NLCS Game One: Riot Control

I arrived to a packed house at Dodger Stadium during the beginning of the second inning.
As I was heading to my seat I took an escalator down. A Mexican who was in front of me recognized someone who was walking on the "regular" stairs to our immediate right: Ron Cey. He called his name then shook his hand; I high fived him.

In my opinion the game fell apart when the umpire did not call strikes that Kershaw was clearly throwing to Raul Ibanez in the top of the fifth. I was getting popcorn at the time, so I was watching TV. The TV's mostly objective strike zone indicated that Kershaw's pitches were well within the zone-- one was directly in the center of it. Someone who was in line in front of me lowered his head and shook it as strike after strike was called a ball. I said, "This makes no sense." Seconds later, when Ibanez singled, the guy in front of me said, "maybe the fix is in." Of course, then Kershaw walked someone then the next guy hit a three-run home run. Kershaw was clearly rattled, and he was trying to throw perfect pitches (fatal) because ACTUAL STRIKES were not being called. I didn't have access to a TV during the entire game, so I don't know if the ump's zone was consistent during the entire game. I do know that even if actual strikes aren't being called consistently it can rattle any pitcher's perception of the zone and his faith in his "stuff" that night.

Now I want to discuss the things that you probably didn't see on TV that night: the crowd was beastial and nearly riotous. Awesome. Security and LAPD were swarming everywhere. When Manny Ramirez hit a two-run shot after Kershaw imploded there were literally alt-rock-style mosh pits in the aisles. A fist fight between a Phils fan and a Dodgers fan broke out many rows behind me. A few rows behind me a red-faced Phils fan stood up then cursed Dodgers fans who were throwing things at him, which only caused them to boo and throw more things at him. A huge security crew tried to calm everyone. When a Phillies player hit a meaningless single that amounted to nothing in the inning yet another Phils fan who was a few rows in front of me stood up, turned around, then yelled, "YEAH! WHO OWNS YOU, BITCHES! HELL YEAH!" He had a few red blotches on his face-- apparently the Dodgers faithful had reacted to such a display earlier. As you might imagine, the reaction was not positive-- security swarmed the area and a few Dodgers faitful were threatened with ejection. Note to Phillies fans who might be reading this: your bravery is admirable if not utterly stupid. There are people at Dodgers Stadium who appear as if they have committed multiple felonies during the last several years. They might literally maul you beyond recognition if they are within earshot of such taunts.
I didn't write that warning as a matter of pride (it's not); I wrote it as a favor to you.