Thursday, May 14, 2015

Dodgers vs. Marlins Game Recap (05/12/15) - Stanton Hits it Out, Dodgers Rally Forward


There is no doubt that the first bobblehead giveaway is just as anticipated as Opening Day.  The vibe that comes with a new bobblehead giveaway brings a feel of excitement as people wait impatiently to add that new Kershaw bobblehead to their collection, and with good reason.  Unlike previous years, the bobblehead was slated to be given to the first 40,000 fans entering the stadium, meaning that there is going to be less bobbleheads produced.  I left the house with my father and younger brother at about 4:00 and got there at about 4:30, ten minute before parking gates opened.  There was traffic on the five freeway, but it wasn't too bad enough to derail me from acquiring the bobblehead.  After a fairly quick and easy access through  the metal detectors, we all got our Kershaw bobblehead, with the revelation of a new box decoration.


As we entered the stadium, we were already star struck by the presence of Tommy Lasorda, who was being interviewed by the Sports Net LA reporters.  With the crowd surrounding him, there was no way I could have possibly asked for an autograph.  Besides, I only came prepared to place my bobblehead in a bag.  Afterword, we headed to the Left Field Pavilion, where we bumped into Deep Left, who commented that he wanted a win that was not as dramatic as the day before.


I sort of had a similar mentality to batting practice as I did not give care for the day as to whether I got a baseball or not.  I must do say that Giancarlo Stanton hit a mammoth of a home run that bounced off the seats from Section 305 and out of the stadium.  Therefore, I was hoping for him to display that kind of athletic ability in the game, which would be heard in his first at bat.


The Dodgers were sending out Mike Bolsinger while the Marlins countered with a former teammate in the form of Dan Haren.  In the first inning, Bolsinger got the first two batters out with ease, until Stanton came up to the plate.  I cannot explain the gut feeling inside of me that knew something was going to occur.  It was as if some sort of aura that was building up upon Stanton's approach to the game where he is completely confident at the talent that he puts forward on a day to day basis.  As fast as I could even react, Giancarlo Stanton hit a monstrous home run over the same area of the pavilion that he hit the BP homer, hitting the top of the roof and out of the park.


Luckily for the Dodgers, they put their recent strings of success with the winning streak in order to come back through.  Howie Kendrick capitalized on such of  an opportunity in order to hit a home run to right field in the third inning.  Little did I know, that was just the beginning as Ethier would go on to hit a home run of his own in the fourth inning in order to start the Dodgers rally.  Throughout the remainder of the game was filled with Dodgers hits with pretty much every position player getting involved in the action in some way.  The Dodgers ended up reaching double digits in the six inning.  It also had barely turned 9:30 during that time that we decided to leave the game in order get ready to go to school the next day.


Before we got back home, we stopped by our nearby Jack in the Box in order to get Munchie Meals.


The minute we got back home, I immediately tended to getting my bobblehead out of the box, which was far beyond my expectations of how beautifully designed it was.  Every little aspect of it, whether it be the awards presented or the mere fact that it bobbles to perfection, catches my attention to the point that it easily beats out the bobblehead of last year.  I just hope that I can collect the rest of the bobblehead giveaways that are sure to come because they look just as great as this one.  I was also glad that the Dodgers came back to display their work ethic in earning these types of wins. Thank you for reading and have a safe weekend.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Sampote Sands Autograph Signing at Frank and Son (5/9/14)


Initially, I was scheduled to head over to San Diego for a cousin's birthday party, but was informed the other day that it was cancelled due to the rainfall that occurred.  With that in mind, I decided to head over to Frank and Son in order to check out what I could purchase.  Upon entering Frank and Son, this stand caught my attention due to the Ultraman statues that were displayed.


Co - owner of the Ultraman series, Sompote Sands, was signing free autographs for guests.  All what really was required was that the promoter asked for your name to be written down on a list, which Sands would then look over in order to personalize the autograph.


I gotta say, the autograph looks really nice in gold sharpie, especially if this is a simple 8.5x11 sheet of cardboard paper.  I can only remember watching Ultraman from when it was apart of Fox's FoxBox kids programming (anybody remember that?).  I really don't know that much information about the ownership rights to the series, other than the fact that Sands was vital in bringing the show outside of Japan,  which lead to some disputes with the Tsuburaya family.


In terms of my usual commitment to the baseball hobby, I purchased a Shawn Green bobblehead for $17.  I also purchased a Dan Haren and Steve Cishek 2015 Topps Heritage base card in order to be hopeful in getting them signed for this Tuesday's Dodger game against the Marlins.  However, I am anticipating to fear for the worst considering that it is a bobblehead game.  I don't think that I am going to be taking that much stuff since I am solely focused on the new Kershaw bobblehead.  Thank you for reading and I hope to inform you on one of the most anticipated games of the year that is to take place in three days.