a ball game, sit with a bunch of strangers rooting for the other team, and not feel like I should be worried about getting hit if the Mets scored. But the good feelings soured when I got to my car afterwards. Of the 20-or-so cars in the row I was parked in, 5 had been broken into during the game, including the one in front of mine, and the one behind it. Thankfully mine was spared.

"But aren't there a-holes at every stadium?" Of course there are. And while I have not been to every stadium, and have not sat in all areas of the ones I have been to, I have been to Safeco, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, The Big A, San Diego (Petco and the Murph), Arizona, Busch, Wrigley, Fenway, Camden, and Shea and perhaps only at Fenway were fans this obnoxious and abusive. People in Anaheim are just as obsessed with their team as Dodger fans are, but it is different there. The fans in San Diego are the same ones at Charger games acting like thug-Raider fans, but still the Padre games are fun.

Whether it is having food thrown at me, a soda hitting me in the head, constant swearing, taunts and threats, or just continuous annoying yelling pointed at me because I have the wrong jersey on, there seems to be some problem every game. I have even had my wife threatened by a guy in the parking lot because she had a Mets jersey on. Would all of this likely happen at other parks? Sure. Should I have to put up with it? Certainly not. And I get that the guy in the Mets jersey who stands up and turns around and yells at the Dodger crowd when the Mets score deserves a little abuse. He is asking for it. But I am not that guy.

When I got home from the game I had decided that I would never go to Mets game at Dodger Stadium again unless I was in a suite. Spoiled? Sure, but it is just the only place an opposing fan can feel safe. As for my car, I certainly can't take public transportation since the Dodgers' owner refuses to allow it in the parking lot...it would cut into his parking profits. Profits that are due in large part to his price hike two years ago to add more staff and security out there. But while the traffic flow is a little better than before, the security is only getting worse and worse.

The stadium itself is in a spectacular setting; nearly 50 years later, there are still few parks that can rival it for that. But a nice view is not enough to overcome the rest of the problems that come with ballgames at Dodger Stadium, some universal, some Dodger-specific: traffic, ticket prices, abusive fans, violence and break-ins in the parking lot, disgusting bathrooms with trough-urinals, the many seats that face the outfield, narrow and dark hallways and stairwells, and incredibly overpriced and unappetizing food (pardon the sacrilege, but Dodger Dogs are not good).

Sure this is all pretty whiny. Sure Dodger fans have the right to scream and cheer. And the Dodgers do post their "annoying fan hotline" number all over the place. But I also have the right to root for the other team and not feel threatened. I shouldn't have to have my finger on the "send" button on my cellphone all game long, waiting for someone to throw something at me.

My dad said last night as we were walking through the parking lot full of broken bottles, trash strewn around, cars full of people screaming out the windows, and careening around outside the actual lanes, that it was like being in a third-world country.

I wouldn't go on vacation in the "third-world," and I won't be visiting Chavez Ravine anytime soon either.

Hypocricy, Thy Name Is 'Mannywood'

I try to avoid thinking of individual moments, games, or series as turning points early in a baseball season. It is just so long that even a really significant event that happens today can be followed by 10-15 more momentum shifts (good and bad) before it is all said and done, rendering this really significant event as pretty insignificant in the end.

Obviously the Dodgers losing Manny Ramirez for 50 games is a monumental blow to their season. Or is it? Heading into yesterday's games, the Dodgers were 6.5 up in the N.L. West and running away from a pack of average-at-best teams. Not counting any added emotional stress that may make players choke, they are still more talented than any of the teams chasing them. My guess is that they will still be in the lead in the West 49 games from now, and then they'll just pull away again for the final 70 games after Manny is back.

After all, this team played more than 50 games without Manny last season and are a deeper, more talented team this year.

There are a few wild cards to be played in this scenario though. Will the Dodgers' young players crumble under the pressure without Manny's bat and mouth to make everything easier for them? Will their pitching staff be able to compete over the course of a season (with or without Manny, this is not a good staff)? Will Manny come back hungry to prove he's an all-time great? Will he come back a shadow of his former allegedly steroid-using self? Will he come back apathetic since his chances of a huge free agent contract may have just vanished? Will the Giants make a trade for a bat, making them an actual threat?

If there is no such thing as a turning point this early in the season, Dodger fans should be hoping that last night's game was also not a microcosm of their season: great start but then suddenly the bats went silent, the pitching fell apart, and by the time they got the offense going again, it was too late.

There's a part of me that feels sorry for Dodger fans after yesterday. First they lose Manny, then the team comes out and scores 6 in the first inning: "Ha, we're fine without him!" Then the Washington Nationals, the worst team in baseball, score 11 unanswered runs to steal the game and halt your record home-winning streak. But then I remember how miserable Dodger fans make a trip to that stadium, and all the Dodger fans I know who are obnoxious, and what the Dodgers did to my parents when they left Brooklyn, and what an ass Tommy Lasorda is, and how pissed I still am about the 1988 NLCS and Hong Chi Kuo flipping his bat in the air two years ago when he hit a homer off of John Maine and Guillermo Mota plunking Mike Piazza and then sprinting to the clubhouse to hide six years ago, and then I don't care so much.

And who comes to town next? Of course it is the Giants. Who better than to come in and sweep the Dodgers, cutting the division lead from 6.5 to 2.5 in four days, than the team and fans who Dodger fans crucified for supporting Barry Bonds. Just as San Francisco fans were ripped for standing by an "obvious cheater," now they get to come to L.A. and return the favor to all the Dodger fans who insist that Manny is innocent ("He just wanted to spice up his sex-life" I heard one misinformed fan say). Click here and watch the video to see more Dodger fans.

For the Giants fans' sakes, I hope the Dodgers have extra security in the parking lot after the game. Dodger fans will stab you in the parking lot when things are going well, just imagine what it will be like out there this weekend.

"Dodgers" Now Short For "Bullet Dodgers"

I read an article last week on Major League Baseball's website about how various teams are doing what they can to keep ball games affordable for families, even in these economic times. Since it is basically impossible for people to take their families to NBA, NFL or even NHL games nowadays, and no child should have to be forced into going to an MLS or WNBA game, baseball is your best option for professional sports.

Most teams are doing a decent job of it, with something like 25 teams offering tickets for around $10. Granted, the seats aren't very good, but at least you can get in the gates. The Dodgers are one of the teams that offers seats for as low as $9, which is great except that you have to go to Dodger Stadium to watch the game, which means you will end up paying a lot more than $9 per ticket.

Like most stadiums, the food there is grossly overpriced and generally pretty unspectacular. Your $9 seats gets pretty expensive when you have buy a $5 hot dog, an $8 beer and pay $15 to park 1/2 mile away. The laundry or dry cleaning from when someone throws their food or drinks at you in the stands will run another dollar or two, but that is pretty standard at any stadium. What makes Dodger Stadium stand out is what you have to pay for personal security when you go there.

A bulletproof vest will run you close to $1000 per person. A body guard for the day will cost anywhere from $150-$1000 for the day, plus the cost of his ticket. You may also want to hire someone to watch your car, or pay to fix the vandalism that may occur. We'll call that anywhere from $40-$500 dollars, depending on which route you take, and what your deductable is. After you get stabbed in the parking lot, you will probably get some money back from your bodyguard, but you will wind up paying it back out to the hospital that saves you.

So you're looking at about a $3000 day for a typical game at Dodger Stadium. And if you think I am exaggerating about how bad it is there, consider that on opening night there on Monday, a man was stabbed outside the stadium after a bunch of guys jumped out of the pickup truck and stabbed him multiple times. There were reports of someone in the parking lot with a gun. There was at least one car vandalized. A car accident just outside the stadium apparently sparked a huge fight in the street with as many as 30 people involved. There were mulitple ejections for fighting and unruly behavior in the stands.

The good news is that the Dodgers have beefed up security over the last few years since the Raiders crowd has descended upon Dodger Stadium. They have put in a security tip-line for fans to call if someone around them is acting badly (see photo). The bad news is that they are apparently completely inept and did not catch anyone in the stabbing, the alleged gun case, nor the parking lot vandalism.

So, my fellow Southern Californians, if you want to take your kids to a ballgame, enjoy! Just make sure you do it in Anaheim or San Diego.

Andruw Jones: The Man Who Can Stop The Tides

The Mets have lost the last four games they have played at Dodger Stadium (the one before that was a win, completing a playoff sweep). I have been to all four games and, to say the least, I am getting a bit of a sour taste in my mouth about the stadium. Even David Wright, who had the highest batting average of any active player against the Dodgers, went 0-4 last night, so it isn't just me that hates that God-forsaken building.

The Top 10 Reason Why I Hate Dodger Stadium

10. The Dodgers play there.

9. I know the beach balls are fun for kids and everything, but there must have been 20 that made it to the field last night. I will count tonight.

8. The interminable wave begins for no apparent reason in the fifth inning and finishes with a flourish when 2/3 of the crowd stand in unison and head for the exits in the 8th.*

7. There is no way that shack survives another 6.0 earthquake. It is as though it is built out of cracks, not concrete.

6. $15 parking that leaves me 3/4 mile from the stadium with no hope of leaving within 30 minutes after the game ends. They actually announce at games that in order to avoid a parking mess, fans should arrive two hours before the games!

5. Worst sound system of any stadium I have ever been to, including high school gymnasiums.

4. I don't speak Spanish.

3. I feel like if I put the sandwich-board sign that Bruce Willis wore in Harlem in Die Hard 3 on the roof of my car and parked it in Watts overnight, it would be safer than leaving it in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium for three hours.

2. $5.75 Dodger Dogs that are simply terrible. I like to think that Dodger Dogs are something special too, but it is all nostalgia. Those things are nasty. On top of that, Monday night, I got to the counter with 2 outs in the bottom of the 1st; they were sold out of Dodger Dogs. It was cool though, because I'd only spent the entire inning in line.

1. Generally speaking: the least knowledgeable fans on earth.*

Notes:

* After 24 years of ballgames at Dodger Stadium, I finally discovered the Wave's kryptonite. It was the 8th inning and the wave was really rocking. It had been around 5-6 times and was as solid as you will ever see it. Then this announcement was made: "Now batting, center fielder, Andruw Jones." I swear on the Home Run Apple that the Wave stopped instantly and the loudest boo I have ever heard from Dodger fans arose in its place. Jones grounded into an inning-ending double play to complete an 0-fer day. For those scoring at home: Jones is hitting .158 with an RBI every 25 at bats. The guy he was brought in to replace (Juan Pierre) is batting .324 with an RBI every 7 at bats. At least the fans have picked up that that...or maybe the smart ones have and the rest think Chin-lung Huuuuuuuu is up to bat.