FallingLEAVes of Sunshine

Who knew Brad Ausmus was such a great writer? He really should become a journalist once he hangs up the cleats. You Guys Just Can't Get Enough Written for ESPN magazine back in 2007 Anyone hear when Ausmus got the pilot to relay a joke while the team was in flight? (This was back when he was with the Astros). Didn't know Ausmus was such a character!

Two weeks into the season and here's what they have to offer... 4/3 Cubs at Yankees (Spring Training) - Yanks open Stadium with power-full win 4/5 Braves at Phillies - Cool, calm Lowe tosses gem in debut 4/8 Braves at Phillies - Phis look like champs after getting rings 4/10 Red Sox at Angels - Angels fight off pain, rally past Red Sox 4/16 Indians at Yankees - Indians spoil Yankee Stadium Opener 4/17 Brewers at Mets - Sheffield clubs 500, Mets walk off Hmmm notice something here? Can you say EAST COAST BIAS!!! Not a single Western division team (except for the ONE Angels game after Nick Adenhart's death). And every single game has an Eastern division team. GRRRRRR I get it. They can't post every game where a player hits their first home run for their new team (as requested in lots of the reviews on Itunes). And they can't post every game or every team or even a game per day. I know a lot of times they only offer mile stone games or some really big games ... but come on...

If you watch the entire Love Comes Softly series and have gotten this far, congratulations! You were able to sit through them. And by now you have realized that the movies are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the books. Granted, most books turned movies are different. But for the most part, most movies follow the plot lines of the book. In this case, if you have ever read the book... take what you read and throw it not only out the window but out of this universe! The movie may share the same title and a few of the same characters but that's about it. (If you continue reading this, be forewarned. There will be spoilers!) One, they kill off Willie! Two, Willie and Missie's family in the movie is NOT the family in the book. Three, they introduce Belinda as a 14-year-old orphan, rather than have Marty and Clark have a late-in-life baby. Four, Clark never had the accident that takes his leg. Five, the movie is centered on Missie, instead of Ellie because... there is NO Ellie (as well as n...

Anyone remember what happened last year...? Let me refresh your memory. It's Saturday, April 26 (almost exactly a year apart) ... the Dodgers are creaming the Rockies big time. I don't remember if it was the fourth or fifth inning, but I think it was the second pitch of the inning. Well, poor Danley had a similar experience... except this time with a piece of a broken bat rather than a 96 MPH fast ball. Prayers and well wishes to Kerwin Danley!

As promised, here's the entry about the Kate Gosselin signing. So, I arrived at Barnes and Noble about 9:30ish for the book signing. I expected there to be a huge line outside the store ... but nothing. I went inside and got my wristband and browsed around. The associate said to be back by noon. I figured, might as well stay. I got a magazine, went up to the third floor. On my way there, I saw people already lining up on the second floor. I got a sandwich, drink, and coffee cake from the cafe, got a book, went back downstairs to pay for my book and magazine. And then I settled in for the long wait. Which, wasn't so bad compared to the other autograph signings I have been to. We were inside, in an air-conditioned building (which turned out to be horrible for my allergies) and it was only about three hours away anyway. The nice thing about the Dodger signings ... you can actually talk to the people around you. It would be hours before the people in line in front of me even talked...

Russell Martin and me (ahhh my first love) Joe Torre Cory Wade and Me (I had no idea he was put on the DL) Andre Ethier (he did not take ANY photos with anyone) Casey Blake (he never got to our area. Not bad for a shot where there was a huge crowd in front of me. I didn't know what I was taking. Just snapping photos every time the crowd parted enough for me to see him_

Randy Wolf (I cropped myself out cuz I didn't turn out very well) James Loney and Me (and the lovely Cat behind us in pink) Nina and Raffy (I love Raffy now too!) Brad Ausmus and me (he's my second favorite back-up catcher) Hong-Chih Kuo and me (second time around. In the first picture, he wasn't looking. He was talking to Cat)

If you haven't heard by now ... Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle today! As I was looking at pictures, I came across this realization. The O-Dog wears the number 13. He wore 30 during Spring Training and changed to 13 for the regular season. Today, the day that he hit for the cycle, is the 13th. Any one out there know what the stats/probabilities on a player hitting for the cycle on the same day as his jersey number? Hmmm Furcal's number is coming up on Wednesday (and I'll be there for that!) and Ethier's the day after that ...

LOL, I can't get a break when it comes to seeing Wolfie pitch, can I? Had the Dodgers stuck to their rotation, I would have seen Wolfie pitch on Saturday. Now that Mac is being pushed back three days, Wolfie is pitching on Friday instead of Saturday. And I get Bills. Now, don't get me wrong. I love seeing Billingsley pitch. But I had every intention of going to the Dodger game decked out in my Wolf gear. Not anymore I suppose. Coming up next, what I love best about Dodger Stadium and what they need to improve, thanks to the Sunday night sports talk for the inspiration

How to get from Dorris Place Elementary School to Dodger Stadium by Public Transit Okay, so I'm trying to figure out how to get to Dodger Stadium on Wednesday without driving. I put in my address, and this is what I got! Well, not exactly. But close. For the sake of the blog, I put in the address of the local elementary school. The same school that can be seen in the Criminal Minds episode 2 in season 3, "In Birth and Death". Crazy huh?

Today, I went to Dodger Stadium to buy my tickets for Saturday's game against the Rockies. I told the ticket guy that I wanted tickets in the Left Field Pavilion, as close to the Bullpen as possible. He goes, "ah, you want to see Manny, huh?" I told him, no. I said bullpen. I wanted to see Wolf. First he had me in section 311. Then I asked him if there were any in 301. He looks them up and says, "well, you can still see Manny." Again I said, I wanted to see Wolf, not Manny. When I was leaving work, a coworker asked me if I was excited about Manny. I told her my story about when I went to go buy my tickets. I want to see Wolf, not Manny. If all goes according to plan... Wolfie should be the starter that day. Then again, you never know. You don't know what's going to happen from one moment to the next. And here's where we pause for a moment of silence for Nick Adenhart. If you haven't heard by now ... Angels' pitcher Nick Adenhart's career ...

Okay, so I'm a bit tired from a long day. Five hours on the freeway, three hours at the game, about two hours pre-game... well... you get the picture. And if you don't, here are a few pictures to tide you over till... probably Wednesday.

So, I was driving to work as usual this afternoon when I noticed the van in front of me. It had a Criminal Minds sticker on the back of the van. And it looked like the same van that was parked in front of my house when the tv show filmed two houses down from mine. Hmm ... could it ... nah... well ... maybe. The windows were tinted and I couldn't see who was inside the van. They do film in the area, so maybe it was them. Who knows. But I will look for some Glendale background in future episodes!