Day Two
For anyone who made it out to yesterday’s game, I certainly hope you enjoyed the festivities, if not the game. Obviously the outcome wasn’t what we had all wanted, but the good news is that Jason Schmidt should be fine for his next start and that Matt Kemp’s X-rays came back negative, which is actually a positive. Rafael Furcal is heading to Rancho Cucamonga tonight to play for the Inland Empire 66ers against Bartolo Colon (and tomorrow against Jered Weaver), so hopefully he’s close to returning to the lineup.
I noticed that the comment section in yesterday’s post only included two comments on parking: one positive and one negative. I guess that’s about the same as an early peek of the morning media, as the L.A. Times seemed to have found a lot of fans who were frustrated, while the Daily News seemed to have spoken with those who thought it was better than in years past. And among my friends who came to the came, some said it was easier than ever while others battled heavy traffic on the streets before getting into the parking lot. I think that’s to be expected on Opening Day, when parking is at its absolute worst, particularly as the crowd lets out onto freeways that are backed up already from regular afternoon traffic. But, thank you to everyone for their patience and hopefully everyone will wait to see how the new parking plan works under normal circumstances. I can tell you this much – every Dodger employee parked offsite and was shuttled in to try and make more spots for the fans, so any parking issues were certainly not from a lack of effort. We are committed to fixing a problem that has lasted nearly 50 years and as always, we welcome everyone’s feedback.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned L.A. Times article seemed to give positive reviews to the All-You-Can-Eat Right Field Pavilion, which was certainly a hot topic during the winter.
And of course, there are probably 50 articles on the various media websites that we check each day, so rather than link to all of them, feel free to peruse them yourself at dodgers.com, L.A. Times.com, Daily News.com, Orange County Register and Riverside Press Enterprise, among others.
Finally, as you’ve probably seen on the site all week, Brett Tomko will be chatting with the fans today at 2 p.m., where you can ask him about tonight’s start, Spring Training or even the incredible Jackie Robinson poster he drew in charcoal that fans will get this Sunday at the April 15 game.
Inside the Dodgers 
I was watching before the bigs about Tomko. It was funny ,I came in just when they said that as a kid Tomko was pretty good at almost everything he did except baseball. I thought ,nothings changed for him as an adult. I hope we can beat the Rocks today,because we can’t just play the Giants all year. GO DODGERS!
Hello all,
I’ve been away for a bit — my mom, who has been a fan of the Dodgers since the signing of Jackie Robinson, has been very, very ill. Opening Day certainly raised her spirits…win or lose.
I hope all of you are well.
Go Blue!!! And Kemp, please get back in the line-up soon.
lohmeyet,
please give our best to your mom and our wishes for a speedy recovery. old Dodgers are too precious to lose.
GO BLUE!!
LOHMEYET, I wish your mother a speedy recovery:
Glad to have you back:
GO BLUE:::
Parking improved? Hardly. I basically threw away $5. I spent just as much time in traffic yesterday, if not more, than I did at NLDS game last Oct. I did pay the same amount for parking though, so I guess it’s a wash.
How about some real improvements here McCourt. Like….uh….. a better designed parking lot…..or…..uh….not charging so darn much to park. I wouldn’t be half as mad if I was still paying $10, but you charge me %50 more to endure the same torture, you’ll get me %50 more pist off.
Secondly, so far this season I have witnessed the worst defensive outfield in Dodger history. Pierre makes a diving catch on a play that should have been a routine fly-ball, the crowd goes wild. Ridiculous. Gonzo is basically a hole in left field. Props to Penny for sticking up for him after he made two horrible plays that almost cost us his game. Yesterday our best outfielder goes and runs into the scoreboard.
2007, I’m so excited!!!!
lohmeyet – Welcome back. All the best to your Mom. My Mom is 87 and watches baseball regularly even after my Dad died three years ago. Two great Mom’s I’d say. I expect a good game today will lift her spirits even more. GO DODGERS!!
Gotta love the five-minute early flyover during pre-game ceremonies… couldn’t anyone relay to the pilots that the Anthem was delayed? It’s got to be hard in this day and age to communicate these things, what with cell phones, PDA’s, the Internet and all…
lohmeyet… hope your Mom feels better soon. A Dodgers’ win should help today!
I saw Furcal running the bases during batting practice yesterday & he looked great.
I was a little surprised to see the flyover come early. It’s not the first time – once I saw it come while the anthem was in the final verses.
I am glad the McCourt Dodgers are still using some of the classic Opening Day traditions…the doves, the flyover, the parachuting Frog Men (my favorite).
This was my 9th straight Opening Day. I do not remember concession stands ever being so long and slow. I took some co-workers and was going to use my credit card each time for reimbursement. Later in the game all the credit card machines were down according to an employee in a reserved level stand. I’m not sure if it was temporary or not.
Thanks for the heads up on Furcal’s rehab. I was already going to the Quakes game on Wed. to see Jared Weaver so it will be nice to see Furcal there as well.
By years end Ethier will be our best outfielder– my prediction…
by far our best outfielder is what i meant to say
I have never had a more difficult time getting out of a parking lot in my life, for any sort of sporting event, even many other sellout Dodger games that I’ve been to. In all, it took me 2 hours, granted, I waited in my car for the first half-hour hoping that the congestion would mellow out. I’m willing to give it another try, I realize a day game during the week is the worst situation, the freeways are already packed at that hour.
When I arrived, there were about ten times too many green jacketed parking attendants, where were they after the game, why no parking attendants helping expedite the exiting process?
Obviously this new parking system needs a lot of tweaking. Oh yeah, what was really that wrong with the old system? I never had a problem with parking at Dodger Stadium in the 16 years that I’ve been attending games.
I wasn’t there yesterday, and was sort of glad I wasn’t, in hindsight, from what I’ve heard. Any chance the team will look in the future to more public transportation options, shuttles, trams, that sort of thing. I know this is LA we’re talking about but…
Some more feedback here, I do recommend you read this:
http://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/622524.html
Meanwhile, the best news is that Schmidt and Kemp are both okay. Never mind a loss or a win, that was the biggest “win” out of yesterday. I hope Kemp’s okay. I’d like to see Ethier, Kemp, and Clark platoon more often for Gonzo as well as each other.
Good luck with the parking situation!
cp
Josh,
Not to accuse you of being disingenuous, but everywhere I look I see reports that parking was truly terrible yesterday. I understand that it was something of a perfect storm, but surely the people who work for the Dodgers realize that did not go well yesterday.
http://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/622524.html
http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-me-openingday10apr10,1,6227408.story?coll=la-headlines-sports&ctrack=3&cset=true
http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/archives/2007/04/perfect_day_at.html#comments
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/04/parking_hell_in_chavez_ra.php
http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2007/04/home-is-where-heart-attack-is-rockies-6.html#comments
http://www.sonsofstevegarvey.com/2007/04/dodgers-home-opener-4907.html
http://johnstodderinexile.wordpress.com/2007/04/09/how-to-get-to-dodger-stadium-2007/
Here’s an idea about the parking – the Dodgers should have an ad campaign encouraging half of the fans to arrive for the first pitch and the other half to arrive in the third inning. Then, the fans that arrived at the beginning can leave in the 7th or 8th inning, and those who arrived late can watch the end of the ballgame.
Wait a sec – is that different than usual? If the answer is no, then your parking problems will probably be resolved at the first game after opening day – which is tonight. Late-comers and early-leavers will make the commute more bearable for the rest of you.
Joeyp, there is a joke in there somewhere, but it is dead from exposure at this point. We get it, Dodger Thoughts is people who don’t like the Dodgers. You are pretending to be one of the people from Dodger Thoughts and you even have a blog that posts things from Dodger Thoughts. The real joke is that you are someone who doesn’t even bother to join the conversation, rather you post about Dodger Thoughts everywhere but Dodger Thoughts, making you the only member of “Thoughts on Dodger Thoughts.” You could start a fantasy league with yourself where you predict who will post how many times on Dodger Thoughts and post articles about which posters are letting their real lives interfere with posting on ole DT. In this you remind me of the bloggers who hated “Studio 60” but watched every week; at some point you are just a fan, whatever your reason.
So far comments I have read from Mr. McCourt, Camille Johnson, and now Josh make wonder why the Dodgers management is pretending like everything is perfectly fine with the new parking arrangement?! When are the McCourts finally going to learn that the fans ARE forgiving when you admit there s a problem and you are working on it rather than pretend there is no problem? This has been the biggest problem with the McCourts since day one. At least with FOX, you could blame the lack of communication with the fans on the big faceless corporation where it is hard to determine who is at fault. The McCourts do not have this excuse.
On the bright side….Martin is playing very well. I’d love to have him stay in the two hole when Furcal gets back and move Pierre to the 8th spot in the line-up. Then again, there are lots of things I’d like to see happen, here’s a short list:
Move Nomar to third so Loney can play.
Get rid of Tomko and give his spot to Bills.
Bench Gonzo and put Ethier in Left and Kemp in Right.
Rather than a new post, I figured I’d just answer the comments here, as I don’t want you all to think that anyone here is pretending that everything is perfect. In fact, we realize that there’s plenty of room for improvement. But I also think that everyone has to give this a chance to work on a day that’s not Opening Day, given all of the issues I cited above. Much like a restaurant critic doesn’t write their opinion off of the first time they eat at a new restaurant, it would be most fair if people give it a couple tries and then let us know what’s working and what’s not. But to gauge it on Opening Day, when we have 20,000 cars (significantly more than any other day), is really tough.
In regards to the various links above from jbc13, when I posted this morning at 7 a.m., I had really only read the two that I linked to. There’s no doubt that some of the other links you’ve put up show that others had a very tough time getting in, but two of the links actually are from people who didn’t come to the game and are citing reports from the L.A. Times and one of them actually talks about how it was smoother coming in than usual (though it was much worse leaving).
Again, I try to be very honest with this blog and as I said before, no one is thrilled with the way the parking went yesterday. However, I think we’re far more optimistic that going forward, under regular circumstances and once most people have understood the way it works, it will be much better. Rome wasn’t built in a day and I don’t think we’re going to fix our parking issues overnight. But, having come to Dodger games for three decades, I do know that just keeping things the way they’ve been for so many years isn’t the right solution, as people have complained about the parking for as long as we’ve been playing here.
Thanks again for your comments and please keep them coming.
Josh
I’d second that nkirby4@cox.net. I think if they wanted to put out the best team , that would be it. lohmeyet, hope your mom gets well quickly, best wishes.
Josh,
I have two suggestions. Could it be possible to have courtesy shuttles running from the Chinatown Station for those who opted to take the Metro? And, what about a parking discount for those who arrive early to games?
Thanks for listening,
Kevin
Josh, thanks for responding, and as I noted, it was a perfect storm (opening day, rush hour, new system). Obviously we will see how things are in a few weeks, and (as I said) I wasn’t accusing you of being disingenuous. That said, restaurant critics almost always write a review of a restaurant the first time they go to it. That is what happened here, a few people might be upset enough to make (hopefully empty) promises not to come back to D.S. but most people are just noting that there were issues. The real problem is a total lack of public transportation, but that isn’t really the Dodgers fault (or at least not exclusively). Thanks again for responding, Josh!
http://raysdodgerblues.blogspot.com/
I have been to two games already, and the parking situation is not as bad as people keep saying it is. As for the game today, Tomko needs to show something, otherwise he needs to be relegated to the pen..
BELIEVE IN BLUE!
Hi Ray.
Have you come down from the Dodger high at Vero Beach or are you still floating along?
hey harold, yeah, i’m still feeling it a bit… i wish i could feel like that all the time… so what are you up to these days?
Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for your well wishes. My mother is doing much better. However, a Dodger win sure would be a help.
Sorry for all of your parking problems at the stadium. Here in St. Louis my only parking problem is if the kids have are ready taken the coach before I can park myself down to watch the Dodgers on Indemand.
Thanks again everyone for you thoughts and go blue!!!
Hey…
The Giants are 1-6.
HAHAHA.
Memo to Dodgers parking geniuses:
Quit blowing smoke up everyone’s exit holes! I have been a season ticket holder for years and yesterday’s parking situation was a complete abortion. It has never taken me that long to get out of the parking lot. Your alledged extra parking attendants are either invisible or checking in with their probation officers, because I didn’t see them.
As far as on the field issues go, leave it to the Dodgers to have the best hitter in their entire organization back in Las Vegas while the offense flounders and Wilson Betemit gets passed up for a pinch hit oppportunity with the bases juiced for our backup catcher. Way to get your money’s worth on that 3-1 count with Fuentes not being able to find the plate the entire inning Mikey L. Bottom line, if the Dodgers were truly committed to putting the best team on the field James Loney would be wearing a Dodgers jersey and playing first instead of waiting in a buffet at Cesar’s. Move Nomar to third and let James play first and hit .330 here instead of in the PCL. It’s bad enough that Ned nutted up and gave Pierre a 5 year deal and now we have to worry about what to do with Kemp and Andre. As far as Wilson B. goes, its obvious Grady has little confidence in him… either trade him or give him a one-way ticket to Palukaville. I’m sick and tired of hearing people in the Dodgers organization and on Dodger talk sugar coat things. It is what it is! You can be honest….special attention A. Martinez….. your excuses are your own pal!
Josh…
If one were to look at the more successful stadium parking scenarios across the country, you’ll find one common thread: direct access to their respective freeway systems right out of the parking lots. It would be in the Dodgers (McCourts’) best interest to strike a deal with the City of Los Angeles to help provide a direct on/off ramp to at least two of the three freeways in the area. The freeway series last week was held at night and even those people complained about exiting the stadium. You will find that the way the parking is executed now will not allow patrons to leave any quicker than before. Why? Because there are too many city intersections blocking access to the freeways from the parking lots. If direct access ramps were provided, you would find that the lots would empty quicker and folks might even stay until the end of the games… and when people are at the stadium, they spend more money on concessions.
That is unless the credit card machines are working properly and that enough Dodger Dogs were bought ahead of time.
Good winter Ray. Renovations in the house, political blogging, following Dodger activities, church work, soon be gardening. Now the real fun begins. Interesting to read all the opinions on who should play and who shouldn’t. I think there might be a spot for Meloan in the relief corps in the not too distant future. Hope we have a good game today. Let’s get the bats going. GO DODGERS!!
You know its not a given that Loney will hit 330 in the bigs, even though, for some reason, that is how everyone is acting. And why the concern over Kemp and Andre– Gonzo’s one year deal?
ewk216@nyu.edu
Wow…Yeah…good point….lets just let him keep winning batting titles in AAA and ignore how he raked this spring, and never find out how big of a superstar he can be at the big league level. He still has so much more to prove down in the minors.
As far as Kemp and Andre go, Ned displayed great confidence in their abiltiies right? He showed panic when Drew skipped town on him and Boras stuck it to him again, so he went out and signed Gonzo for the year and Pierre for half a decade. What that meant was that Delwyn Young has no future with this organization, and Kemp and Ethier arent ready to be everyday players in the show right now. Money well spent… was Ned also in charge of the new parking thing too?
Traffic yesterday ******. The changes have actually made things worse. Entering the game it took 1 hour 5 minutes from the Stadium Way off ramp to my parking spot. Leaving the game it took me 2 hours from my parking space to the 110 FWY and I left after the 8th. I moved 6 feet the first 50 minutes. I’ve been to plenty of sell out Dodger games (including home openers and playoffs) and it has never been close to that bad. No doubt that is the last home opener I will ever attend.
Scorr Elbert threw no hits for five innings. Now out of the game early in the season.
Spoken like a true Politican. Talk about being out of touch… WOW! I have not read one good article or comment regarding the new parking. It was horrible. Part of me thinks the person who devised this plan also was the one that said no more grilled Dodger dogs.
Who was the genius that devised this plan? Also, in my 30+ years of going to the stadium, I never had any issues with the parking. Granted, there could be more crosswalks… but I am sure that the countless new attendants you hired could have been monitoring crosswalks instead, and the end result would have been much more positive.
The old saying is “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”. Minus a minor idea or two, I think that applies here.
Why has the crowd changed in recent years at the stadium? Well, because alot of the smarter ones have chosen to stay home. With decisons like this, its a matter of time before the rest follow suit…
It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.
http://www.nicetick.com
– Air Jordan