Bleacher Beach: A fan's review

Dodger Thoughts compadre BHSportsguy passes along this report on the latest promotion at Dodger Stadium -- Bleacher Beach:

So while the Weisman family was sharing a precious moment down on the field, I was up in the upper left-hand corner of Dodger Stadium wondering what made this corner of Blue Heaven of Earth, a beach.

The Dodgers have introduced a lot of marketing ideas this season; the most well-known was “Mannywood.”  But they also have these new theme days, and among them is Dodgertown Bleacher Beach. Extending on the All You Can Eat Pavilion in the right-field bleachers, this section in the outer reaches of the left-field reserve section offers all-you-can-eat hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, soft drinks and water, plus grilled cheeseburgers, barbecue chicken and watermelon slices.

There is also a fan gift: The first one was a nifty beach bag, perfect for outings at the beach or the stadium.

The price for all of this fun is steep at $45 a ticket, but there are good deals for large groups, and it certainly did well on a short-notice marketing campaign as these sections --  usually the last to fill up -- were about 70-75% filled. The corresponding sections in right field that did not offer this promotion were probably not even half-filled.

The beach fare was packaged together as you can see in the photo at right, which was smart, as it allowed them to hand it out in a very fast and smooth manner.  And it was pretty tasty: The burger was juicy; the barbecue chicken was tangy. The watermelon was not as sweet as I would have liked, but hey, it came with the meal.

Along with the decor, the food, the radio DJ and the lovely lifeguard (courtesy of Miller Lite), the only thing missing from the beach was the sand.

I probably wouldn’t do this again unless someone I knew really wanted to try it, because I like the shade for day games and I don’t do a good job making sure I get my money’s worth (I should get two drinks right away and stock up on peanuts and bottled water).  But if you want some sun, a free gift, Lite Beer girls and a pretty good cheeseburger, give it try.  I’ll be in the shade eating my sandwich from Bay Cities Deli.

Comments

[Dave60]

It's been noted that the 8-1/2 game Dodger lead is exactly equal to the combined leads in the other five divisions. Which is pretty cool. To take the "Dodgers compared to the world" analysis to another step, I checked run differential leads across baseball. The Dodgers leads the Giants by 92 in run differential. Summing the leads of the run differential pacesetters in the other five divisions gives ... 92. Ok, that's just weird.

[katysdad]

" ... the Dodgers were definitely in good hands with Weisman because he’s only been writing about the team for over 20 years."

http://tinyurl.com/ofy2qx

[DL]

"Bleacher Beach" sounds like some of the gimmicky stuff you'd find in San Diego, or the other shiny new stadiums. The thatched roof thing looks a little out of place with the severe concrete wall of Dodger Stadium right behind it.

Still, I'll give them credit for trying. BBQ chicken and watermelon at the ballpark is a natural fit. I wonder why the Dodgers hadn't thought of that before?

[Who Is Karim Garcia?]

I can't wait to try it out. Thanks for the review, Jon.

[LogikReader]

BBQ Chicken and cheeseburgers are easy selling points for me to go anywhere!

By the wayyyy, on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd", Herd was complaining about MLB's terrible promotion. Specifically he was incensed that they didn't give Matt Kemp more attention, and went on to talk about how GREAT a player he was.

I love how he's pumping up Matt Kemp.... This is awesome. Granted, a year ago he'd be imploring the Dodgers to trade him for a "big star". That's Herd.

[underdog]

Here's a link to Jon's piece on KCAL, re: his book:

http://tinyurl.com/o9nton

(Link from Mr. Weisman himself!)

[regfairfield]

As much as I love Kemp, he's probably the 6th or 7th best center fielder in baseball right now, he's not a star. It would go about as well as an ad campaign centered on Asdrubal Cabrera.

[Vaudeville Villain]

Who are these center fielders that are better than matt Kemp? I can think of these, but not more.

Carlos Beltran
Grady Sizemore
BJ Upton

Who else?

[Kevin Lewis]

Hey, Jon, that was a nice piece on the book. Pretty exciting!

[mwhite06]

Curtis Granderson perhaps?

[cargill06]

I haven't been around lately and I maybe a little late to the party, but why is Brett Tomko playing RF when Ethier was hurt?

[cargill06]

I don't think BJ Upton is a given.

[underdog]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=900

MLB Cuts Slots By 10 Percent

I wonder how the players' union feels about this?

Callis is right, prepare for a bunch of holdouts.

[Lord Skorpio]

Being at the game last Friday I say we cant forget Torii Hunter and his 8 gold gloves.

[bhsportsguy]

Anytime my scribblings are taken for Jon's writng, I will accept that compliment and walk away.

[SaMo]

Torri Hunter is much better than Kemp.

[mwhite06]

Fangraphs has granderson below kemp at this point. Kemp is a 1.9 WAR with a UZR of 7.5. Granderson's WAR is 1.4 with a UZR of 4.5. One thing that caught my eye was the difference in BABIP. Kemp's is at .373 (right around his historical average). Grandersons BAPIP is.252, well below historical levels.

[SaMo]

Ichiro is a better center fielder than Kemp, and he doesn't even play center.

I know it's hard to overlook the one lousy year he had here, but if indeed that was an aberration, then Andruw Jones is still one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball, and his hitting has returned to form.

Josh Hamilton isn't too bad either.

[Vaudeville Villain]

I looked up the top ten in terms of OPS and here's what I got:

1. Adam Jones BAL: 1.062
2. Carlos Beltran NYM: 1.034
3. Torii Hunter LAA: 1.012
4. Kosuke Fukudome (!) CHC: .950
5. Mike Cameron MIL: .927
6. Melky Cabrera (!!) NYY: .849
7. Nate Mcclouth PIT: .839
8. Matt Kemp LAD: .806
9. Denard Span MIN: .799
10. Curtis Granderson DET: .792

Sizemore and Upton are off to surprisingly poor starts offensively. Of this list, how many do you actually expect to bring both the offense/defense package Kemp has brought to the table thus far this year? Adam Jones is a hell of a young player, but can he sustain this production? Beltran is obviously great, but Hunter's play is pretty fluky right now. Fukudome is coming off a terrible year, Cameron is underrated but still overperforming, Melky Cabrera is obviously overperforming, Mcclouth is terrible defensively according to most metrics from last season, and Span is simply a decent player. Granderson is obviously a very good player, probably better than Kemp once he hits his stride.

I don't think Kemp is a star, but I think there's an argument to be made that he is at least a top five center fielder.

[mwhite06]

Hunter is not much better than Kemp. Hunter is currently tearing the cover off the ball to be sure, his home run to fly ball ratio spiked this year. But his defense is pretty poor (UZR of 0.7) and he's 9 years older than Kemp.

[WBB]

Kemp may not be a star yet, but he could well become one. His defense is definitely getting there even if he's no Torii Hunter.

[regfairfield]

That was a number off the top of my head but if I have to make a list

Definitely better: Sizemore, Beltran, Hamilton, Granderson, Upton (though this may slide)

Debateable: McLouth, Hunter, Jones, and hell, Mike Cameron somehow has put up the same numbers for like the last 10 years.

This is just production now, not based on what they could do.

[LAT]

The line at the Bay Cities sandwich counter is usually longer than the lines at DS.

[delias man]

The bread for the Bay Cities sandwich is difficult for me. The quality of the ingredients is outstanding, but the bread is a fight with each bite.

[delias man]

are outstanding

[underdog]

Buster Olney on ESPN.com (Insider, but this part is free) today, on his list of 10 strange numbers from baseball season so far:

>>8. You knew the Dodgers' offense would be good because of the depth of their lineup, but L.A. has posted a staggering .374 on-base percentage as a team, which would be the highest OBP posted by this franchise since 1894.<<

[Hollywood Joe]

Jon
Just saw the piece on you and the book - nicely done!

Thoughts after being away from the PC for 16 hours

Eric Milton!!! Love the human side to that story, hope it goes well for him from here. Can I say it again? ERIC MILTON at Coors locating pitches!!!!

Juan Pierre - I am going to attempt to issue a personal moratorium on JP comments (not sure how successful I can really be). That means no more "a return to the mean is inevitable" comments from me when someone wants to sit Matt Kemp (insane!). I am just going to sit back and enjoy it, heck, I don't even want to understand it.

Casey Blake - Ned Colletti should have been playing scratchers when he traded for this guy. With Manny gone and much of the line-up struggling, Casey has carried the power on this team and provided real cover for the players going through a tough spot. Imagine the Dodgers without him, struggling a bit, down to a 4.5 game lead....the vultures (in the media and on this board) would be circling. I don't think Casey can be this good for much longer, but hopefully he won't need to be.

Orlando Hudson - I love how the Hudson signing has turned from:

a) "What is Ned doing signing Hudson, we are losing a draft pick and we have a ton of minor league middle infielders! What a dumb move...."

b) "Hudson is obviously hurt, he needs to bat 8th, why isn't Torre batting him 8th? How long until we bring up DeWitt? Why did Ned sign this guy?"

c) "Cycle Alert!"

d) "If Orlando Hudson keeps this up he will be the best Dodger second baseman since Jackie Robinson"

e) "If loving Hudson is wrong, I don't want to be right"

f) "O-Dawg!!!!"

g) "What was that Ned thinking signing Hudson to a one year deal, what a dumb move..."

Ausmus is not Kershaw's personal catcher! Stop saying that!!! Martin and Kershaw will be playing together for a decade *knocks wood* - Ausmus will be in the Houston Astro's radio booth next season. Just stop saying that, nonsense, really.

Raffy - I am an agnostic on my best day, but I am considering going to church and lighting a candle for you just in case it helps.

Bullpen Paranoia - It is nice to have "how are we going to protect our leads in the middle innings" as a primary worry for many on this board. It of course assumes that the middle innings lead is a given (to date it nearly has been). Middle inning leads, even given to bad bullpens, lead to wins. Our bullpen is not bad.

[Jon Weisman]

I love Bay Cities, especially the bread.

[fanerman]

Hollywoo Joe's wood knocking gets the official fanerman Seal of Approval.

[Phenomenal Smith]

*The quality of the ingredients is outstanding, but the bread is a fight with each bite.*

I don't think that needed to be corrected. The subject of the first clause is "quality."

You could say "The ingredients are outstanding." But delias man is discussing "quality" as a singular abstract concept.

[Hollywood Joe]

Phenom correct as always

But your last sentence recalls the plight of Phaedrus and the question that sent him over the edge

[Alex41592]

Bay Cities Thoughts?

I approve. Especially the bread.

[Bob Hendley]

BH,

No encounters with beachballs?

[Hollywood Joe]

BH is a reputed beachball hunter - they wisely shy from him with their personal safety in mind

[delias man]

I never worked hard enough in English classes. Too busy expressing my desires for Karros to be traded back in the good old days.

[FHR]

Re: The Herd diatribe on Kemp.

Colin was saying they should market around Kemp because he's good-looking, young, and talented. NOT because he's talented, good-looking, and young.

[Chunkdog]

"of the ingredients" is a prepositional phrase, not the subject of the sentence. Thus, "is" is correctly used, as the verb for the subject, "quality".

[Kevin Lewis]

I am at part "f" of HJ's sequence for O-Dog.

I love the O-Dog, but I want to see if he can be healthy all year before I move to "g".

O-Dog has fulfilled the role of favorite Dodger for my wife (Saito used to be there). Now she keeps talking about how she wants the O-Dog to come over for some BBQ some time.

[jpg]

BH - good stuff, was planning on trying it on the next home stand. The lite beer lifeguard may have been the push I needed.

Jon - loved the headlines from the previous thread.

[Landonkk]

Lineup:

As promised, Blake gets the day off. Furcal continues to sit even though Torre promises it is nothing to be concerned about. Ethier moves down to the 6 spot.

Pierre, LF

Loretta, 3B

Hudson, 2B

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

Ethier, RF

Kemp, CF

Castro, SS

Kershaw, P

[Jon Weisman]

NPUT

[Linkmeister]

/Chauvinist hat

What? No pictures of the Lite Beer girls?

-/Chauvinist hat

[RobDC]

Hollywood,
Our bullpen isn't GOOD either.... I about lost my lunch yesterday.