The first fan I interviewed is Jeremy Dorn.  Jeremy is a former Lasorda’s Lair writer and a northern california native who is showing his Dodger love up in enemy territory.  The second interview is with Thomas Aaron Roberts, the striking gentleman in the picture with Tommy Lasorda.  There are two interviews here, so be sure to read all the way thru both and cast your vote!  Plus, if you don’t read all the way to the bottom, you’ll miss out on a hilarious Kirk Gibson story!

LL: As a bay area native you’ve managed to stay true to your Dodger roots.  You must be hated by the local Giant fans.  Can you share some of the challenges you’ve faced with the Dodger nation?

JD: Actually, the most common reaction I get is just confusion. No matter how many times I explain, people up here don’t seem to understand the concept of sticking with one team through thick and thin, no matter the location. It’s actually really fun to go to Dodgers-Giants games up here, especially when we win. I went to two games of a series that we swept at AT&T last season and I could just sit there smirking — that got the message across. The toughest challenge is definitely just coping with the last three years. Before 2010, the Giants hadn’t won the World Series in my lifetime so I always had a shield. Now, friendly smack talk is easily rebuffed by my friends with that trophy on their fan mantle. I’m planning on the Dodgers redeeming me and our fan base this year though!

LL: Why do you deserve to be chosen?

JD: Everyone in this contest is a passionate baseball fan. But not everyone has the unique story lines that come with my campaign. Not only am I living in enemy territory, but I have been dating a girl for almost a year that I met in the Top 50 last season (fellow finalist this year too, Kelsey Shea Weinrich). We were literally brought together by the Fan Cave and want to really push that crazy angle this year. We think it would be Fan Cave production gold! Obviously I love baseball and the Dodgers, but I’m also a really creative thinker with a long lost of ideas ready to put in motion if I make it to the Cave. Lastly, I have extensive writing experience that I think gives me a leg up on the rest of the finalists. I’ve been sports writing as a student, blogger, freelancer, BleacherReport.com Featured Columnist and more for almost a decade in total.

LL: What are your top Dodger memories?

JD: In person, it was actually at AT&T Park when I was about 10 years old. They had just built the park and the Dodgers came to town for the first-ever home series there. Not only was I at the third game of the sweep we handed them (welcome to the new stadium, right?), but I hid my Dodgers gear under a jacket and convinced Giants closer Robb Nen to give me his bullpen warm up ball. I came out of that game with a thieved ball and a sweep! My favorite Dodger moment in general was definitely the back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers against the Padres, closely followed by Steve Finley’s division-winning walk-off slam against the Giants in 2004.

LL: What are you looking forward to most in the 2013 season?

JD: Redemption. This Dodgers team has been bashed for months for spending so much money, which is understandable, but people forget they only had about five weeks as a team together. They really started to click in the last 10 days or so, but it was too little too late. If that streak at the end of 2012 becomes the norm in 2013, the rest of the NL is in for a long season. I know “great on paper” doesn’t always translate, but I really think the Dodgers will prove to be the favorites in the NL West rather quickly this year.

LL: If forced to choose, is the Dodger MVP in 2013 Kershaw, Kemp or one of the new arrivals?

JD: It’s really hard to choose between Kershaw and Kemp, but I think I’ll settle on the latter this year. Kershaw is always great, but we know the pitching staff will keep us in games. Even with the firepower in the lineup, I think Kemp is the key. We have seen what he does when healthy, so if he stays on the field he will be our MVP. The combination of offense, defense and speed has the potential to win us more games than Kershaw’s golden left arm in my opinion.

JD:  I will always worship Jackie Robinson, and as a former pitcher I’ve loved Sandy Koufax my whole life. My favorite player growing up was Mike Piazza, though. And I met one of my Dodger heroes, Tommy Lasorda, a few weeks ago.

LL: You showcased some of your prophetic abilities last year when you chose the Nationals to win the east in February.  Do you have any prophecies you can share for 2013?

JD: I am still so proud of that pick! I actually discussed this next one last year but leaned away from it last minute (good thing, because it would have burned me!). But I really, really like the Kansas City Royals this year and have picked them on my official Bleacher Report predictions to snag an AL Wild Card spot in 2013. I’ve also got the Pirates finally getting over .500, and the Mariners – though I think they are still one season away – starting to make big, Baltimore Orioles-esque moves in the AL West as long as King Felix isn’t hurt!

October 2, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; A fan dances between innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers play against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 18, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) waits for a sign during game four of the 2012 NLCS against the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Down the road: Sometime during the 2013 season, trading for David Price might be a legitimate option. Then I’d like to see them sign Adam Wainwright in the 2014 offseason. That gives us 4 aces! For all I care the 5th starter could be Ryu, Beckett, or Bills. This all of a sudden turned into a video game atmosphere. I guess that happened the day Magic Johnson took over partial ownership of the team with GBM. And here I am, reaping all the benefits! I’ve long asked the question, and it bears repeating: when will all this spending end?

Sep 30, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher David Price (14) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

The 2013 season isn’t even upon us yet, and the year should be pretty exciting. We all have high hopes for the team and certainly expect them to not only make the playoffs, but advance far into them with a world series victory in sight. But money comes off the books in 2014 and 2015. While 2013 WILL be exciting, we should see more of the same in 2014 and 2015!

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I’m surprised at the hatred directed toward Chad Billingsley and the love devoted to Andre Ethier. Over the last 3 years, Bills has been the more valuable Dodger. Ethier has been the more popular. If there are legitimate options to improve either player, I’m all for it. I like both players equally, but both players have flaws in their game, neither flaw is as crippling as Juan Uribe or Jason Schmidt, but improvements can be made and it would be refreshing to see Ned Colletti do something bold, but not stupid. The chances of that happening are less than 25%.