It's Time For Dodger Fan Fest

With the Holiday Season and the regular NFL season both finished, it's time to look forward to some baseball, and on Saturday, thousands of Dodger fans returned to Dodger Stadium for the second annual Dodger Fan Fest.

It was a semi-game day atmosphere, with cars in the parking lot, Dodger Dogs being consumed for the first time in 2016 and players in uniform (or at least wearing their jerseys), with everything but a ball in play, and a way to rev fans up for the upcoming 2016 baseball season (with Spring Training just weeks away).

The Militant decided to check out the fun, and took his familiar Metro Bus and hike up the street to be soon known as Vin Scully Avenue. Unlike the usual games, he was able to gain entry into the field level (well the tickets were free) and walk onto the field, which had the base paths cordoned-off for kids to run the bases, some baseball-themed games and rides, and a couple stages where Dodger players and broadcast personalities made appearances. And, for a fee, you could get a Dodger player or legend to sign a John Hancock for you.

Of course, this offseason left us with many changes: We have a new manager in former outfielder Dave Roberts (heading a generally-new coaching staff) no Greinke, a couple new pitchers, no more organ player and a whole lot more questions than answers. Will we get into the playoffs again? Will Kershaw dominate? Will Ryu return to form? Will new pitchers Maeda and Kazmir deliver? Will our bullpen improve? Will young players like Puig and Pederson be more consistent?

It was cool to be in the presence of blue-bleeding and blue-wearing Dodger fans for the first time since mid-October, but, maybe it was the overcast nature of the day, but the event felt a little...blah.

The smell of garlic fries wafting in the air prompted The Militant to queue in a very short line for an $8.25 tray of that stuff, which was far less salty, greasy and garlicky than usual. Honestly they haven't been the same since the Gordon Biersch license expired, but The Militant had no choice but to smother the dang thing in ketchup, mustard and onions for any semblance of flavor. Whatup?!

And then there was the dreadful organ music. Dunno if it was a recording or someone on the Dodger Stadium Roland Organ, but it definitely wasn't The Great Nancy Bea Hefley. The bouncy, cheery, ragtime-influenced playing of Hefley was tragically absent in place of someone (or a recording of someone) playing '70s and '80s pop songs that sounded like they were being played at a funeral. Even the great Hefley adds that wonderful cheery ragtime bounce when she does her renditions of '70s and '80s songs.

And thought it was great to see some Dodgers players again, it kinda gets old to hear some of them say,"We're gonna win the World Series this year!" as they have been saying every year (of course, that's what every MLB team says before the start of the season...). At least The Great Tommy Lasorda, who normally says that, gave us a more general, "We owe you fans a championship!" statement, which can't be argued with.

Lasorda: "We owe you a Championship!"

 Maybe The Militant is getting older. Maybe these Dodger doldrums will fade away come April. Or in late October. Or maybe he would have had more fun if he had more cash to blow on autographs, souvenirs, or had his own Lil'Mils (that he knows of) to run around the bases with.

One thing's for sure, the "wait" for "next year" is getting shorter and shorter.

Additional pics, because it happened:

L to R: So Cal native and new OF Trayce Thompson, Joc Pederson, 'Dodger Talk' co-hosts Kevin Kennedy and David Vasseigh.

We asked for a new skipper, and here he is. Will he kick ass right out of the gate or will he require a learning curve?

Kenley Jansen with the save.

All was not lost, The Militant got some free Carne Asada flavor packets from Chef Merito.

What's New, Blue? A Tour Of The Latest Dodger Stadium Renovations

On Monday, The Militant joined about 55 people and five hipsters on a tour of the new 2014 season renovations at Dodger Stadium, as well as a glimpse of things most fans, especially the disadvantaged ones who can only afford tickets in the upper tiers (i.e. The Militant), don't get to see.

Now, The Militant has toured the stadium before (which included a foodie conversation with Andre Ethier and seeing Mr. Scully's back), and last year The Militant got to post about the 2013 stadium renovations -- the first permanent stamp on the facilities since Our New Guggenheim Overlords took over (The Militant will not use this post to gripe about the whole Time Warner Cable debacle, and the team's disappearance from many (non-cable-privileged) households, though he just did, indirectly).

This Janet is also in control. She gave us an awesome tour of the new Stadium improvements.

But this year, there were new goodies in store, and who better than to show it than Janet Marie Smith,  the Dodgers' Senior Vice President of Planning and Development. In case you're not familiar with her name, she's been a longtime sports executive with a background in architecture and urban planning. As an architectural consultant, she was responsible for the much-emulated retro ballpark design at Orioles Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. She also oversaw the conversion of the 1996 Olympic Stadium in Atlanta to Turner Field. So, she definitely knows her stuff.

She talked about changing the look and function of the Dodger Stadium grounds while at the same time keeping the design faithful to the early 1960s design, namely claiming some of the parking lot blacktop space to expand the stadium perimeter. The first part of that was achieved last year, with  the Reserve Level plazas, created to establish the clear separation of stadium grounds and parking lot, and provide more people/activity space, as well as to establish unique landmarks for each level and area (because of that, did you know that Dodger Stadium was the 7th most Instagrammed site in the entire world in 2013?).

Let's look at the numerous photos that took The Militant a long-ass time to resize and upload, shall we?

Gotta love the signage on this one.

Smith consulted with Peter O'Malley and discovered an unused late-'50s design
for stadium signage.  These signs faithfully employ not just the look, but the materials as well.

Da-da-da-DA-da-DAAA...CHARGE!
Juicing up is frowned upon for players, but perfectly welcome for your mobile devices.
These charging stations are found just outside the Reserve Level.

Ever wanted to know what the Dugout Club looks like? Here ya go. The field level is right above.

Deep below Field, near the Dugout Club entrance, is all 40 of the Dodgers' Gold Glove awards on display.

On the opposite side, the team's 1981 World Series trophy (the '88 trophy is getting polished).

Kershaw's Cy.

The Press Interview room. Everyone got to play Donnie for a few secs.

Deep below the 3rd base-side Field Level stands is a corridor...

...THE BAT-ROOM!

Pump You Up: The Weight Training Room!

Look out Jamba and Robek's -- The Dodgers have their own smoothies!
Found in the Weight Training Room

Matt Kemp knows this room pretty well.

We found the stash.

At the end of the corridor, we end up in the land of Wilson and Jansen.

Above the new bar that overlooks the bullpen. Get it?

Some Sanrio surprises at the Stadium.

The new plaza outside of the Right Field Pavilion. If you liked it, then you should've...

Los Angeles has yet another eatery called "Tommy's."

Lasorda was asked to pick the bobble head that would get the
life-sized treatment outside his restaurant.
He picked the Hall Of Fame one.

The visitor's bullpen. There's also a bar overlooking this one too.
Excellent idea, huh?

The pedestrian walkway at the Sunset Gate got new striping and lighting.
It's also meant as an entrance for bicycles (they assume people will be walking and not riding their bikes up the hill...)

The Militant is hungry for a Dodger Dog now. Even more, he's hungry for some baseball. He may or may not be there on Opening Day on Friday, but he's definitely ready for the season! Go Dodgers!

A Whole New Blue Heaven: The Militant Takes On The New Dodger Stadium Improvements

The Militant, normally having faithfully attended Dodgers Opening Day for the past five years, was unable to attend this year for unspecified reasons. But he was able to attend Opening Night on Tuesday  to partake in the new $100 million additions to The Stadium, as well as to check out the MLB debut of South Korean pitching phenom Hyun-Jin Ryu.

56,000 enjoyed the previous day's 4-0 victory by Clayton Kershaw against the entire Frisco Giants team and the new venue amenities. So much, that no one caused any trouble. So clearly the 2011 Bryan Stow incident was Frank McC*urt's fault.

The Shuttle

Dodger Stadium ExpressLanes!

The Militant first wanted to check out the new Dodger Stadium Express Lanes (No, not the ExpressLanes, although in the future Metro may or may not want to charge solo drivers a toll for driving along the temporarily coned-off lane along Sunset Boulevard and Elysian Park Avenue from Figueroa to  Stadium Way). The ride, which normally takes about 35 minutes (and as much as 47 minutes to nearly an hour for sellout games) was clocked at an even 19 minutes from the time the bus started moving at Union Station to the time the doors opened behind the pavilions. The lane definitely made a difference, though if it started at Alameda instead of just Figueroa, it would rock even more awesome.

The Look

The most obvious difference between the new Guggenheim-owned Dodger Stadium and the McC*urt-era ballpark is how it's presented: Where the McC*urt Dodger Stadium used player branding as a draw and a marketing mechanism - from Eric Gagne's "Game Over" icon to past and present player banners hung around the stadium to Mannywood (and the associated dreadlock wigs), the new Guggenheim look for the stadium sells the name in front of the uniforms, rather than the back. Drawing heavily from the retro early-'60s aesthetic, the images are varied, but the look is somehow uniform: From the choice of fonts on concession stand menus, to the oversized team iconography intended for photo opportunities (if you remember Universal Studios before the 1990s, you'll know what The Militant is talking about), to the jolly-looking bobblehead boys statues, the place is no longer just a baseball venue, but a Dodger fan fantasy land. Picture Willy Wonka with the voice of Vin Scully and the look of Tommy Lasorda, and we're basically in his factory. And The Militant just loves it.

The Screens

It's like watching ESPN on steroids or something. Oops, bad choice of words.

Perhaps the greatest acquisition from this offseason was not Ryu or even Zach Greinke, but the new high-definition video screens. Originally planned by the McC*urts to be installed in the 2008-09 offseason, it was held off due to logistics surrounding being the host venue for the World Baseball Classic finals taking place that Spring, and the proverbial shit hitting the fan in the 2009-10 offseason.

The new outfield screens are awesome, It's like you just bought a new computer with dual monitors.

The  new screens return a symmetry not seen since 1980 when the rectangular Mitsubishi Diamond Vision display replaced the original 1962 left field pavilion hexagonal scoreboard screen. Ironically, the Diamond Vision, hailed as a technological advancement in its inception, was now considered antiquated, and was the main reason for the screens' replacement. Its right field pavilion partner, lighting up in monochromatic amber since '62, was also replaced with a matching HD screen.

The result is freaking amazing. The images are sharp and tasty, and don't look weird when you take a picture or video of them. Moreover, they display a crapload of info and images (Text such as the "Dodgers Welcome..." announcements and the lyrics to "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" are now shown on the long rectangular screens below the large hexagonal ones, though both sets can each function as one large screen.

The Restrooms

The Militant isn't pissed off about the new-look restrooms!

Much has been discussed about the new restrooms and the removal of the 1960s-era water trough urinals in favor of a slightly more private, and more efficient waterless urinal. The Militant did, um, inaugurate one of them, but was ultimately more fascinated by how dang bright the place is now, a stirring upgrade over the dimly-lit dungeons we had previous. For those who missed the trough experience, it's recreated in the new communal sinks, which offer nice, hot water. And you won't feel awkward when you see someone else's hands.

The Food Stands

One of the food booths has gone Gangnam Style on us.

The main food stands have a neat early '60s retro look to them, especially on the menus, and The Militant is glad to report that they now all uniformly stock grilled Dodger Dogs (Kirk Gibson fist pump), or at least boiled Dodger Dogs with grill marks painted on them (kidding). The Militant was a little disappointed when his garlic fries had very little in the way of garlic bits and grease. What up with that?! Unfortunately, service was still at a molasses-like slowness. The clerk who served The Militant was looking all over the stand in search of an All-Beef Dodger Dog, which not only took 3 minutes, but she eventually found one in the drawer next to her. The Militant thinks Mark Walter & Co should make sure the food services staff drink enough coffee before starting their shifts.

The Playground

The Militant wishes he was a kid again. Cool, that would mean Steve Garvey would be back on the team.

New to the formerly vast empty spaces outside the Reserve sections are the kids' play areas, presented by Children's Hospital Los Angeles, all of which resemble playground versions of baseball diamonds, yet are designed in a way where the little tykes seem to have a visceral attraction to them. They all have that squishy rubbery ground surface you find in modern playgrounds. The Militant sort of wishes he were Lil'Mil again and could jump around on these things.

The Bobblehead Boys and Team Icons

The very photogenic Bobblehead Boys make their debut!

In a city where tourists take pride in photo ops by stars on the sidewalk, a sign on a mountain, or costumed movie or cartoon characters (official or not), there seemed to be not much of that at our own baseball stadium, the largest in terms of capacity in the entire MLB, and the second-oldest in the National League. That's changed now.

The most visible items are the 10-foot tall "Bobblehead Boys" statues, which don't represent any players in particular, but are modeled after the old-school 1960 papier-mache MLB bobble head dolls with the same face, but different uniform, specific to each team. Not only are they a nod to nostalgia, they're also informative: Each statue sports a different variation of the home and road uniform worn throughout the years, and for a diverse city like Los Angeles, each of them comes in a different skin color. Best of all, they're actual functioning bobbleheads!


The Militant thinks The Dodgers should give each of them a name, and make them actual giveaway bobblehead dolls. Though, when we win our next World Series, some fools gonna be tearin' their heads off!

Koufax Represent.

The stadium also has oversized team iconography, from the "LA" logo, to retired numbers, to baseballs autographed by the team's Cy Young Award winners (Kershaw's and Koufax's were the most popular, while Eric Gagne's just stood there alone in the corner...'Game Over' indeed).

The Tech

The Stadium now boasts free Wi-Fi and boosted cellular coverage. Previously, a cell tower on a hill, disguised as a palm tree, in nearby Elysian Park carried the stadium's signals. For most games, though, an over-abundance of mobile phones overwhelmed it and most people went blank as far as using their smartphones. Not good if you're trying to text your friends, or Tweet/Facebook/Instagram the game, or look up baseball stats on your iPad. The Militant was unable to log on to the open Wi-Fi connection in the Stadium with his unspecified smartphone, but cell coverage was consistent - he was easily able to Tweet during the game! The last time was able to do that was during the 2011 "McC*rt Boycott" season (Heh heh).

Of course there are even more improvements: The "batter's eye" black screen behind center field was enlarged, which is cool since it blocks more of the parking lot and should help chip away the misconception that only Los Angeles fans arrive late and leave early (which is scientifically proven to happen at most every sports venue, though Dodger Stadium is the only one with the parking lot in plain view). And of course there's the expanded clubhouses, which you won't be able to see unless you take an official Stadium tour, or are a player or member of the media.

The new improvements are...MILITANT-APPROVED!

Aside from the Dodgers losing 3-0, the not-so-garlicy garlic fries and the fact that the Cool-A-Coo guy never came to The Militant's aisle :( , it was a memorable Opening Night and a great start to the season with the new ownership. You can feel it in the air -- more people are staying to the end of the game, and the "LET'S GO DODGERS!" chants are noticeably louder now.

Go Blue, all the mf'ing way!

Bobble On and On

It was a nice day and excuse to go to a ballgame, the Militant's second since Opening Day and his first in the Post-McC*urt Era on Tuesday night.

Of course, the other 51,000 people were here to get themselves one of them free bobble heads, featuring the classic Dodger Big Blue Wrecking Crew infield of 1973-1981.

It was also a day to the a return of Beast Mode to The Stadium, fresh off his recovery from the Disabled List:

Despite a 9th-inning double that seemed to spark a rally, the Boys In Blue lost to The Brew Crew 2-1. But The Militant had his first Magic spotting at The Stadium:

Yes, that's Magic in the front row, and that's the recently-unemployed Mickey Hatcher sitting to the right of Tommy Lasorda, with some of the Guggenheim Baseball Management jefes sitting in between.

Go Andre, It's Yo Birthday...Dodgers Opening Day 2012

The Chinese may celebrate their New Year in February, the Persians in March, the Thais in April and the Jews in September, but The Militant celebrates his New Year at the start of baseball season, namely, Opening Day at Dodger Stadium.

Like a countdown, a parade and what may or may not be legally-sanctioned fireworks heralding the annual turn of the calendar, you can expect the same rituals every Opening Day: The red, white and blue bunting strewn across the stadium decks, the freshly-manicured turf on the field, the contrasting-yet-parallel flyovers of war and peace icons: the jet fighters and the doves, a ginormous US flag in the outfield and a lengthened lineup call of pretty much everybody on the team.

This year, Opening Day was different, though - for many reasons.

Right off, this was the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium, the venue the Dodger franchise has called home for the longest amount of time (All you whiny "Dem Bwooklyn yeahs was da best!/Dey needs ta move back ta Bwooklyn" types need to realize that they only called Ebbets Field home for 44 years, and roost of all, the team only won ONE title with the "B" on their caps, and FIVE with the "LA" on them.  Real Talk!) - The accent has changed: "Dwoajus" has long been replaced by "Doyers."

The Militant also noticed a few cosmetic changes in The Stadium: The six franchise World Series Championship signs have been replaced by new ones, only bearing the team logo at the time and the year. Also, the retired numbers hanging under the Pavilion roofs have been replaced with a simpler design.

The beloved, honorable, eminent and almighty Vin Scully was not in da hizzouse on Tuesday -- his first Opening Day absence since 1977 (A good omen perhaps, since we made it to the World Series later that year).

The ceremonial first pitch was done by Terry O'Malley Seidler, a generational surrogate for her mother Kay O'Malley, who did the honors 50 years ago. The O'Malleys are the only former Dodger owners worthy of respect and praise.

Speaking of which, also missing was new incoming (co-) owner Magic Johnson, who is in New York to attend the premiere of the Magic Bird Broadway musical (say whaaat?!)

But wanna know who ELSE was MISSING?

Fr*nk McC**rt.

Yes, He Who Shall Not Be Spoken Of is on his way out, a new Dodger ownership era is on its way in, and the Stadium vibe was hopeful, upbeat and as pleasant as the 67-degree sunny Spring day that it was.
Appropriate Dodger gear now includes Lakers #32 jerseys.

The game was a rapid two-and-a-half-hour display of starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw's Cy Young-winning pitches, shortstop Dee Gordon's speed, third baseman Juan Uribe's pure luck (dude went 3 for 3!), Jame's Loney's tough luck (0 for 2) and closer Javy Guerra's save of saves.

But the real play of the game went to birthday boy Andre Ethier, who hit both 30 and a solo homer into the All-You-Can-Eat Pavilion in the 8th today.  The euro-techno of Zombie Nation gave way to the sunny Angeleno rock of Randy Newman.

And all was good in Dodgertown.

Interestingly, there was the lack of at-bat music for any of the players -- either done to quell stadium violence or as a nod to the retro 1962 style which was being celebrated on this day.

Speaking of which, the specter of the Bryan Stow beating was present, with over 200 LAPD officers in attendance (their presence didn't seem that obvious...or maybe we're all used to it now). There were a few DAPA (drunk-ass punk-ass) scuffles in the stands, but nothing that involved weapons or brain damage. Maybe it's because there were no Pittsburgh Pirates fans present (No, not just in The Stadium, but anywhere on the Earth). Even the Pittsburgh transplants who live here probably think their team is too meh to bother rooting for.

When all was said and done, The score and result was identical to last year's Opening Day: The Dodgers won the game, 2-1. Only this time, after the game, Dodger fans fought traffic and not fans of the opposing team, and they were excitedly looking forward to returning to their beloved 50-year-old palace again soon.

Happy New Year, Dodger fans!

The Militant would like to thank Mr. Frank McCourt for not showing his ass up at the game! 






MOAR PICZ:

The Beach Boys sing The National Anthem. Yes, the Beach Boys -- the only time when a person
named "Brian Wilson" will not get boo'ed at Dodger Stadium.

Okay, somethin' went down here...

Ahhh, The Wave is back.

The vibe after Ethier's solo game-winning homer in the 8th!

A significant number at The Stadium, for more than one reason...

On the front, it reads, "MAGIC MADE MCCOURT DISAPPEAR"