took me out to the ballgame

I took myself out to the ballgame yesterday. I haven't seen the Portland Beavers play since last season, and only once then. This weekend, the Las Vegas 51s are in town. That means hometown team vs Dodgers AAA affiliate. Either way, I win. For me, it was a real treat getting to see some Dodgers up close. Those I was especially excited to see were Xavier Paul, Yhency Brazoban, A.J. Ellis, John Lindsey, John-Ford Griffin, Jason Repko, and especially Andy LaRoche.

The rundown:

Xavier Paul - Fair player, has a decent shot at eventually joining the Dodgers

Yhency Brazoban - needs to stay healthy and regain consistency (see video below)

A.J. Ellis - Fair backstop, stuck in the minor leagues 5th behind all-star Russell Martin, injured Gary Bennett, Danny Ardoin, and Lucas May. note: the Dodgers have a history of outstanding backstops including Roy Campanella, Johnny Roseboro, Tom Haller, Steve Yeager, Mike Scioscia, Mike Piazza, Paul LoDuca, and now Russell Martin

John Lindsey - big guy, saw him hit a monster home run. Stuck in the minors behind James Loney and a few others.

John-Ford Griffin - not ready for the big show yet, but a good prospect

Jason Repko - could be in the majors...if he would start producing

Andy LaRoche - played 2B against the Beavers. drew the short straw in the race for Dodgers 3B this year. With so many injuries (Tony Abreu hasn't played this season and just had hip surgery), I'm sure he'll be with the Dodgers again before the end of the season. Blake DeWitt is doing a great job offensively for a youngster, but his defense is lacking. Not just poor ball-handling skills, but poor choices in general. I'm rooting for DeWitt to get his act together. Not a big fan of Abreu, though.

On a lighter note, BirdZerk! was at the game. An example of BirdZerk!'s antics: between innings when the fielders warm up, Birdzerk! approached shortstop Sergio Garcia and tried to get him to dance. Garcia wouldn't dance at first. Then, reluctantly, he waved his arms a couple times in the air. The BirdZerk! played with him a little more. Garcia got annoyed and threw his glove to the ground and danced a little more. Then BirdZerk! got Garcia to face the outfield and dance a little more. While Garcia had his back turned, BirdZerk! grabbed Garcia's glove from the ground and ran to his golf cart. BirdZerk! sped off to the centerfield fence taking Garcia's glove with him while Garcia gave chase. Then, BirdZerk! threw Garcia's glove over the outfield fence! It was hilarious. Afterward, a batboy ran onto the field to give Garcia his real glove. Though it was a setup, it was still very entertaining! Another example of BirdZerk!'s act follows.


Chip Ambres hits one off Brazoban
[trying to get video to work]
BirdZerk vs Umpire
[trying to get video to work]
BirdZerk and Zerk! Jr.
[trying to get video to work]
After the game, I rode the train back home and got ready for my regular night out at Dante's. The Wet Spots played again. They were the first band I saw at Dante's when I started going regularly. They're very funny. You should check them out if you're up to the kind of PG-13 and R-Rated music you might expect from a band called The Wet Spots. They ran late, so there was very little downtime between them and Sinferno. It was nice that way and Sinferno was a delight as usual.