Monday, May 07, 2007

Welcome Andy!

I know I'm a little bit late to the party here. Andy LaRoche has joined the team in a big way. In his first two major league games he has 2 hits, scored 2 runs and has 2 RBI's. Not to be outdone, Betemit woke up from his slumber to hit two consecutive pinch hit homeruns. In the meantime, the Dodgers do a bit of hedging by keeping Tony Abreu at thirdbase in Las Vegas. Either way a solution to our woes at third will be solved within the system. You gotta figure one of three will take the spot.

Boo! Ghost, Ghouls and Phantoms.. Oh My!

I just read the Inside the Dodgers blog post about ghost at the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel and spent some time this afternoon reading some of the stories. These are the kind of tales that causes the back of your spine to tingle. For the paranoid, could you ever get a good nights sleep in that place?

I was even more intrigued by the mention of a ghost that resides at the top of Dodger Stadium. Does anybody have more information about the lady in red in the upper reserve section?

Anyway, I have personally never experienced anything like the stories in "Haunted Baseball." I have not seen supernatural disturbances like a floating apparition or incessant banging during the middle of the night. Sure, I've been spooked like most of us have, but never have I truly been so afraid I just walked out in fear. Call me a skeptic.

On the other hand, I have friends who claim that my old home in Fullerton was haunted. It figures that the placed I lived in for nearly 7 years would have a resident ghost who refused to show his face to me, but was more than happy to scare my friends. Anyway, here is one of those brief stories.

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon as I drive up my street towards the end of the cul-de-sac. My home is on the right side near the end of the street. I park on the driveway and notice my roommate, Rob, quietly sitting cross-legged on the lawn. I get out of my car as Rob stands up from his seat.

"Hey! What are ya doin' out here?" I ask with a perplexed smile. In all the years he and I have been friends I had never known him to just sit on the grass when a perfectly good television was available for viewing.

"I didn't want to go back inside until somebody else got home," says Rob. I stare at him the way you'd stare at a kid who just told you, "I didn't go to the UK, but I went to London."

Rob proceeded to tell me that as he was perched on the couch enjoying a recent episode of Batman an unusual thing happened. The cupboards and closet door started opening and shutting at a quick and furious pace. Rob stood up, stared down the hallway and ran outside. An hour later I arrived.

I walked into the house and inspected the home with a watchful eye. I was happy to report to my friend that everything looked just fine. Rob sat down in front of the tube as I grabbed a couple of beers. That ghost didn't appear again that afternoon, but you should hear some of the other stories.