Being a graveyard employee, my plan this past Sunday was to take the train to San Diego, catch the Blue take on the Friars for the 1:05pm game, take the train back from SD @ 5:20 pm, and go straight to work.  But for some reason, I happened to catch a fever at the game, that is Baseball fever.  Two days after the game, I am still talking about the 17-inning marathon that lasted 4 hours and 55 minutes, the longest game ever time-wise and most innings played in PETCO Park’s short history.  The Dodgers jumped on David Wells early, scoring two runs in the first to give Derek Lowe and early 2-0 lead.  Back to back home runs by Kent and Gonzo put the Blue Crew up 4-1, and had some of us thinking back to Sept. 18th. Could it happen again ?  Derek Lowe was unable to hold the lead and the Friars would tie the game at 4 in the bottom half of the 7th.  That’s when both bullpens would take over for the next 10 plus innings.  The tandem of Beimel, Broxton, Tsao, Seanez, Saito, and finally Billingsley would combine to allow only 1 hit in 10 2/3 innings, but the Blue Crew could not take advantage, stranding 14 runners on base all day.  Then finally, in the top of the 17th, with my scheduled 5:20pm train having long departed, with two out and a runner on first thanks to a fielding error, outfielder Brady Clark sent a 1-2 pitch down the LF corner.  There was no way Wilson Valdez was going to be held at third by 3B coach Rich Donnelley, and Valdez would just beat the relay, giving the Blue a 5-4 lead.  But the Friars would not go down quietly.  After a one out error at 3rd by Ramon Martinez, who had 10 putouts prior the his miscue, would put runners on 1st and 2nd , prompting what was left of the 44,028 to chant  BEAT L.A. ( Note to any Friar fan reading this….Your NOT San Francisco !!!  You guys don’t have the anger, the chant sounds to So-Cal laid back.  Leave the real hate to the tree-huggers up north ), Chad Billingsley would strike out the side, finally ending this marathon, and the Blue prevailed, 5-4.  And even the post-game song, A HARD DAYS NIGHT, made plenty of sense on this day leading to night.  And I had 20 minutes to catch to 6:20pm train to LA.  If I ran to the Santa Fe station, I might have made it.  Yeah right….So  I left on the 8:20pm train.  And oh, darn, I came down with a fever and could not make it to work on Sunday night.  Again, BASEBALL FEVER !!!  Hey, how often is it one could say they attended a 17 inning game ?

OTHER  NOTES

With Sunday attendance of 44,028, the 3 game series total was 130,448, a new PETCO Park 3 game series attendance record.

I ended up using 2 scorecards

This past Sunday’s game would surpass my previous record of time of game in games I attended by 7 minutes.  Sunday’s game was officially 4 hours 55 minutes, surpassing a 13 inning game I witnessed on 9/20/2001 at Dodger Stadium, won by the Dodgers on Shawn Green’s walk-off in the bottom of the 13th against the D-Backs 3-2.  Luke Prokopec would notch the win for the Blue.

As for innings watched, my previous high was 14 innings on 5/2/2002 at Dodger Stadium against the Reds, with the Blue coming out on top 3-2 on Adrian Beltre’s 2 out single, with this game lasting on 3 hours and 55 minutes.

I have done multiple 7th inning stretches twice in 25 years of attending baseball games.

I am doing well now, thank you

As for my source for the length of previous games

www.baseball-reference.com

It can give you the box score for pretty much any game in the past you may want to reminisce.

GO DODGERS

Tonight was a very special night at Dodger Stadium , and I was very fortunate to be apart of the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinsons first MLB game, marking the breaking of baseball’s color barrier.  Thanks to my iresponsibility of bringing the wrong pair of tickets to the game, (I brought the previous nights tickets, DOH!!! ), I had to go to the main office in Lot D to have my 2 tickets for tonight re-printed for a fee ( Thank god I have the 15-game package and those seats under my name ).  And although Josh and I ( One of my mini-package buddies and a great friend of 14 years ) would end up missing the opening ceremonies honoring Jackie, it was still a special night all around as many a tribute was made to Jackie Robinson between innings throughout the game.  Among those who were there were wife Rachel, Don Newcombe, the reverand Jesse Jackson.  Other special moments tonight witnessed the entire Dodger team wearing number 42 in honor of Jackie, as well as Padres CF Mike Cameron, doing the honor for the Friars.  Also, a poster of Jackie Robinson featuring some crafty artwork by Dodgers pitcher Brett Thomko was given to all in attendance tonight.  As for the game itself, the Dodger bats came out smokin tonight, particularly our 6-7-8 hitters Russel Martin, Andre Ethier, and Wilson Valdez, who had a total of 7RBI’s between them, and Andre Ethier would put the game away in the 8th with a no-doubt-about-it shot to the Friars bullpen, capping off a 4RBI night for him as the Blue would take 2 of 3 from the Friars this weekend, winning the rubber match, 9-3.  But this night would belong to Jackie Robinson….HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JACK !!!!

Ah what a great time of year this spring brings us, baseball.  With most of the main college athletics finished, (UCLA basketball will be back even stronger next year) and the Lakers struggling just to back into the playoffs, thank god for Dodges baseball.  Some of the sights and sounds from today as I, due to some morning obligations, did not arrive until the bottom of the first inning

Traffic backing up on the 110 North onto Stadium Way…a familiar sight for me since 1982

My first Dodger Dog of the season

Jason Schimdts first home run for the Blue at the Ravine this year

Singing " Take Me Out to the Ballgame " with Nancy Bea on the ivories

Being amongst the 56,000

Watching a potential rally in the 9th and ending up 3 runs short

Watching the flow of traffic in the "new and improved" parking lot and the disgruntled faces as we walked to a nice spot we found on a back road just off Stadium Way.

And as Nancy Bea shows after each loss, " The sun will come out, tomorrow…."

It’s great to be back at Dodger Stadium

ROCKIES 6

DODGERS 3

DD’S RECORD FOR 2007 (0-1)