Five Things To Do When You Can’t Watch The Dodgers On TV (Again)

What the Dodger Nation once thought inconceivable and incomprehensible – what we once thought absolutely UNBELIEVABLE – has come to pass.

No, I’m not referring to yet another year with the hated ones flying the World Series Championship banner up in the bay. Nor am I talking about Don Mattingly entering his fifth year as the Dodgers’ skipper. I’m talking about a bigger hunk of crazy than Dodger Stadium offering vegan nachos in helmet cups.

It’s the second straight season that 70% of Los Angeles Dodger fans in the L.A. area will be blacked out from watching their team on television. Who woulda thunk, in the 21st century, in what should be the west coast capital of baseball, that we’d be here again, with no TV coverage for the Boys in Blue? Yet, here we are.

Bill Plashke wrote a piece for the L.A Times that shone a spotlight on the frustration and heartbreak of one old-time Dodger fan, Jim Ballard, a World War II vet who used to live for the joy of watching his Dodgers on TV.  Now, sadly, he feels the team he loves has cast him aside.

My mother, who married a World War II hero, is also left without the ability to watch the games. It was an activity that she enjoyed every summer before this TV fiasco began.  Mr. Ballard and my mother represent countless thousands who don’t have the physical mobility or economic ability to attend games in person.

It’s a lousy situation, but we’re not completely without recourse. Here are five things to do on Opening Day (and all summer long) when your TV is dark because the Dodgers haven’t fixed this mess.

1. Organize and get active. Do you know what finally convinced MLB that the evil regime of Frank McCourt had to end? It was the boycotts and the protesting fans on the news that shone a white-hot light on Chavez Ravine.

While I’m not suggesting a boycott, I am suggesting every fan that wants their team on TV, should write or call the Dodgers and express their unhappiness with this snafu running into a second season.

Do you think the Dodgers will continue to do nothing in the wake of tens of thousands of letters, emails and phone calls?

2. Become an Angels fan. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

(Editor’s note- Do not do this)

3.  Set up a chair outside in a comfortable place, fill the ice chest with your favorite beverage, grill up some dogs and listen to ol’ Vinny or Charlie on the radio broadcast.

Here’s a bonus activity for that realistic Dodger Stadium experience: For every home game, pay yourself $20 just like you would pay for parking. Then, every time you open a cold one, pay yourself $10 to $12, just like you would pay for a beer at the concession stand. At the end of the season, you just may have saved enough to buy season tickets for next year!

4. Take advantage of Google and do some research. There are sites out there that stream the games so you can watch every Kershaw pitch and Puig at bat. I don’t do this personally, but I’ve heard some folks do. I also hear the visuals are not as clear as we used to enjoy with a direct cable line or an antenna feed in the old days, but it’s a lot clearer than watching Neil Armstrong walking on the moon.

5. Take 23 deep breaths. That’s one for each year remaining on Time Warner Cable’s ridiculous TV contract.