(me, in fedora hat, black band, as one of my ritzy pals catches a foul
ball at Dodger Stadium last night)

The Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles beat back the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles last night in a 2-1 game that sported an awesome 9th inning, courtesy of Mr. Saito. I went LA-style to the game “ meaning traffic kept us sitting in the car until the 3rd inning.

It’s the second ticket I lucked into this week, the final game of the Mets sweep was first, but this one included a pass to the Dodger Dugout Club. La Dodger Vita, baby! I don’t bring this up just to rub your noses in it, but I know most of you don’t have the all-access life that bloggers at CSTB get. First, and keep your envy in check, the Dugout Club offers VIPS like myself complimentary Baby Ruth bars (Halloween-size), peanuts (uh, regular size), and $9 Bud Lights (it’s pricey, but it’s like buying a Bentley, if you gotta ask how much it costs, you shouldn’t be in the Dugout Club …).

And the bona fide celebrity spots! Ultra right-wing game show host Pat Sajak was in the house, enjoying the game too much to rail about UN diplomats who never pay NYC parking tickets. Other swells included Dodger great Mickey Hatcher, Manny Mota’s son (or so I was told), and fired FOX news sportscaster Caroline Hughes (and current Derek Lowe girlfriend), altho I don’t know how many Baby Ruths any of them got. The players exit the clubhouse right near the door, and fans on the rope line heckled’m face to face if they refused to sign autographs. Saito walked straight past fans to shouts of “AAA, three weeks ago, Saito!” Given that Saito enters to George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone,” I’m pretty sure he doesn’t speak English anyway. Jeff Kent arrives at the plate to “Immigrant Song” but shows up post-game in a swank suit. Go figure. The Angels’ coach Alfredo Griffin (Dodgers, ’88) walked out of the visitors locker room to “You’re still blue baby! You still bleed blue, you know it! Can you still smell the fruits of victory? I can!” James Loney, Luis Gonzalez, and Officer Dangle all signed autographs. The security people told the fans to call it quits after a point, but not before Derek Lowe walked by pretending he was on the cell phone, completely by-passing the Baby Ruth bars and fan boys. I went back into the bar where my friends explained how to spot the groupies “ sort of hot girls, alone, ignoring the free peanuts and everyone else, get a cell call, and then hurriedly walk out towards the clubhouse.

Btw, for the record, baseball wives aren’t that hot. Cute, but these guys marry for love.