Got back from my third trip to Chavez Ravine in as many days. (Chavez Ravine is the area of LA that Dodger Stadium resides in) It was the biggest crowd of the 3 nights - and the Cub fans were in abundance. The weather was perfect, and we got one of those big, red suns at sunset.

Derrick Lowe did not look good at all, and the Cubs were certainly hitting him well from the get go.  I missed the chair incident, which was too bad as I'm always up for that type of entertainment.

The game itself was rather entertaining, and what can I say about Derrick Lee that even approaches a representation of justice? His performance is simply amazing. And my hat goes off to Kolonko, because the crowd was pretty hyped early and being broken into the show on the road cannot be easy.

Also, Zambrano's effort from the night before was still fresh in my mind as well. Having never been to a no hitter, getting so close will stick with me for some time. As it is, Z has been my favorite Cubbie since 2002, and I likely saw his best performance of this season. The whole series has been fantastic, and if the Cubs ever swept in LA while I've been here it wasn't with me in attendance for all 3 games. I'd love to post some pics, but the Diaries don't seem to allow it.

There was debate in an earlier thread about the state of mind of Dodger fans. I think much of it is quite simple, and is somewhat reflective of what is getting written about Wrigley fans at the moment (leading to all of the booing debate both here and at the Trib): they are frustrated as all get out. I've lived here for 12 years, and the "Story of the Dodgers" while I've been here was the sale by O'Malley, the entrance and exit of Fox Corp, the accompanying trade of Mike Piazza and the new owner and subsequent hiring Paul dePodesta. In other words, the Dodgers lost their `family element' of the team and for many years were able to keep core players despite the presence of free agency, giving them a nice sense of stability. Today they are now a pure plug and play team, and many fans did NOT like the overhaul of the team last season. Beltre was popular, everyone loved Alex Cora and Jeff Kent used to be a Giant. Now, the entire concept of the Dodgers lies in ruins while Edemo Saenz and Cesar Izturis carry the team. 12-2 is in the rear view mirror, and Moneyball is currently leaving a bad taste in their mouth.

I started up a conversation with a few Dodger fans and one of them said something interesting: he was at the Monday game and said he'd never seen so many opposing fans in attendance. So I think any current tension in the stands is merely a defensive reaction at our large presence and the state of their team. I for one, felt like it was a fine atmosphere for Baseball all 3 nights.

Wrapping up, they certainly didn't cheer for Hollandsworth when he came to bat. I don't know the exact scenario he left under -free agency?- but they rode him at his at bats, and went ape when he managed to scramble back to 2nd on that run down.

Al, I'd like to say this is a great site - thank you much!!