A San Francisco Treat

[**Keep in mind that I actually wrote this before Monday night's forgettable loss. More on that meltdown later.**]

Ah, nothing like starting the week with our favorite rivalry...

We've witnessed the matchup lose a bit of the intensity the past few seasons as the Giants have never quite been the same since the '02 World Series loss, and are now going through the growing pains of rebuilding a team without the services of Mr. Bonds. The Dodgers are seemingly on the verge of doing something special this year, contrasted by the Giants who are trying to find their identity while remaining competitive.

As the Dodgers prepared to open a series against the Giants up north today, I just returned home from a weekend stay in San Francisco. Not to my surprise, i actually miss it. And i say that wholehearted. It's a fascinating city that you really must see in person if you haven't already. The architecture, the landscapes, the food, and the people are truly unique. I usually make it up there 2-3 times a year to visit some of my very best friends from my youth. What tops it off is that they reside just a few blocks from the infamous Haight / Ashbury intersection. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Haight Street was a birthplace, if i may, for the youthful hippie counter-culture of the '60s. Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, and fill in the blank. It's been a home for a new way of the thinking and new way of living. It's definitely changed since it's early days and has now become more tame and receiving to all visitors, so i urge you check it out if you can.

What makes my trips to the Bay Area even better is that one of the friends i stay with is a diehard Giants fan. We were supposed to go to tonight's game, but things just didn't work out for reasons not worth getting into. Considering we've never been able to go to a game together, it would have been an cool experience to sit next to him at AT&T Park, and just get to talk baseball with not only a friend, but a fan of the opposition. He respects my opinions, and i the same for his. For this reason, i always get a kick out of seeing a Dodgers jersey sitting next to a Giants jersey. I know it looks strange and out of place when you see it around the stadium or on TV, but i can guarantee that those pairings are thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.

So as i was mentioning earlier, today i returned from the flight that started in the overcast and eclectic setting of San Francisco and ended in sunny, smoggy, palm-tree infested Los Angeles. I wanted to make sure i was home in time to catch my games on TV tonight (yeah, that's "games" plural for my love of the Lakers too) and was rushing to the LAX parking structure to fork over my parking fees and get a jump on sitting in 405 Freeway traffic. It was then that i found myself walking side by side with Dodgers reliever Cory Wade. He was being escorted to his town-car by his driver who was pushing his bags across the street. I asked Cory when we'd see him back in uniform, and while looking shocked to be recognized he told me that he just needs to "do a quick rehab stint" and he'll be "back real soon." I really have nothing else exciting to report about my impromptu meeting with Wade, but i thought it was a cool bookend for my first trip of the year to SF.

Game on.

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Fast forward to present tense...i'll give my two cents later today.