Jon: You are on target. On Opening Day, we were stuck in interminable traffic on Sunset, so we turned left before reaching Elysian Park, drove up a steep street, Quintero, and parked. The three of us then walked and hiked up and down several streets and through some brush, down a hill and landed on Elysian Park. We then walked to the stadium. In 45 prior seasons, I never felt the need to take such action to get to any game on time. On Tuesday night, we arrived before 6 p.m. One thing the Dodgers could do, irrespective of the parking mess, is not limit the number of fans who receive gifts, such as the first 20,000 getting Dodgers rally towels, etc. I believe this change in policy would lessen some of the rush because all fans would know they would get the freebie.

I was struck by that column too. I mean even Luis Gonzalez admitted that he was in a slump, he responded by hitting 2 homers and by not allowing anyone to stretch a single into a double because no one has hit the ball to him in a few days.

I can understand that T.J. and Plashke did not do them any favors this week nor did the other negative stories. My hunch is that you could ask 10 people and 5 would say it is okay and 5 would complain.

And enough with the Opening Day excuse (emphasis added)

Yes, that game should be treated on its own but why not try to do something to appease the fans, heck give away some cheap Dodger trinkets, fans are a pretty easy group to appease if you go after them with a smile instead of some pronouncement that this is the way life is going to be.

And who are these unnamed parking experts, most of us who have gone to the Stadium have a pretty good idea of why it gets crowded.

I'm not sure they have to say their sorry like Jon says but they should not be congratulating themselves for a plan that has been in place for 3 games either.

Please guys, take down that article before it is too late, you will be sorry it was ever posted if it is still there in the morning, guaranteed.

One of the flaws I had foreseened with the plan was the limitation of having cars go to the lots closest to the entrance system because the entrances were not built that way and also not all of those lots hold the same number of cars.

I suppose if one actually counted the cars that went through each gate for an average game, you could figure out how many people generally use each entrance, I hope something like that was done. My hunch is that the entrance you reach from the (5) freeway and the one off the Pasadena/Harbor are the two most used entrances and I have yet to try them but I think you should do a better job of having people go into GA and Reserved parking lanes instead of waiting until the last 25 feet or after you go in when you have to be an Indy drive getting out of the pit area to move over.

Anyway, I would much rather talk about Kershaw or Tony Abreu than this but that article got me more steamed than Lakers losing tonight.

Sorry, but "foreseened"?

2 - "My hunch is that you could ask 10 people and 5 would say it is okay and 5 would complain."

That's one of the interesting things. They've seen the negative press, and their instinct has been to point out that not everyone is complaining. That's legit. But when their strategy becomes emphasizing the satisfied customers over the unsatisfied customers, then they're bringing a PR solution to a customer service problem. And for me, that's their huge mistake.

You want them to give away trinkets, I want them to give away apologies. It's the same idea in a general sense - I just happen to think that the longtime Dodger fan cares more about the apology and the promise to actually do better (instead of asking the fan to do better by smartening up) than rally towels or what not.

That article isn't going to be taken down - they saw improvement on Tuesday and Wednesday, felt that improvement was underreported, and decided to be proactive. Being proactive is smart. I just don't think they understand the right way to be proactive.

On ITD, Josh Rawitch wrote, "we welcome everyone's feedback." This new article does the opposite. I don't see that as a particularly savvy way to go.

4 Sure like Carnac. If this system had an editing system I would change that to "wondered about".

5 But is it improvement or just less cars, if its just less cars than what is the $5.00 raise all about.

And it is not as if it is just the guy who goes to one game a year and he complains about the parking, you have people with season tickets who have bought the preferred, reserved, whatever you call it parking and they are complaining about the system too. And they are ones who buy the most expensive seats and pay the most for parking.

Seriously, take some sales folks and any other employees and have them go out and try to park this weekend and then let me hear it from them that the system is working.

A very nice guy I work with made a mistake that has a chance to tick off a few customers. It wasn't a huge mistake, just a small one.

But he told me about it right away, since I would be getting the complaints first, and offered to listen to any further complaints.

Sometimes you just make a mistake and you have to own up to it.

But the blame for Monday's problem is on the excess cars. OK, so there were more cars. But wasn't that an issue that was anticipated? I would have thought so. Like the Ray Milland movie, it happens every spring.

Is there a contingency plan for overflow parking outside of the park that the average fan can figure out. It's one thing to have street parking that some people who are longtime fans know about, but it's a whole other thing for fans coming from a distance for just one game to find a place to park.

There could be another solution to the Opening Day parking problem. It's a radical one. It's tricky.

Opening Night.

The Dodgers have had a few I believe. Some will argue that this keeps school age kids from being able to stay up to watch the game. But for a day game, aren't the kids supposed to be in school anyway?

7 Good point Bob, the worst traffic/parking nightmare I've ever experienced was opening DAY a few years ago when I reached the Stadium Way exit an hour before game time but didn't reach my seats until the 3rd inning or so. Of course Kevin Brown had already been pummelled and we were down 7-0 or something, but it was still annoying.

I'll be attending my first game of the season on Sunday, but I haven't decided whether to park inside or outside the stadium. I guess it'll depend on who ends up using the other two tickets I bought (women don't like walking too far).

I'm skeptical that I'll like the system though, since like most of you I always park near the exits and if traffic's really bad I just hang out and drink until things die down.

The parking experts could work for the International Parking Institute
http://www.parking.org

It's a legitimate group. It has two textbooks on parking which are pretty pricey and you won't find them in many libraries. In fact, Worldcat shows it to be at ONE library in the country, UC Berkeley's Transportation Library.

The problem with visiting that library is that there is no place to park.

"Controlled zone parking" doesn't turn up any articles other than the Dodgers except for stories about parking in the UK where it refers to parts of a city where parking is metered or limited to people with permits.

Wow, nice job, Jon. In the 3 years or so that I've been reading this site, that's the angriest I've seen you, and still, you were reasonable and constructive.

I really hate this management. At least with Fox, you KNEW they didn't care about baseball. This all seems so smarmy and hypocritical. How can an entertainment business be so dismissive of customer service?

If they DO care, and are just incredibly tone-deaf, they can learn and improve. I'm hopeful, but not holding my breath.

Going to hat night. Leaving Fullerton at 3:00, will hit Felippe's and hopefull have a much better time than we did at the Discovery Science Center on Tuesday (suffice to say that we had to get a raincheck for a science center due to the overwhelming crowd).

9 "The problem with visiting that library is that there is no place to park."

Ah, yes. But, hey, at least there is public transportation.

If you guys need something to get your mind off parking, I suggest you purchase this on ebay:
Authentic 2006 Las Vegas 51s baseball card set
http://tinyurl.com/3agezn
(No, I'm not the one selling it. Sure was tempted though. Martin! Ethier! Billingsley! Loney! Uhm, Guzman...)

BTW-I'm having trouble with my sign on...as you know it's now more than 25 years since the 81 Championship.

My new sign on..."60yrssince47"

9

There's a UC Berkeley transportation library?? Shows how much I know about my own school.

Jon,

I hope someone connected with the Dodgers, like Frank, reads tonight's post. The diffrence between you and everyone else is everyone else just wants to bitch. It has become a dubious badge of honor to say you spent 2 hours trying to get out of DS on Monday and the new Dodger way sucks. Simmers, Plaschke and others just pile on--why not its the easy thing to do.

A very important issue comes through in your piece: after years of lack of credibility and pissing people off, the Dodgers and their owners have recently made a small comeback. This is their first test in a couple of years. Will they revert to their old style of ignoring the elephant in the room or acknowledge that their fans are their customers and the customer is always right. Its not that they are expected to be perfect. Its just acknowledge it and be respectful when you are wrong. Or put another way, don't jack the fans off. This issue and how they respond is a defining moment. Let's hope they get it right with the help of your post.

9 There is a link on that site to the California Public Parking Association

cppaparking.org

Parking is huge business for municipalites and universities and colleges and all of the people who do that have an organization to go get support and information.

15
412 McLaughlin Hall.

Officially, it's the Harmer E. Davis Transportation Library.

I searched the TRIS database which is the catalog of the National Transportation Library.

"Controlled Zone Parking" does not come up anywhere relating to a situation like Dodger Stadium.

I hate it when people pull a phrase out of midair and make it sound authoritative.

That's my shtick!

UCLA has a Transportation Studies Institute. I wonder if it was consulted.

Probably not. It's real bear of a commute from Dodger Stadium to Westwood.

Jon,

As usual, you say it better than we could...but for the record we did try, too.

http://www.sonsofstevegarvey.com/2007/04/parking-predicament-is-only-symptom-of.html

As you put it, I think bitching about the parking (which we have done based on two SoSG experiences) has almost "played itself out," sort of like bitching about the Juan Pierre signing during the offseason period had gotten stale. But when the Dodgers resort to obvious and pathetic attempts to issue propaganda that is wholly disconnected from the majority of public sentiment, it only further stokes the fires of discontent against McCourt management.

We have been starting to trace a pattern of bad ideas, expensive fix-it plans, no apologies, disconnected / arrogant management leading the administration, and blatant propaganda and spin-control. The parallels to other world events are obvious, but I'll refrain from comment not only as to abide rule #5, but also to say I'm eerily more pissed off at the Dodgers' management.

Thank you for eloquently voicing your concern. On this point in particular, this Son is right with you.

I wonder: if the Dodgers are allegedly so tone-deaf when it comes to fans, and unable to deliver what fans want, why has attendence been rising during the McCourt Era?

Maybe the Dodgers actually do know what they are doing in terms of marketing, customer relations, etc.?

To clarify my question: I guess it seems like the Dodgers are inept from a public relations standpoint, but why would they care or change (no matter how many angry blog entries people write) if the money keeps rolling in?

[22] well, perhaps the question is, how much MORE money could they be making if they ran their business better? it's just as likely that they're riding the same wave that all of baseball is enjoying.

Bob, I had to laugh at that Portland travel article you posted in the last thread, because I wear fleece and Tevas, both habits picked up during my stint in Oregon.

The parking system does have a chance to work if they move cars into lots quickly (contrary to reports I've read) and move onto the next lot when one is full (as they claim they'll do in the dodgers.com article).

I really, really hope they have a couple "spotters" in strategic places up on Dodger Stadium, surveying how the system is working overall. The spotters could then note when a particular gate is running out of parking spots and radio down to the attendants to rearrange the flow.

They're treating this situation like it's an Alaskan oil spill, and we're just watching it on the news. They don't understand that we're the birds.

Great metaphor. And absolutely true.

didn't mccourt make his money from parking lots?

25
I have seen spotters on the various hills of the lots below with walkie talkies so I assume some kind of communication is taking place.

As of now I'm not sure if I even want to attempt to take my wife to the Sunday game. I'm game for anything on my own but arriving 1 1/2 hours early just so we can park on the street or get into the lot early doesn't work with my wife. At 1st this was a game I really wanted to go to but now I think they will make the pregame cerermonies so full of saccharine pagentry I'll just end up irritated that they couldn't do it right.

>>
The Phillies announced Wednesday that every player would wear No. 42 Sunday to honor Jackie Robinson on Jackie Robinson Day.

"That's great," shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. "It's an honor to wear No. 42. It's a number you'll never get to wear again. It's like the end of the movie: 'I am Malcolm X.' I am Jackie Robinson."
<<

http://tinyurl.com/2ecj9s

I haven't posted much since the day DePo got fired and I was pushed over the final hurdle towards leaving the Dodgers for the A's. But I still check in and read the lead posts from time to time. Jon, that was one of the better things I've read from you. Very good work.

Over time, I got the sense that the McCourts just didn't get it, and I think the parking situation is just one more in a long line of things like this. It's as if they believe they know what the fans want better than the fans themselves do. Which is just plain wrong.

Going to Dodger Stadium has always been a wonderful experience for me, and I wish I could do it more often than once or twice a year during visits to LA. I've got tickets to the Arizona game on the 1st of May, and this is probably the least excited I've been for a game, and it's still 2+ weeks out. I've been thinking to myself, "I certainly hope bad parking doesn't wreck my day."

Everything else has already been said better than I could say it. Hopefully someone is listening.

9/11 Fruit Loop, Daniel Sunjata, plays the starring role of Reggie Jackson in the upcoming ESPN mini-series, The Bronx is Burning.

ESPN should be ashamed of themselves for letting a nutty 9/11 denier star in a mini-series. That's disgusting. I won't be watching. Thats for darn sure.

Rageon. The waters warm in Dodgerdom. Do yourself a favor and don't miss out on the excitement.

Per Baseball HQ:
"Betemit slump could bring reduced playing time... Wilson Betemit (3B, LA) has started the season in a horrendous slump, with only one hit in his first 19 AB. He received two days off earlier this week, and with Rafael Furcal (SS, LA) due back from the DL soon, Betemit could find himself losing AB to Furcal's current replacement, Wilson Valdez (SS, LA), who is hitting .368. What's happening to Betemit, and is Valdez a viable option? Here is how Betemit's early BPI compare to last season.

Year AB BA HR RBI bb% ct% eye h%
==== === ==== == === === === ==== ===
2006 373 .263 18 53 9% 73% 0.35 32%
2007 19 .053 0 2 24% 74% 1.20 7%
Proj 468 .273 20 58 8% 75% 0.37 32%
The cause of Betemit's slump is clear. An unlucky single-digit hit rate will lead to the kind of slump that Betemit is suffering through. On the positive side, Betemit has demonstrated outstanding plate patience, and his contact rate has remained stable. His luck should turn eventually. Long term Valdez represents little threat to Betemit's playing time. Valdez' current BA is the product of a 37% hit rate and a 100% contact rate. Last season at the AAA-level Valdez had a MLE BA of .191, with an 85% contact rate, a PX of 41 and a BPV of -10. His luck is likely to turn downward soon. However, last season Betemit struggled against left-handers with a .189 BA, and he has not gotten a hit against a leftie in his first eight AB this season. A platoon could be in his future. Things should get better for Wilson Betemit."

1. Three hours to get from the Westside into Dodger Stadium. I have gone to
40 games a year for 20 years-about 800 games total and this has never happened.
2. thirty minutes on the longest concession line with the slowest service and broken credit card machines I have ever seen, and ended up with a cold hot dog and warm beer
3. I then make it to my seat by the fourth inning with my bad food, turn on the radio, and there is a ten second delay from the action to the radio. What a wonderful experience!

It is obvious that the management just does not care about their customers.
Blame the parking mess on everyone but themselves, but point the blame
mostly on their customers-how dare they want to park close to their seats or where they know they can make a quick exit to avoid a one hour exit experience! Don't have parking people direct traffic for a smooth exit, just
blame the customers for the problems, make them pay more and add to the congestion with the stupidest parking plan ever conceived.

Over the past few year the food situation has gotten worse and worse. How hard to have more roving vendors bringing food to people at their seats to avoid them getting up and waiting in line? How hard to set up food stands in the parking lots so people can eat on the way in and keep the lines shorter?
And talking about food, how about some better quality food like there is at almost every other stadium in the country.

And what the hell is wrong with opening the Stadium early and letting your CUSTOMERS come in early and tailgate and socialize and make it an even more fun experience. I just started going this year to USC football games. What a great atmosphere with people coming early and having fun with their friends. And the food stands in the parking lots will do a ton of business. These are Dodger fans, not Raider fans. They are all good people, rabid fans who have endured 19 years of losing teams that have not been in a World Series since 1988, but they keep coming because it is a fun, safe, and beautiful place. Professional people, blue collar people-people from all income levels and neighborhoods, all races, and many, many families. Look how many kids are at each game-even night games. Look how great the atmosphere is on the field on Fireworks night when everyone is sitting together on blankets with their friends and family and watching the fireworks together. The management needs people to feel happy and satisfied, not angry with the ill-advised parking and horrible food lines.

After Mondays fiasco, I threw away my tickets for Tuesday, and sat at home and watched the game on TV. It was free, I saved hours of stress and aggravation, ate my own GOOD and cheap food, and vowed that I am not going back to Dodger Stadium until these things are fixed. With four people
I spend at least $200 to go to every game. So I will save $8,000 per year, but more importantly I can not feel that I am not supporting people who do not care about their customers.

More evidence of the Dodgers not caring about their fans is the contract to broadcast radio on 980 KFWB. They have an incredibly weak signal which fades in and out all over the Westside and does not even work at all at my home in Malibu. KABC signal was strong all over the Southland.

Note that all of my ranting are not about the costs. Ticket prices have gone up 25% this year, parking prices up 50%, food prices up, more billboards and ads. No one is really against the McCourts maximizing their investments and making more money so they can afford better players and a more competitive team. That is fine. Just don't treat the customers like idiots and continue to make the experience worse and then blame it on the customers.

The McCourts are not in touch with the fans needs and neither are their top executives.
And how can they know what their fans are thinking when there is not anywhere on their website contact info via phone or email for anyone at Dodger Stadium? How do you have a multi million dollar business with no way for your CUSTOMERS to contact you?

I think McCourt still has another month or so to take full responsibility for the parking fiasco before he exlipses the amount of time Exxon ownership took to take full responsibility for the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Can we expect to receive a political spin on everything now that Camille Johnston is senior vice president of communications? She does come from the wonderful world of politics.

Bob, I had to laugh at that Portland travel article you posted in the last thread, because I wear fleece and Tevas, both habits picked up during my stint in Oregon

Since we moved to North Carolina, my mom has sent me not 1, not 2, and not even 3, but 4 fleeces. But I prefer Chacos over Tevas...

35
I read the other day that Exxon still hasn't paid for the Valdez spill.

There are other ways to make money besides increasing parking, ticket, and food prices. Billingsley could be pitching instead of Schmidt. Kemp could be playing CF instead of Pierre. Bigbie could be playing LF instead of Gonzo. Loney could be playing first instead of Nomar. Abreu could be playing second instead of Kent.

34 These are Dodger fans, not Raider fans.

With the amount of fighting and obnoxious behavior I've seen in the stands at Dodger games the past few years, I'm afraid this distinction is becoming blurred.

38
I think the McCourts (understandably) believe that The Fans view the payroll as an indication of how hard ownership is trying and how committed they are to winning. A low payroll (even if it's spent on better players) is not acceptable to The Fans in a big market like LA.

34
frankm@ladodgers.com
He's replied to every email I've ever sent him and action has taken place on two of those including the stopping of drinking in the parking lots. A few have ruined it for the many. I would suggest that anyone not happy with the parking email him.

I'm one who disagrees with you about letting the fans tailgate. The GA parking lots outside of the pavillion had become broken glass alley's as the tailgaters got drunk before entering the alcohol free zone of the pavillion. Those Dodger fans do act very much like Raider fans. Your seats must be in a very nice area because for those of us who sit in the outer loges we are routinely able to watch thuggish(Raidorish) behavior in the pavillons. God forbid that you wear any color other then Dodger Blue. You used to only get booed now you get pelted including little kids. There is a reason why policepeople are posted everywhere. Violence is a huge problem and if cutting off the drinking in the lots helps cut that down then I'm all for it.

35. Nicely ranted, andycohen. Like a prose poem.

You know, there's another possibility besides the hypothesis that the McCourts don't care about customers/fans. It could be that they care, but are just incredibly incompetent. They certainly seem to WANT to be liked. They're all earnest about improvements to this, that, and the other. They just do nearly everything badly.

That's certainly how I've come to evaluate their GM. He cares. He's probably a nice guy. But he doesn't know what he's doing.

It's like he played Moneyball backwards on his turntable, and heard message from the devil (Behold the Power of Llabyenom).

39.
With the amount of fighting and obnoxious behavior I've seen in the stands at Dodger games the past few years, I'm afraid this distinction is becoming blurred.

I would agree to a point. I have sat all over that stadium for the last 10 years and the only consistent place I see the "Raider type" fan is in the Outfield Pavilion, which has never made much sense to me because you can't buy beers out there.

More evidence of the Dodgers not caring about their fans is the contract to broadcast radio on 980 KFWB. They have an incredibly weak signal which fades in and out all over the Westside and does not even work at all at my home in Malibu

I hear the signal is weak in Ontario as well

11 - I wouldn't describe my feelings as angry. It's just that isolated feeling you get when you think you're right and you want so badly for the other person to understand you.

As many of you know, I worked at LACMA until recently, and we took our share of grief in the press, and some of our responses were better than others. I do understand the feeling of "the customer (or the press) isn't always right." So I'm actually sympathetic to the Dodgers' plight. I'm sympathetic to their belief in their plan and their efforts to get people to understand where they're coming from. I just don't understand why they don't want to better project an effort to sympathize with where the frustrated fan is coming from.

The complaining customer doesn't want to hear "the complaining customer is wrong." The complaining customer just wants to know what will make him feel better. Hearing that other people aren't having trouble does not satisfy that.

So the Dodgers are left with guaranteeing that the system will work tonight, Saturday and Sunday. Again, if it does, wonderful, but it's just such a risky bet.

I know this article discusses the parking situation, but it all gets back to customer service.

This may be petty but:
My daughter is now 2 and I think I am going to take her to her first game. I wasn't sure if she needed a ticker. I called 224-1HIT, but they don't use that number any more. Instead they asked me to call 866-DODGERS. I did. And wouldn't you know, it was Ticketmaster that picked up the phone after about 5 minutes of getting through their automated options. Then they has to put me on hold to find out whether I needed a ticket for her.

I had a terrible time with parking on Opening Day, got there at 11:15 and didn't park until 12:15. But, the simple things like 224-1HIT and someone at the stadium picking up the phone really takes away from the intimate Dodger experience. And when I used to get put on hold, I used to hear Vin Scully reciting Dodger highlights.

I read all the time, but I don't post much. Love the site. Keep it up. And with all the issues with the McCourts and customer service, I still love the Dodgers.

For monorail fans:

http://franklinavenue.blogspot.com/2007/04/monorails-new-red-cars-backbone-route.html

The parking controversy highlights one particular aspect of American life, to wit our expectation that life will be rational and convenient. We take this for granted, and can become outraged when our expectations are not met.

But I have to think that, with unbridled population expansion, this expectation will become increasingly unwarranted, and our lives will become increasingly inconvenient. More people generally means more crowding, longer lines, and less convenience. There are already places in the world where this is the rule rather than the exception, and it's probably only a matter of time before the US succumbs as well.

47.
To quote the late great Phil Hartman in a classic Simpsons episode, "What's that word again?" Monorail, monorail, monorail!

I enjoy reading all of these posts, but just as D4P puts it, this is just how life is in Los Angeles. As outraged as Dodger fans are over the parking, not much can be done about it. I accept the traffic at the stadium the same as i accept traffic on any freeway trying to get around the city. It is a part of life.

Clearly the customer service is awful, and i think that should be the theme instead of parking issues. If you can not deal with Parking and traffic issues in Los Angeles.... you clearly don't belong here.

50 - I agree, the customer service is the issue. But I think there is a feeling by many that the Dodgers have proactively made the parking/traffic situation worse than it needs to be, even by our declining standards. And it's that customer-service complaint that needs to be addressed.

51 - I meant to say, "the customer service is emerging as the issue."

40
Fans view the payroll as an indication of how hard ownership is trying

It gets back to spin. Most fans will be supportive if management does everything wrong and the team wins and be non-supportive if management does everything right and the team loses.

I think fans prefer to see a team composed of players that will be around for awhile performing for a team that wins. A young kid should not have to have a favorite player that will be gone in one or two years.

The best way to get the McCourts to listen is probably to stop going to the games. As long as people keep paying for parking, paying for tickets, and paying for food, they may not have enough incentive to address the problems.

54 - But that's simply not realistic on a widescale level. There have to be other ways to make a point besides shunning and unshunning.

How boring.......I used to come to this site to read about baseball, now I have to read long diatribes and comment threads about parking........PARKING!!! Really, give me a break, lets get back to baseball.

55
Don't the "other ways" pretty much leave the ball in the McCourt's, well, court...? Fans can complain and protest all they want, but they vote with their feet when they go to the games, and as long as the stadium is full, management can spin that positively.

I'm not saying the McCourts shouldn't respond to the other ways, I'm just saying that they don't really have to, and there's no guarantee that they will. Shunning seems like the only surefire way to make them obey.

51 - The McCourts could have said they were investing in trying to make the parking situation better. There is a cost in making those improvements. When we get the bugs out of the new parking system there will be a price increase. We apologize in advance if it seems like we took a step backwards before we take the two steps forward with our changes.

56 - While I agree I have to admit this was a great time to comment about parking after a hole in the schedule.

Nice "Office" reference there Jon. Very funny episode.

55 - There have to be other ways to make a point besides shunning and unshunning

Fans could arrive in horse and buggy.

47- Why is there no monorail in L.A again?

The Dodgers should buy an offsite parking structure that has a monorail to take you from the lot to the stadium.

problems solved.

56 - I'm sorry you're unhappy, and I am eager to get back to baseball myself.

So who gets cut when Furcal is activated? I thought it would be Rudy.

64- I would like it to be Rudy but it will probably be Tsao.

I really wanted to see Tsao pitch too, especially after his outing against the Angels the one what he struck out the side.

64 - I would think Tsao gets sent down again, though I would be fine with cutting Rudy.

Earlier this week, I needed a break from Roster Thoughts as much as I now need a break from Driving Thoughts.

I recall a while back - maybe two years - the McCourts were asked how they viewed themselves and the Dodgers. They defined the "Dodgers" as the "Product", and the "McCourts" as the "Brand." If you google "mccourts brand dodgers product" you'll find reference to this.

This struck me as odd. One that thinks of themselves as the brand can not be counted on to have any realistic relationship/empathy with the fans.

Someone just doesn't get it.

67. scareduck (abridged, per rule 5)
What I find appalling:

1) The repeated cries from Dodger management about opening day being worse than the others because somehow the new parking system had never been tried. Hogwash. It was tried during the Freeway Series, and people complained about it with far smaller capacity crowds.

2) The continued failure to say word one about people sporting disabled person license plates/placards who were shunted into regular lots anyway.

Rob, putting aside the lack of apology on that second point if I can for just a moment, do we know if this is still going on?

70
Oops, looks like you'll need to abridge 69 as well.

Alyssa Milano has a blog up with a link from Dodgers.com. I'm particularly amused that she chose the title "Touch 'em all."

73
The comment section on such a blog has the potential for disaster

Off the subject, but this is odd: I was just listening to the soundtrack to the new movie Everything's Gone Green (written by Douglas Coupland; I have to review the movie), and I noticed one of the artists is someone named Andre Ethier.

Could this be a new side gig for our part-time right fielder? It's a nice little ditty.

(Actually, most of the artists on the soundtrack are Canadian, and his name does sound like one that could be common in Canada.)

My solution, I get there really early and find free parking. I just have to walk a little more. I know that can't work for everyone because there is only so much free parking you can find, but that how I just avoid the whole fiasco.

64 Does anybody else here think that Ethier has a chance to be the one to go when Furcal comes back? I could see it.

77 No, I don't. (Stranger things have happened though. As said above, at least he has a side project to fall back on now. ;-) )

In regards to the roster move, if Seanez is cut to make room for Furcal, do the Dodgers have to pick up his salary for the rest of the year?

Or does that even matter at this point?

77. Let me revise my question to one that I think makes more sense... does anybody think that Ethier could get sent down when Kemp comes off the DL?

I think the Dodgers have all but said it's going to be Tsao - he was brought up as insurance but they've had a day off now and probably won't need the extra pitcher for a bit. Seanez could still be cut later or even soon, but I don't think they're ready to admit he needs to go yet. Then if the need an extra pitcher again, with Furcal back, that could be the time to decide about Valdez. That's my humble prediction, anyway.

80 Yes, it's possible. (Slightly revising my above post, too... ) I think when Kemp comes back, though, they're still more likely to try to waive and send down Valdez.

82 Could Valdez possibly clear waivers?

I've said before that I think the Dodgers have some frustration with Ethier. Before Kemp went down, they weren't giving him much playing time and now that he's in there, he hasn't done anything to win favor. I actually like Ethier and think he could be an excellent player. But I think he might get sent down until he figures some things out. Extra left handed outfielders who aren't hitting don't have a big place on this roster.

If Ethier goes down for Furcal, that would leave 4 outfielders (if you can call them that) on the roster:

Clark, Anderson, LuGo, and Pierre

85 Valdez would also play the outfield in that scenario. But that scenario is unlikely. I just don't think Ethier gets sent down if Kemp is on the DL.

My feeling is that they will cut Seanez.

85/86 - Right, I agree. I don't think he'll get sent down when Furcal comes back but I think it's very possible when Kemp comes back.

The continued failure to say word one about people sporting disabled person license plates/placards who were shunted into regular lots anyway.

That's just despicable. It's so frustrating to be a Dodger fan right now. I really hope they get their act together. Whoever is in charge of the parking lot attendants needs to be fired or reassigned.

I thought it was interesting that Vinny kept saying that Kemp flat out won the RF spot.

Heads up, Josh posted a response to Jon's post and comments about the parking.

Everyone should decide on their own the merit of what Josh is saying.

You can find the link to ITD (Dodger Blog) on the sidebar.

83 Yep, he absolutely could clear waivers. The question is whether he will, and whether they'll want to take that chance. A chance based in part on how set most team's rosters are at this point. A team like Kansas City could gobble him up though. Still, given Abreu's presence in Vegas, I think they'll be willing to take that chance. Seanez is a separate issue, they'll probably give him a few more chances and if he keeps looking as hittable as he has, I don't think they'll hesitate to say goodbye.

I think that was a pretty fair response from Josh, imho. (Thanks, Josh, if you're reading this.)

What do you all think about this: "And the suggestions for a shuttle from Union Station that were made on this blog continue to be discussed, though I can tell you that the last time we tried to do that, we discontinued the service because so few people used it."

Do you think it wouldn't be used by enough people again, or would more people use it? Last time I was in LA (a few months ago) I took the train to Union Station and it seemed pretty popular, and given the parking hassles, I wonder if this time around people would be more inclined to try it?

92 by "train" I meant tram/subway, whatever y'all call it down there...

90 - Thanks. I thought that was a great response.

Happy to announce a baseball chat thread is open up top.

While I have yet to go to a game (Dodgers) this year, I have always expected large delays when it comes to parking at any large function, be it sports, concerts, etc. From my times at Chavez Ravine, and I have yet to go this year, I've always found the parking to be a much more positive experince than other facilities, SBC/AT&T, Staples, Forum, Arco, Petco, Candlestick, Jack Murphy, etc., which brings me to my point. If the parking was a problem, a)Who decides it's a problem--does this person compare with other large venue events, consider modes of public transport, distance from parking slot to facility, etc. and b)if parking has such a thing as "parking experts", why is a prking issue from facility to facility such a burden to resolve. Shouldn't one solution at facility "A" be relativly similar to a proposed solution at facility "B". All you are dealing with is flow....where people enter, how many people enter there, how many employees need to be there vs. other entrances, how wide the entrance/exits need to be, and method of parking. The same goes for method of exit. I understand that ballparks and other venues certainly are set up differently than others, but the basis of the problem has always been and will always be attributed towards flow and flow percentage. Certainly a master solution has been proposed if there is such a thing as an "expert" on the issue, but as I stated in the begining of this post, I go to events expecting large delays to enter and exit a premises. I have yet to go to a game this year and maybe I'll change my thoughts, but I don't think parking traffic and flow need a rocket scientists proposal to be remedied.

71 - I have no idea how widespread it was. But it was reported in the Times, and there was therefore at least one instance. I wouldn't be surprised if there were others.

Josh touched on some of the issues I addressed to him in private correspondance, and for that I am grateful. I'll follow up by e-mail.

Josh wrote today:

"In regards to the handicapped parking, I can assure you all that anyone with an actual handicapped placard is accomodating in a lot closest to the stadium, which is the reason why the premium parking lots overflowed on Opening Day."

Nice to know the Dodgers are paying attention to this site. Josh's reponse was the right one butit needs to come from Frank or Jamie.

If only the tone and spirit (and for that matter content) of Josh's post on ITD could have been present in the fluff piece on Dodgers.com and in the tone of Ms. Johnstone's quotes.

If that had been the case, I believe it would have been a much better PR move.

Thing is, if an alien or someone from Nebraska read the Dodgers statement he wouldn't even know what the problem was. There was no description of an actual problem.

Jon: "We do believe the system works," Johnston says. Wrong. The system doesn't work until it works.

Joshua: "We all come to work each day looking to improve the fan experience and that is really what matters"

No, what really matters, isn't ya'lls inspirational mottos, but results.

Joshua: "Without the fan support, this organization is nothing and I sincerely mean that."

Ozzy used to say something similar before every concert. Means nothing. The fans will come regardless. One cannot be "sincere" about such a statement.

Jon: They've seen the negative press, and their instinct has been to point out that not everyone is complaining. That's legit.

Illegit. It's like saying the bridge collapsed, but not everyone's upset. Meaningless.

Jon: "I wouldn't describe my feelings as angry."

It's ok to be angry. It doesn't mean you're psycho. Perfectly normal people get angry, have families and even hold down jobs.

Delias Man – "If you can not deal with Parking and traffic issues in Los Angeles.... you clearly don't belong here."

Or, we in our outrage belong here even more so, to push for change. You and D4P 48 see human events as passively turning for the worse. History does not bare this out.

Rjc – "Lets get back to baseball."

Let's park first. Parking means baseball. Real baseball.

Jon – "There have to be other ways to make a point besides fans shunning and unshunning."

Obvious, yet not. Well done.

Jon,
After reading the Dodger statements I find this to be nothing more then cleverly concocted hyperbole associated with every PR announcement that comes from the Dodgers these days. I know, I'm a skeptic, but it's these changes that rock our world into something we didn't want and didn't need.

As far as Josh's statement, I appreciate him saying that they are reading the blogs and listening to the rants, ultimately they still aren't going to listen. It just isn't in their cards. (so to speak) I think it's great and neat he mentions you and the Dodger Thoughts website, it's to make everyone think they, the Dodgers, are doing something about it. But ultimately its no different then the person you deal with on the phone at your bank, telling you that the mistake they made on the statement is in fact their fault, but you still have to pay for it. That's the kind of age we live in now.

I also think that this is a controlled response on their part at dealing with the fans instead of dealing with the issue at hand. Josh gets called into Camille's office, "How are we going to deal with this?" and "this is the response-type" stuff.

I think this parking issue is one that they are binding themselves to regardless if it works or doesn't. Just like the horrible new baseline seat's site lines in relation to when they were first built, to the next season when they had to rebuild them again, only decorate them up with the nice table and shelf, to accept the fact that the seats are horrible to sit in.

Given this history breaking up something that was working then completely rebuilding it, only having to break it up and rebuild it again, into something that's even worse--just disugised as better..... Well, I can see that happening next season when the implement the next phase of new Dodger parking system. Expect it to change further when Frankieworld gets permitted and built behind the Left Field Pavilion.

As far as the parking at the stadium--the way it used to be and how the FANS adapted to it--worked with the quirks--it's gone for good regardless if the new system doesn't work. That is unless fans completely boycott, which isn't going to happen, only if they find that their time is more valuable at home then sitting in a parking lot waiting to GET home.

Yes, Ms. Johnson is at the top of her P.R. game. (My compliments if you are in fact reading this!) What makes it even more ridiculous is to include an image of an almost vacant line at the Sunset Gate--the worst gate of them all under this new parking plan--to get into Dodger Stadium and to further get the fans (sheep) into buying into 'Your worst fears didn't come true; the axis of the world didn't tilt; the parking is A-O.K.!' rhetoric.

When was this picture taken, 3 hours before the game? Do they actually expect everyone to believe that this is what the traffic looked like going into the stadium during peak hours on Wednesday night?

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/images/2007/04/12/aQxtA9KT.jpg

Sorry for the rant and rave on this baseball site, but for me this is the beauty of Jon's Dodger Thoughts, Jon Weisman's outlet, as well as mine, for dealing psychologically
with the Los Angeles Dodgers and their parking.

Jon, maybe you better change the website title above to this--at least for the time being!

I went Opening Day, and the next night.

About Opening Day: for me, it was roughly as bad as the usual Opening Day, which is horrible. My frustration was due to 1) paying a very high price with no alternative, and not getting any improvement, 2) it is beyond me why shutting down half the traffic lanes in the Stadium is expected to make traffic able to leave faster, and 3) the biggest problem for me at the Stadium has always been leaving, and the new attendant, were of no help doing the one thing that might help, i.e., organizing the orderly flow of traffic with the lots, as the cars leave.

The next day -- the plethora of attendents directing me to park as far from both my seats and the entrance as possible, annoyed me no end. I came in the Sunset entrance, and was sheparded to the far end of Lot 2, even though Lot 1 was largely empty (maybe a fifth full). So of course leaving took much longer than it would have under the old system, or even had I been able to park as I wished in Lot 1 or 2.

The plan may have the best theory behind it, but the implemention makes no sense to me -- and leaves me very cynical about the new cost we have to pay. The other places which change anywhere near as much are accesible by foot, public transportation or the like.

About the shuttle -- they say they discontinued it from lack of use. But they ran it rarely -- only on Friday nights (and Sundays?) and they didn't publicize it.

I like that the standard of success is whether absolutely everybody is worse off for the change. Johnston admits that the people who've been coming for years are worse off, and then juxtaposes that with things not having changed for the other people. That's just astounding, to me.

It's nice that they have parking experts out there, now, but do they have any baseline numbers from last year? When did they decide to redesign the lots? It can't be that they decided to do it about five minutes after they decided to raise the fees, could it? It's not possible that they'd bother redesigning the parking lot as a PR move, right?

Long time viewer, first time poster. Really enjoy this site by the way.

Re: apologies, and treating the long time season ticket holders better, I have to say I felt the same way as a number of you - that the FO doesn't care about anything other than my money - and was pleasantly shocked when the FO responded to our complaints about what happened to us by offering us 4 Field Box seats for any game of our choice (excepting about 15-17 games that are sold out or close to being sold out.). We had purchased preferred parking for the first time this year after 10 years of being season ticket holders in the Inner Reserve seats, roughly behind home plate. We purchased them specifically to try to avoid the General parking that any one with half a brain could foresee - what happens when one of the 4 Zones fills up - with thousands of cars in line to get into that Zone - do you simply tell everyone on Sunset they need to make a U-turn and start over??? Anyways, when we got to our assigned lot, the attendants told us "sorry, its full, you will have to stack park". How can Lot B, be full, if one of the Lot B ticket holders is outside of Lot B, trying to get in? They can't sell my seats to someone else, how can they sell my reserved parking lot/spot?

Anyways, their response to our complaint was very stand-up, in my book.

I haven't seen any press on Friday night's traffic parking - how did the first non-Opening day sellout test of the system fare?