Welcome to LA, Manny!

Okay, look.

I get that Manny Ramirez is far more than his .299 BA, 20 HR and 68 RBIs. He is far more than an absolutely dominating plate presence who makes the opposing pitcher more than a little uncomfortable every time he steps into the box. He’s more than the power hitter the Dodgers have been searching for with very little success for years and the likely missing piece that will help push the Dodgers into October.

I’m honestly not sure that I care.

Manny loves Manny. He’s a lazy left-fielder, indulged by the Green Monster. When he’s unhappy, he acts like a petulant child. Ask any Red Sox fan about the half-assed jogs to first, the seemingly-intentional strike outs and his imaginary “knee problem” and I’m sure they’ll be happy to speak their mind about what a headache Manny has become. For a notoriously rabid, loyal fan base that was hearts-in-their-eyes, over-the-moon in love with him…that’s saying quite a lot.

I won’t excuse Manny’s behavior, especially since I’m a big believer (especially when you’re being paid millions of dollars to play a game) in professionalism above all else. However, a change of scenery might do him a lot of good.

Manny says bye-bye to Boston.

That’s what I’m hoping, anyway, since as of 1pm yesterday, Manny Ramirez became a Dodger. In a move that sent shockwaves through the baseball world, the world of ESPN and the world of my office, Ramirez became the latest Dodger two-month rental in a three team trade with Boston and Pittsburgh.

The Pirates sent outfielder Jason Bay to Boston, and Boston and the Dodgers each sent two minor leaguers to Pittsburgh (outfielder Brandon Moss and RHP Craig Hansen, and 3B Andy LaRoche and RHP Bryan Morris, respectively). The Red Sox will pay the remaining $7 million left on Manny’s contract, and both the Dodgers and Scott Boras, Manny’s agent, agreed to waive the 2009 and 2010 options on his contract, each for $20 million. That means Manny will be a free agent at the end of the year and I’m sure several GMs are already drooling over the possibility of landing him for the 2009 season. Of course, such a thing won’t come cheap. Not when you have Manny’s ego and Boras’ money-grubbing to contend with.

Will Bay be a big hit in Beantown?

There’s no doubt that the Dodgers got the best end of this deal, at least in the short run. Manny was basically free; LaRoche has consistently underperformed during the two years the team gave him to prove himself at a big league level, and it’s too early to really say if and how badly the departure of Morris will be felt. The Red Sox got rid of their biggest headache and replaced Ramirez with Bay, who is comparable (at least in numbers alone) to Manny, 7 years younger and significantly lighter in the baggage department. The Sox also have a much better chance of hanging on to Bay than the Dodgers do with Manny. The Pirates held a fire sale before the trade deadline…who knows what they were thinking, really…but it’s definitely notthe best way to secure your first winning record since 1992.

There are a lot of question marks surrounding Manny’s arrival in LA today, but I can tell you this…I am ridiculously excited (so much so that I can hardly contain myself) to see him don Dodger Blue and step up to the plate against Randy Johnson tonight.

If you get no-hit, you...win?

Saturday night, the Dodgers became only the 5th Major League team since 1900 to win a game after being no-hit.

Angels starter Jered Weaver and reliever Jose Arredondo combined for nine innings of no-hit baseball...and lost.

Weaver was not a happy camper afterward.

Now, technically the game wasn't a no-no. A game has to go at least 27 outs (nine full innings) for it to be an official no-hitter. Still, it was something pretty special.

Jered Weaver was untouchable for six innings and Chad Billingsley also pitched a solid game of shutout baseball. The only run came in the fifth, after a series of defensive mishaps.

Matt Kemp hit a comebacker to Weaver, who bobbled the ball and allowed Kemp to reach base. Two pitches later, Kemp stole second and steamed into third when catcher Jeff Mathis threw the putout pitch into center field. Blake DeWitt's sacrifice fly cashed in Kemp's unearned run.

Kemp is learning to make smart baserunning decisions. Hallelujah.

It's the sort of game you definitely don't see every day, and the roar of the crowd after Takashi Saito struck out Reggie Willits to end the game showed that the fans knew it. The Dodgers and Angels knew it too, judging by the stunned jubilation exhibited by the victors and stunned silence of the losers.

This is a perfect example of why I love this game. You think you've seen or heard about almost everything...and then something like this happens. Even the most wizened, jaded fan sits up and takes notice of a game like this. I also take particular satisfaction that we were playing the Angels...as I hate them with the fiery passion of 10,000 suns (suck on that, Anaheim!).

The Rookie DeWitt

I’ve been having a hard time seeing the silver lining in the Dodger rain cloud lately, but…

Congratulations to 3B Blake DeWitt for being named the NL Rookie of the Month for May!

No. 33, baby

DeWitt, who until this season never played above AA, was a last minute replacement at third after both Adam LaRoche and Nomar Garciaparra went down with Spring Training injuries. He’s taken full advantage of the unexpected opportunity, hitting .290 for the season with five home runs and 29 RBIs.

The rookie hit .322 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in May to earn the honor from Major League Baseball, beating out Joey Votto of Cincinnati, Geovany Soto of Chicago and Manny Acosta of the Braves.

From a personal standpoint, DeWitt has been an impressive addition to the Dodgers’ crop of young players. He’s a rook, which means he commits more errors than I’d like (of course, he DOES play third). However, he doesn’t seem to let the pressure get to him.

Some evidence? May 19th versus the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers mounted a 5th inning rally to tie the score at 5-5. In the bottom of the ninth, Reds reliever David Weathers gave up a single to Russell Martin (which he turned into a double on a throwing error by Paul Janish). Jeff Kent advanced Martin to third on a groundout. Weathers then intentionally walked James Loney and Matt Kemp to load the bases for the seven-hole-hitting DeWitt. He responded with a game-winning single.

He's a gamer.

I watched that game up close and personal. It was fantastic. What a kid. It’s a well-deserved honor and I’m excited to see what he’ll offer the team through the rest of the season. There’s ROY potential there (though I know, hard to think someone will beat out Fukudome).

2010: The All-Star Game comes to Southern California?

Your host for the 2010 All-Star Game

ESPN is reporting that Angel Stadium has been awarded the 2010 All-Star Game.

I've been eagerly waiting for an All-Star game to come back to Southern California since I was a kid. I think it would be one of the absolute coolest things to see in person.

Obviously, I'd rather it be at Dodger Stadium. Unfortunately, MLB tends to show a bias toward newer stadiums or ones that have just undergone massive renovations. Dodger Stadium, though it's been improved and changed many times over the years, still essentially looks the same as it did when it opened. That's one of the things I love most about it, but unfortunately it also means that it tends to get ignored or overlooked when the All-Star committee makes their decision.

However, last month the Dodgers announced extensive, expansive renovation plans for Chavez Ravine. While I'm not a big fan of the plans overall, they do mean that we'll probably be angling for the All-Star game in 2013.

Wait until 2013?

Mark your calendars, Southern Californians. The big show is coming to town.

Dodger Stadium: The Next 50 Years

A little more than a week ago, the Dodgers unveiled a plan for “The next 50 years” of Dodger Stadium. I’ve taken that much time to process my thoughts on the changes and “improvements” proposed over the next handful of years.

I consider myself a purist when it comes to ballparks. A ballpark needs to have an atmosphere, a history, a beautiful simplicity that invites people to sit down with friends and family on a Sunday afternoon and watch a game. No frills are necessary, nor should they be required. All you need is your seat, the field in front of you and possibly a hot dog.

Artist rendering of the "new and improved" Dodger Stadium

I don’t need a cascading fountain in centerfield with flumes of water that shoot up when someone hits a home run. I don’t need a giant slide in left center that the mascot uses as part of his shtick. I don’t need a friggin’ pool in right center that people can rent out and watch the game from. In fact, add-ons like that only detract from the baseball experience. Things like that are unnecessary and silly and, in my opinion, suck the soul out of a stadium. For that reason, I dislike most of the newer ballparks. Give me the simple majesty of a Fenway Park or Dodger Stadium or even (god forbid) Yankee Stadium any day. Walking into one of those stadiums just has an inexplicably different feel – it’s just amazing.

That said, imagine my trepidation to learn that the Dodgers were planning tons of “upgrades” and “improvements” to my favorite place in the world. After looking over the plans put forth by owner Frank McCourt…I’m pretty worried. I’m afraid that these changes will alter the soul of the stadium in a way it can never recover from.

Pulled directly from the Dodgers website, here are three main changes that McCourt and company plan to implement:

Dodger Way - A dramatic, new tree-lined entrance will lead to a beautifully landscaped grand plaza where fans can gather beyond center field. The plaza will connect to a modern, bustling promenade that features restaurants, shops and the Dodger Experience museum showcasing the history of the Dodgers in an interactive setting.

The new main entrance - can you even SEE the stadium?

Green Necklace - The vibrant street setting of Dodger Way links to a beautiful perimeter around Dodger Stadium, enabling fans to walk around the park, outdoors yet inside the stadium gates. This Green Necklace will transform acres of parking lots into a landscaped outdoor walkway connecting the plaza and promenade to the rest of the ballpark.

Top of the Park - The Green Necklace connects to a large scale outdoor plaza featuring breathtaking 360 degree views spanning the downtown skyline and Santa Monica Bay, the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains, and the Dodger Stadium diamond.

The way the website describes the changes, it seems like they’re trying to turn it into a vacation destination or a shopping mall that just happens to have a baseball stadium in the middle of it. It seems less about baseball and more about how much money they can squeeze out of the internationally-recognized organization (that “LA” logo has long since ceased to just stand for a baseball team). I fear that by building out and up, they’ll suffocate the life out of one of the most beautiful parks in all of baseball. I think it would kill my soul to see the Dodger Stadium I know now disappear under glitz and shops and stores and frankly, corporate bullshit.

Buy, buy, buy. Oh, and there's also a game happening somewhere.

I’m all for making a stadium more eco-friendly and improving things like restrooms, food facilities, the parking situation and improved office space for employees and media (all also part of the future plans). But when baseball stadiums become more about what you can DO as opposed to what you’re going to SEE and experience…there’s a problem. I’ve watched it happen to other teams with a wrinkled nose and sense of disdain.

Call me a snob, paranoid or archaic…I don’t care. I go to a baseball game for the baseball and the atmosphere, period. I love that stadium more than words can express, and if it turned into something unrecognizable and corporate and fake…I think it would kill my soul a little. Just play baseball, guys. That’s all we need. I fear for the next 50 years of Dodger baseball, frankly.

The Dodgers: One Week In

Barely a week into the 2008 Major League Baseball season and my Dodgers are 4-2, having taken 2-of-3 from the Giants (at home) and the Padres (at Petco).

Here’s what I’m liking:

- The defense of Andruw Jones. Him and his 10 Gold Gloves have already proved valuable out in center. I breathe much easier knowing that he’s out there instead of Pierre (he of the mad hustle but the anemic arm).

- Hiroki Kuroda, who was absolutely brilliant in his MLB debut on Friday, giving up three this and only one run in a 7-1 Dodger victory. He exhibited excellent control and a few absolutely filthy pitches. I can’t wait to watch him do his thing for the rest of the year.

Kuroda: ready to rock the Ravine.

- A 100% healthy Rafael Furcal. You can absolutely see the difference and it’s incredibly heartening. His range defensively has improved and he’s already had at least three or four fantastic defensive plays this year.

- A staff 1.70 ERA, the lowest in the Majors. Our pitching has pulled us through tough spots so far, and we have a very solid 1-4 rotation. Our bullpen, a weakness in recent years past, has thus far held strong (such a positive sign).

- Blake DeWitt. Third base (and their default choice to fill the hole) was suspect at the beginning of the season. But DeWitt has been solid at the plate – three runs and five hits in 18 at-bats – and even better defensively. He showed up to play and hopefully will continue trying to make Torre think long and hard about getting rid of him once Nomar and LaRoche return.


Here’s what I’m not liking:

- Our .229 team batting average as a team, the fourth worst in the Majors. Jones, Martin and Kent (among others) are all off to sluggish starts, and for a team not really known for their power and amazing run production even when they’re ON…this is troubling.

Peavy: One scary mo-fo.

- A continuing inability to beat top pitchers. Our only loss to San Diego came when we put our ace (Penny) up against theirs (reigning Cy Young award winner Jake Peavy). Peavy made every single person in that lineup look absolutely silly. As LA Daily News beat reporter Tony Jackson points out, “Since the start of last season, the No. 1 starters for the Rockies, Padres and Diamondbacks -- Jeff Francis, Jake Peavy and Brandon Webb, respectively -- are now a combined 11-0 with a 1.71 ERA in 14 starts against the Dodgers, who are 1-13 in those 14 games.” They’ll never go away, so we have to find a way to beat No. 1 starters…especially in our own division.


Here’s a big question mark:

- Torre. He’s got the biggest spotlight in town shining on him right now, and a ton of questions hanging over his head. It’s hard to say anything one way or another about his managerial skills a mere one week in. Two months from now, I may be saying the same thing. It’s really hard to say. There’s not much to call in to question and, conversely, there’s not a lot to praise to the heavens (thus far). I’ll say that I’m very comfortable with him at the helm; hopeful but not unrealistic. He doesn’t quite know our team completely yet, but he knows the game inside out. I trust in his experience and his skill, and I’m very interested to watch how much (if any) of an AL managerial style he tries to bring into an NL world.

Dodgers' Opening Day: 50 Years Later

The “Field of Dreams” music started playing over the loudspeakers and out across the empty baseball field. All 56,000 of us knew that the Dodgers were planning something special for Opening Day 2008, the 50th anniversary of the team’s arrival in Los Angeles. Many of us, less than 48 hours before, watched the Dodgers play the Boston Red Sox at the LA Coliseum. That was pretty special by itself. I wasn’t sure how they’d top the nostalgic majesty of the Saturday night game.

Opening Day 2008: what a beautiful sight.

But then the center field wall swung open, and Duke Snider ambled slowly out onto the grass. He stopped in center field, his home for 15 years with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, and waved to an awestruck stadium full of Dodgers faithful. The silence that pervaded while people processed what exactly they were seeing was deafening; the cheering that followed, ear-splitting.

Before we all had time to fully digest the Duke, out walked Wally Moon from the right field bullpen. Then Don Newcombe trotted in from the left field bullpen. Back and forth it went, the bullpens propelling “Sweet” Lou Johnson, Steve Yeager, Bill Russell, Ron Cey, Tommy Davis, Maury Wills, Steve Garvey, Jerry Reuss, Carl Erskine, Eric Karros, Steve Finley, Steve Sax, Fernando Valenzuela and Tommy Lasorda to their former positions.

Not without reason, I assumed that Tommy was the last of them. I leaned over to my roommate, who accompanied me to the game, and said, “I wish they could’ve gotten Sandy Koufax to come out. That’s the only thing that would’ve made this better. But he’s pretty private and almost never comes out to anything official anymore.” The second those words left my mouth, a slender, silver-haired man in jeans and a navy blazer walked out of the Dodger dugout. I swear my heart stopped for a second.

Sandy Koufax walked out to the baseball mound where he pitched a perfect game on September 9, 1965 (among other accomplishments too numerous to mention here) and the crowd went absolutely crazy. I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The parade started with one of the greatest centerfielders to ever play the game and ended with arguably the greatest pitcher baseball has ever seen. When Koufax walked up to Snider and shook his hand, I thought I was going to die of joy on the spot.

Erskine, Koufax and Newcombe: too awesome for words.

Honestly, the Dodgers could have lost the game that followed 12-0 and I wouldn’t have cared at all. Thankfully, they won only their second Opening Day game in the last seven years (both, funnily enough, against the Giants). Brad Penny, though he struggled with his control in the first few innings, impressed in his 2008 debut, giving up no runs and scattering five hits over 6 2/3 innings. Offensively, the Dodgers scored three runs in the bottom of the first, two off of Jeff Kent’s fifth career Opening Day home run. They added two more runs, one in the second and one in the sixth, to coast to an easy 5-0 victory over San Francisco.

Without a doubt, yesterday was the greatest baseball experience I have ever had…and possibly one of the best days of my life. I know my dad was watching from somewhere as well, loving every minute.



NOTE: My own pictures to come, once I get them off of my camera.

Make like it's 1958

Last night, I, along with 115,299 other people, watched the Dodgers play baseball at the Los Angeles Coliseum for the first time in 47 years. As part of their season-long celebration of 50 years of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball, the organization held a one-night-only exhibition game versus the World Champion Boston Red Sox.

Both teams during pregame introductions.

I’m not exaggerating at all to say it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

In 1958, when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, they were the first team to foray into California. However, they had no stadium. So, from 1958-1962 (while Dodger Stadium was being built in Chavez Ravine) the Dodgers played baseball at the Los Angeles Coliseum…a venue designed for football. Squeezing a baseball diamond into a football field created some interesting dimensions, to say the least. A standard baseball field is about 375 feet down the left-and-right field lines and about 400 feet to straightaway center. The left field foul pole inside the LA Coliseum was a mere 251 feet from home plate, which they compensated for by erecting a 42-foot high fence (hoping to discourage easy home runs). Centerfield and right field were also a bit further away. Righties salivated, while lefties like Dodger legend Duke Snider saw their productivity decline. Dodger lefty Wally Moon so perfected pulling homers to left that they dubbed balls that cleared that fence "moon shots."

It was definitely an odd place to play, but the Dodgers made it work for their first four seasons in Los Angeles, before their current home opened on April 10, 1962. Late in 2007, I heard a rumor that the Dodgers would be returning to their first LA home for one night only. Immediately, I promised myself I’d do anything (selling a kidney, performing a hit, etcetera) to get my hands on a pair of tickets.

I don’t know that I can adequately describe what it was like to sit through that game. My late father grew up in Los Angeles and undoubtedly saw at least a couple games in the Coliseum with his two brothers and my grandfather. When I was a small child, he taught me to love the Dodgers and, more importantly, the game. Playing baseball and going to games bonded us throughout my childhood and up until his death two years ago (indeed, the last thing we did together was go see Japan face Mexico in the World Baseball Classic at Angel Stadium in Anaheim).

Being there was absolutely overwhelming for me as a daughter, a lifelong (and incredibly die hard) Dodger fan and as a lover of the game of baseball. Before the game, the Coliseum commission dedicated a plaque to legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully. Vin has been the voice of the Dodgers since 1950, when they were still in Brooklyn. His is one of the most beloved, enduring voices in all of sports. The roar of the crowd in mere anticipation of his introduction was deafening. When he stepped to the podium the applause and cheering died down and picked back up again three times. After the first of such resurgences, Scully, ever the humble man, said, “Aw c’mon, it’s just me.” He then rededicated his award to each of the 138 million fans who have come to see the Dodgers over the last 50 years, because he sees himself in the same boat as us: a man, standing on the curb who was lucky enough to watch all of the “heroes” pass by.

Because of Coliseum renovations, the left field foul pole was a mere 201 feet away.

Center and right field during pregame warmups.

It’s hard to get an idea of how ridiculous the dimensions really are without seeing them in person. The Dodgers essentially employed a five-man infield (at one point, CF Andruw Jones took a putout at second). A shallow pop fly was halfway to a home run. Balls that hit the net in left field dropped like rocks. It wasn’t the prettiest of games: the Dodgers went down 7-1 before coming back late to score one in the eighth. Boston brought Jonathan Papelbon on in the bottom of the ninth and the Dodgers mounted one of their trademark mini-comebacks that fell a bit short: Papelbon gave up a two-run shot to Double-A player (and probable Opening Day third baseman) Blake DeWitt to bring the Dodgers within three…but that was it. The Dodgers lost, 7-4.

I could’ve cared less. I mean, I got to be there. I got to see it and imagine what it must have felt like to be a fan 50 years ago, when baseball was brand new to Southern California and many people were seeing a game for the very first time. The Dodgers came to Brooklyn three years removed from their very first World Championship and won their second in their second year at the Coliseum. I don’t know that there’s anything that can top what I saw last night for the sheer joy that it brought me.

Me, pretty much the happiest girl alive.

Go Blue!

Oh, I almost forgot. One of my favorite moments of the night: someone started the wave, and it went around the massive stadium six times…and every time it passed the Boston and Los Angeles dugouts, the players themselves stood up and joined in. It was just that kind of night.

Starting at Third for the Los Angeles Dodgers...

Not that they ever really had one to begin with, but the Dodgers have lost both of their potential starting third basemen to injury over the past couple weeks.

Andy LaRoche tore a ligament in his right thumb during a Spring Training game on March 7. The injury required surgery and will keep him out of the lineup until at least mid-May. He and Nomar Garciaparra were expected to battle it out for the starting spot in the hot corner, but Garciaparra was hit on the wrist by a pitch later in the same game.

Garciaparra continued playing in Spring Training, but the pain in his wrist worsened over the course of this week. An MRI on Wednesday revealed a microfracture, akin to a bad bone bruise, on his right wrist. It’s possible that he won’t be ready for Opening Day.

Blake Dewitt, a 22-year-old who has never played above Double A (though that was the case with Matt Kemp as well and look how he turned out) and Tony Abreu (still not 100% after abdominal surgery) are the leading candidates to start at third if Nomar isn’t ready by the 31st.

Nomar: more wrist woes (is this 1999? Or 2001?)

Because the injuries to LaRoche and Garciaparra are short term, General Manager Ned Colletti resisted any suggestion of looking for outside help to fill the hole at third. Here’s the thing, though: I’m not convinced that either one will be what the team needs at the hot corner. The Dodgers haven’t had a truly permanent third baseman since Adrian Beltre left in 2004. Even then, Beltre was an above average fielder and a solid (but not spectacular save for his 2004 breakout season) hitter. Over the past three seasons, countless forgettable players have drifted in and out of the five spot, always failing to impress enough to stick around.

LaRoche: Future master of the LA hot corner?

Garciaparra is a shortstop-converted-into-a-first-baseman-then-shuffled-to-third-by-default when James Loney stepped up his game and became a minor phenomenon in the second half of 2007. LaRoche is a third baseman, but a very young one who failed to impress in his limited time in The Show in 2007. Now, fingers crossed that one of them will step up this year and bring back some pride to the position at Dodger Stadium. If not…well I’ll be sighing a lot during the season wondering why we didn’t go after Miguel Cabrera harder when he had the chance.

My Love Letter to Los Angeles

The latest issue of Los Angeles Magazine has a feature story on “The 64 Greatest Things About LA.”

I love Los Angeles. With the exception of a semester spent abroad in college, I’ve lived in Los Angeles County my whole life (and in LA proper for five-and-a-half years). I’m fairly well-traveled, both in the States and abroad, and while I’ve fallen in love with other cities (Boston, London and Venice among them) I can’t picture myself ever calling anywhere else “home.”

Yes, the traffic is horrendous. The 405 was built by Satan. The number of bottle blondes, rich assholes, and pairs of fake breasts are higher per capita here than anywhere else (I’m fairly certain, anyway). The good parts of town are often a half-block from the bad (drive the length of 3rd Street if you want to see what I mean). And I’ve heard it all. LA people are shallow, they’re stupid, they only care about material things, there aren’t real seasons, you don’t belong unless you’re in “the industry.” I’m not so naïve that I don’t understand that all stereotypes spring from at least a little bit of truth.

However, there’s so much more to this city that people don’t understand unless they immerse themselves in it. LA has a mix of people, trends, cultures, and industries that you can’t find anywhere else. I never cease to be amazed by how this city never stops surprising me. I don’t think I could get bored by this place if I tried. It has almost a mythical quality to it; without fail, every time I talked to people when I was abroad and they found out where I was from, I got sucked into an awed, 20-minute conversation about the “amazing city of Los Angeles.”

Enough of my love letter. I’ve lived here more than 20 years and I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of what this city has to offer me. Still, I think Los Angeles Magazine left a few things off of their list. So, what follows is my list of a few of my favorite things about Los Angeles, plus my commentary on a few of the things LA Mag did get right.

MY LIST

Dodger Stadium

This is my favorite place in the whole world, without a doubt. Nothing beats a summer evening Dodger game, sitting in the top deck (I’m poor, but there isn’t a bad seat in the house so it doesn’t matter) watching the boys in blue battle it out. I get my Dodger dog, garlic fries and Russell Martin t-shirt and enjoy three hours of pure bliss (listening to the legendary Vin Scully on the radio while you watch only makes it that much sweeter). New stadiums are soulless, corporate boxes without a bit of history or personality. Dodger Stadium has an aura about it; you walk in and you just feel it. The atmosphere is beyond description, but in my opinion it represents Los Angeles better than anything else.

The Venice (California) canals.

Venice Beach

Venice Beach is for the artists, the hippies, the hobos and the misfits. A stretch of sand and sea with actual “canals,” and beautiful beachfront properties that sit mere feet from a ragtag band of street performers, Jesus freaks, aspiring musicians and local artists. You can buy everything from a surfboard clock to a little glass pipe (for tobacco use only, of course). No other beach in Los Angeles is as full of dichotomous fun. It’s about as casual a place as you’ll find in a city renowned for being laid back and chill. Everyone’s welcome, everyone’s having a good time. Oh…and there’s the whole beach thing happening. I hear that’s fun.

Main Street (Santa Monica)

A few blocks of street just South of the Santa Monica Pier, Main Street in Santa Monica is home to some of the coolest pubs, bars and restaurants on the Westside. Finn McCool’s and O’Brien’s are two of my favorite Irish pubs, home to great pints (including cider!), live bands and trivia. The Library Alehouse is a great little bar with a huge variety of beers from around the world on tap (and not just the ones you’d expect). I’m not going to give away all its secrets…there’s even a Yankees bar where the head bartender sports a Dodgers cap (LOVE him). Plus, if you get that urge, the beach is only a few blocks away…and at night, it’s fabulous.

Back in the day, the center of the LA theatre world.

Pantages Theatre

Los Angeles used to have more theatres per capita than New York City. I’m not sure if that’s still true, since (sadly) many of them have fallen out of use and into disrepair…or have been turned into something else altogether. Still, my favorite of all the theatres left standing is the Pantages Theatre in the heart of Hollywood. The Art Deco architecture inside and out is gorgeous (especially since it was refurbished about 10 years ago) and it always manages to attract top shows: The Lion King, Wicked, Rent. The recent announcement by the Nederlander Group that they will add an additional 10 floors of condos, shops and restaurants to the two-story structure worries me; I’m afraid it will lose it’s Depression Era, Old Hollywood glamour. But it still remains, to me, the greatest place to see a live show in the city.

Diddy Riese

Three giant, delicious cookies for one dollar. In Los Angeles, where you’ll often pay 4 dollars for a small blueberry muffin, that’s damn near ridiculous. Lines form out the door and down the street for an ice cream cookie sandwich from the little shop in Westwood. In college at USC, I used to make specific trips out in to UCLA territory (the shop is mere blocks from the Bruin campus) just to get one.

Sprinkles Cupcakes

I’ve been to Magnolia Bakery in NYC. The cupcakes are indeed delicious. But they’re nothing compared to Sprinkles. The red velvet cupcakes alone are good enough to make you willing to pay nearly twice the $3.25-a-cupcake fee. The surprisingly unpretentious Beverly Hills bakery has a daily rotating list of specialty cupcakes to compliment their everyday staples…and every single one makes you believe in a higher baking power. My personal favorite is the peanut butter chocolate.


I’ll second the tip-of-the-hat Los Angeles Magazine gave to the following testaments to LA’s awesomeness:

Grauman’s Chinese: One of the greatest places to see a movie in the entire city. I dare you to try and walk through the outside entrance without sticking your hands or feet in at least one star’s cement prints.

Studio Back Lots: Tours are fun, but wandering around the fake New York streets by yourself or into buildings that used to house Marilyn Monroe and I Love Lucy is just plain surreal. Wandering past a backlot and almost running into Eddie Murphy (and almost getting run over by Kelsey Grammar in a golf cart) isn’t half-bad either. Come to Los Angeles! Get a job in entertainment! J Watching movies and television get made isn’t half as exciting as it sounds, but it’s still pretty darn cool.

Vin Scully: The epitome of sports broadcasters. There is absolutely no one better in baseball and possibly in sports. The voice of the Dodgers since 1950 (when they were still in Brooklyn), Scully is a throwback to a time where sports was pure (well, purer). Some call him old-fashioned, but no one can call a ballgame and weave anecdotes of times and players both past and present as effortlessly or engagingly as he can.

Farmer’s Market: Despite watching the city build up around it (and the ubermodern Grove crop up right next door) the Farmer’s Market at 3rd and Fairfax has remained remarkably untouched. Selling fresh fruit at surprisingly good prices and offering food from just about every country you can think of, no one (old or young, white or black, etc.) can resist its pull. Go have a meal at Monsieur Marcel’s…you can thank me later.

You can even see them from Dodger Stadium.

Palm Trees: Yes, I know, they were brought here. Nothing screams Los Angeles quite like they do, though. I love driving down wide, sunny streets lined on both sides with huge palm trees on a sunny day (preferably with my sunroof open). Awesome.

USC Football: There’s nothing better, baby. Deal with it. Petey Carroll and the Trojans own the heart of this city. We’ve got the history, we’ve got the hardware, we’ve got the superstars…and we’ll kick your ass. Go ahead, test us.

PCH: The drive up the PCH is perhaps one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever taken. You can almost always see the ocean. The air is crisp, fresh and salty. It lifts the spirits and melts your troubles away (and in a city as mad as this one, sometimes that’s very, very necessary).

The Weather: Do I really need to explain this one? It’s the end of February and I wore my sunglasses out in 77 degree weather yesterday. Don’t pretend you aren’t jealous.