Tonight, dog lover 'King' Felix Hernandez (above) pitched seven scoreless innings as his Mariners (2-1), eliminated the 66ers (0-1). Representing the 66ers system, the Angles lost 2-7. With this game in the books, the dog game season enters an extended All-Star break. These are 14 teams still in the running for Sabo's 2015 Dog Day Championship... seven of which are tied for first.

Standings	Teams Remaining Games, thru July 9, 2015
1. 1-0 1.000 --	Braves2, Card's2, Cubs2, Astros1, D'backs1, Giants1, Rays1
8. 2-1 .667 --	Phillies2, Mariners1
10. 3-2 .600 --	Reds2
11. 2-2 .500 ½	Mets2
0-0 ----- ½	Orioles1, White Sox1
14. 2-3 .400 1	Nationals4

This morning, between 6-7, we had a electrical store pass close by. The thunder was a single 1;1000 count behind the lightning, so about a mile away as they say. The inside door to the Sabo room was closed, so Sabo couldn't seek out his Uncle Grandpa... always his first urge. Instead he crawled shivering under the chair. After a few minutes, he crawled out and over to me. I hugged him until the storm passed. Gotta that Sabo !!!1!

Short showers and distant thunder continued to about 2pm. Sabo took these more stoically... but he also didn't get farther than about 17 inches from me until after his pre-game nap (5:40 start time for his Padres).

Poor Sabo... his day yesterday ended the same way it began.

About an hour after his Padres (who haven't lost in more than a week...including the All-Star break, LOL) won 5-4, the kids next door set off some sparklers and noise-makers. Sabo crawled shivering under the chair. After a few minutes, he crawled out and over to me. I hugged him until he fell asleep.

Wait, wat... I'm sure my (perhaps singular) readers are wondering... what kids ???/? Well, there's been some changes surrounding the Sabotat... and I'm just the person to blog it all. Let's take a circular tour...

1. Front Yard: The construction netting extension to the Sabotat has been disassembled and stored. As I blogged, I was always skeptical about this project. One worry was Sabo would be out there yapping at every person, and especially every dog, walking by. That wasn't a problem. As I predicted, Grandpa wasn't really all that interested in having Sabo out front with him. Sabo, for his part, was even less interested in being out front with Grandpa. Oh well.
   
   
2. 'Buttons Side' Yard: No changes. This yard is never ever used.
3. 'Flower Corner' Point Yard: No changes. This area is never ever used.
   
   This is the lot that shares a point at the 4-way 'Flower Corner'. This is fenced as a triangular storage area behind the main back yard. It only contains a tidy row of storage sheds.
   
   
4. Back-line Yard: The same family lives here. They have a toddler around Sabo's age, but no dogs. As I blogged, Sabo snapped at his mom on just about the first day I got him. The toddler will call for the cute doggy, of course. A few times I overheard his mom say: "don't pet him, he might bite". Well, that toddler is a year and a half older now, and starting to have play-dates. I overheard him telling one of his toddler friends not to pet the doggy because "he bit momma real bad last year". Which is both LOL and a good thing... as I don't want the toddlers to mess with my dog either.
   
   
5. 'Sabo Corner' Point Yard #1: N/A.
6. 'Sabo Corner' Point Yard #2: N/A.
   
   These two lots, which share a point up at the 5-way 'Sabo Corner' are behind retaining wallls topped by high wooden fences... almost 20 feet high. They might as well be on the moon to us. One house has been empty for over six years.
   
   
7. 'Chihuahua Side' Yard: Well, I found out yesterday that the currently bedridden Neighbor W (who we knew as B growing up) had gone back into the hospital for a spell. He recently again returned home, but this time with additional roommates... including kids and a big dog. The Chihuahua is still there too.
   
   This back yard was also never ever used... or I should say was only used as a massive trash heap until about a year ago. Things are different with the new peeps, as they've set it up a "backyard living room" and they, and the kids, and the big dog, actually seem to enjoy being out in the yard.

It's a good thing I put up that extra chicken wire along the fence on this side... as Sabo was going nuts the first few days jumping up & down the terraces, where he can see over the fence, yapping at the new big dog, and all the unprecedented activity over there.

Sabo was disappointed that the NL lost last week's All-Star Game 3-6 in Cincinnati. He was also disappointed that his Padres (3^rd, 44-49, .473, 8½ GB this morning) won't have the home field advantage in this year's World Series. However, he was happy that the traditional lone Padre, J.Upton, actually got to play, and went 1-1 with a stolen base.

But the All-Star game matters now !!!1!

Yeah, I did a little Sabo-Metric essay on that last year. What I didn't figure in is that fans can vote for the All-Star teams. So how much does a fan's All-Star vote matter?

Well, the short answer is going to be the same as voting for POTUS or something similar... it matters zero. But let's do the numbers anyways. Well we got... prob(being a swing vote) * delta(players elected) * prob(your team making WS) * prob(WS goes 7) * delta(home field advantage). I discussed the last three last year. This year, I'll discuss the other two, starting with the possible election delta.

What could tilting an election accomplish? Well it could (a) select a better non-pitcher starter, among players who would be on the roster anyways, (b) select a better non-pitcher starter, and 'bump' a worse player off the roster, (c) select a better backup among the nominated 'last five', or (d)(e)(f) do the opposite to the 'other' league's team. OK, let's look at these cases. I'd say both (a) and (d) are an illusion. Now-a- days, a significantly better non-pitcher selected as a backup will get as much, if not more, actual playing time as an "undeserving" elected player. Categories (b) and (d) I would also say are effectively nothings. The scenario of tilting a close three way election between two "undeserving" position players vs one significantly better player, who wouldn't otherwise make the team, really is approaching zero.


So we're really just left with (c) and (f), tilting the election for the 34th player on each roster. These are from a pre-nominated 'last five'. They are all going to be quite "deserving", but they also have one thing in common... the fans, players vote, and managers/commissioner have each passed them by. This means that, in general, their Wins above Replacement are going to tightly grouped. In fact, collectively they're going to be just slightly positive Wins above All-Star Game Replacement... as that is pretty much what they are.

Very generously, I'd say the largest delta WAR in a 'tip-able' election (assuming such exist) would be 0.1. That's over a full 162-game schedule. The All-Star game is a 1 game schedule, and these 34th non-starters are, again, generously going to be playing about 1/9th of it. Of course, there's two elections that could be tipped, so again very,very generously, let's double that. That gives a delta of 0.0001372. So if we take twice today's Baseball Prospectus highest chance to win the World Series, 17.7% for the Dodgers, and double it for their chance to get in, and we assume both 34th man elections are 'tilt-able'... the overall delta gained by tilting both elections is 8.01234568e-8. That's an extra 0.00001298 wins per 162 game season.

So... no, your block of 35 All-Star game votes don't matter. It gets worse, of course. The chances of 35 votes tilting an All-Star election are much,much smaller than 8.01234568e-8. I'll skip the pretend maths.

So... what to do with the All-Star Game? (Part 2 of 2)

OK, it's not really broke... but if I were magically made Commissioner... This is what I'd do...

• Home field advantage in the World Series should go to the division winner with the best regular season record, then to the wildcard with the best record.
• Even when the AL gives up the DH, it should stay in the ASG.
  
  Manager Selection & Scheduling
• The current manager of the Host team serves as his league's ASG manager.
• The current manager of the other league's last year's World Series representative serves as his league's ASG manager (not last year's manager). I'm going to call this team the 'Co-Hosts'.
• The Co-Hosts should be scheduled to play an inter-league series at the Hosts on the weekend immediately following the All-Star game. Because...
  
  Player Selection
• All the players on the Host team, and Co-Host team, are automatically on the All-Star game roster. This insures there are enough bodies to go long in extra innings when needed, and for the Host team, removes any taint of home town bias.
• The fan balloting should be 30 team-based elections (not position based elections, pitchers are eligible). For 28 of the teams, one favorite player is getting voted onto the roster, but won't necessarily be a starter. For the Host team, and Co-Host team, the election is to actually pick a starter.
• There should be two 'expert' selection committees, similar to the NCAA tournament committees... one for each league.
• These 'expert' committees pick 11 additional players per league, not on the Host or Co-Host teams, to build the strongest positional balanced teams. Then they select the starters (except the two voted in above), and also handle any late replacements.
  
  Pitching Limitation
• Now that the All-Star break is four days long, the game should be played on Wednesday, not Tuesday.
• Pitchers should be limited to one inning. Starters only need to pitch that inning to get the win. This, along with the extra day of rest gained above, should remove the need to excuse players who pitched on the previous Sunday.

Well, it is 2015: The Year of Sabo... so yes. As an aside, I'm always amazed that the only time of the year when there isn't any holidays, or really any special days, is between July 4th and Labor Day. I guess every day in mid-summer is special.

We've been spending a lot of time in the canyons, so we're going to switch it up this SBW™. The theme is going to be: Sabo's Surf'in Safari, part II. Last year, during Part I, we visited six beaches or sandy shores in five days. This time Sabo will be visiting all seven beach cities in San Diego County. We're going to throw in some of his Padres too for Sabo !!!1!

Going down the coast, these are the beaches we'll be visiting:

• San Bernardino: No, the 'Big One' didn't hit and San Bernardino isn't now on the coast. However, we're going to leave the beach and drive to the Inland Empire 66er's 'Man's Best Friend's Monday', 7:05 pm first pitch. This will be Sabo's first MiLB game... and he'll be rooting for the visiting Lake Elsinore Storm, his Padre's High-A team.
  
  
  
• Oceanside: No dogs on the beach in Oceanside. However, dogs are allowed on their boardwalk, known as 'The Strand'... So Sabo & me will be strolling it on Monday. We'll also visit the Oceanside train depot, and stroll the adjacent completed segment of NCTD's Coast Rail Trail.
  
  
  
• Carlsbad: No dogs on the beach in Carlsbad, or on the boardwalk/sea wall either. However dogs are welcome on the walkway along the top of the cliffs. Also, Carlsbad has a historic former train depot, and a completed a segment of thje NCTD CRT too. We'll also be strolling these on Monday.
  
  
  
• Encinitas: Cardiff State Beach is leashed-dog friendly. Sabo will go 'surf'in' here on Friday afternoon, to kick off this SBW™.
  
  
  
• Solona Beach: No dogs on the beach in Solana Beach, no boardwalk, and the cliffs are inaccessible. However... they do have dog-friendly beach area dive bar that Sabo's already been to... The Saddle Bar (Dive #8). So we'll just have to make the best of the situation. We'll be opening this place ~ 11 am on Tuesday... and closing out this SBW™.
  
  
  
• Del Mar: Sabo went to the off-leash Horse Beach (aka Del Mar North Beach), where Bing Crosby sang "The Turf meets the Surf, down in old Del Mar', on last year's Surf'in Safari. However, during the summer race season (now)... it's only open to horses, not dogs. However, other Del Mar beaches are leashed-dog friendly year-round. Sabo will go 'surf'in' here on Tuesday morning.
  
  
  
• San Diego: We'll be staying in The Beach Shack, in Missile Beach. As I've blogged, the beach & bay here are leashed-dog friendly 6pm-9am. However... our plan here is to 'surf' the entire beach, from Pacific Dr to the Jetty, in the dark around midnight over these four nights. Not going to comment on any scofflawing at this time.
  
  
  
• Coronado: On Saturday, we'll repeat our visit from last year's Surf'in Safari to off-leash Coronado North Beach, and the dog-friendly patio of the Coronado Brewing restaurant.
  
  
  
• Imperial Beach: Saturday is Imperial Beach's 10th annual Surf Dog Competition. Now, Sabo don't surf... however, they're having a "Dog food garden (food & treat samples)... Beginners agility course... Free photo booth (with green screen)... Vendor booths... Off-leash play area, Beer garden, Food trucks" too. FYI: Imperial Beach's beaches are normally leashed-dog friendly. AFAIK this is the only day they have a leash-free area.
  
  
  
• Miami: Sabo still hasn't been down to The Park at the Park yet this year watch one of his Padres away games. We're going to rectify this situation Sunday, 10:10 am pdt first pitch. His Padres play the Fighting Fish in Miami. No dogs on the beach area at Petco Park, however.

Well, so far it's certainly been an eventful Sabo Big Weekend™, to say the least... which I will for now. Suffice to say, Sabo's wounds had scabbed up nicely, and he was his usual 'go-dog' self Sunday morning. So off we went to Miami's Bark at the Park #2 with the Humane Society of Broward County. Cost before fees: $15 person, $10 a dog... all proceeds going to the Human Society. Well... not driving all the way to Miami, of course... but down to Petco to watch the game in The Park at The Park.

There was a wonderful June August gloom in the sky. Sunday morning, with all the parking restrictions off, we were able to park on the street, directly in front of Petco. There were several people, almost all with dogs, enjoying the grassy lawn in front of Sabo's shrine, the T.Gwynn Sr statue. Several more, with children, were playing in the playground area.

Yes, it was a perfect quite day in the park... because they weren't showing the Padres game. Come to think of it... I don't remember hearing the Padres saying come on down to watch road games all year. I guess because they don't do that anymore. Oh well. After giving Sabo a sniff at his shrine, we wandered off to find a place to watch the game. We didn't have to go far.


We ended up at the Hotel Indigo, just a block up 9th Av. This modern upscale hotel is very dog friendly. Several dogs came and went through the lobby, following their 20/30-something masters and mistresses who were spending parent-bucks. The amazing thing is that not only is the lobby bar dog friendly... it's an indoor restaurant too. According to our lovely and talented bartender, Amanda, they also have a Canine Cocktail Party, on the third Thursday of the month, up at their roof-top bar. Their website says you can see home plate from the rooftop bar. Sabo will be back.

As for the game... the broadcast showed the dogs at most inning breaks. Gotta seeing the dogs at the game. A.Amarista hit a 2-run HR to tie the game for Sabo's Padres in the top of the ninth... then A.Hechavarria hit a 3-run HR to win it for the Marlins (2-1, done) in the bottom of the ninth. Final 5-2. The next dog game is, of course, tomorrow. Sabo will be in attendance at San Bernardino San Manuel Staium, as the Inland Empire 66ers (0-1, elim) host the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres organization, 1-3, elim), on Man's Best Friend Monday. First pitch at 7:05 pm.

Well, Sabo has his Padres shirt on today, unlike yesterday where I didn't bother to put it on after we realized they don't show away games anymore at The Park in The Park. So off we go as soon as hit 'post'... we'll be driving again. But I guess no Surf'in Safari would be complete without cruising through La Jolla, and up Old 101 to our walks today in Carlsbad and Oceanside... so that's how we're going from the Beach Shack. Sabo just went up I-5 last month anyways. Then we'll take the always dangerous CA-76 over to I-15, to I-215, to the ball game.

This will be Sabo's first minor league game.

I have only been to a few, about ten maybe. I was surprised when I gave it a thought... but in those few games I've actually been to see AAA, AA, A games, including some at Qualcomm, one in Knoxville TN, and one at old Potros Stadium in Tijuana. Most of the games have been at Lake Elsinore... even back when they were an Angel's team. This will be both of our first times at the former Arrowhead Stadium (pix above) in 'Berdoo.


They're tied for the worst overall record in the California League at 39-67 (.368). They have the worst record in the second half at 8-28 (.222)... 12 1/2 back of the High Desert Mavericks. The California League does a slit season... like MLB did in 1892 and 1981, remember? They finished the first half also in last, at 31-39 (.443), 10 games back of the half champion Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. On the Storm, MLB lists Zech Lemond (22 RH SP) as the Padres #17 prospect, Brad Wieck (23 LH SP) #19, Rafael De Palma (24, RH P) #20, Nick Torres (22 RH OF) #21, and Austin Bousfield (22 RH OF) #29.


The 66ers are 51-53 (.490) overall. Their 16-18 (.471) record in the second half is good enough for 3rd place in the Southern Division, 3 1/2 games back. MLB lists the 66ers, Sean Newcomb (22 LH SP) as the #24 prospect overall, and the Angels #1 prospect. Victor Alcantara (22 RH SP) is listed as the Angels #3 prospect, Roberto Baldoquin (21 RH 2B/SS) as #6, Jeremy Rhoades (22 RH SP) #17, and Kody Eaves (22 LH 2B) #24.

However, the beauty of MiLB baseball is the same as spring training games... yeah, there's a ball game over there, and you can watch if it you want. But it's really about inexpensive family entertainment. And if any of those players listed above make it big in MLB... well I can say even Sabo saw'em before they made The Show.

After yesterday's Surf'In Safari, we left Oceanside's train station about 4pm. Since CA-76 has always been the hiway-from-hell, and I-215 can be a disaster, I wanted to give us plenty of time. It turns out that CA-76 and I-215 were both fluid yesterday afternoon, however the I-15 stretch between them was rush-hour bumper-to-bumper the whole way. Still, we got to San Manuel Stadium a half hour early. On the way back, around 11pm, I-215 lived down to it's reputation, being completely closed for construction. We detoured taking I-10, I-15, I-8 back to the Beach Shack. These were all fluid, and we got back in a quick two hours.

It turns out it's $5 parking, $5 for SRO, dogs are free at Man's Best Friend Monday. Metrolink runs trains directly from where we started at, the Oceanside train station, to the San Bernardino train station, a walkable 1.5 miles away from the stadium (and soon to within a block, when the San Bernardino Transit Center opens). However, the schedules doesn't work for the ball games, so the parking didn't go on Sabo's account.


These modern minor league stadiums feel a whole lot like the modern spring training stadiums. They should... as the same architecture company, now known as Populus, has had close to a monopoly on baseball stadium design, large and small, since their Camden Yards work. San Manuel Stadium, Petco Park, the Peoria Sports Complex, and AT&T Park (later this month for Sabo) are all their designs.

Dogs are welcome anywhere except the fixed seats. This includes the concourse, tonight in both unused 'Party Pavilions' down the lines, the left field lawn, and even a spot of lawn directly behind the visitor's dugout. Sabo and me checked out all the angles. Just like in spring training, it's no frills. No on-field parade, no gift bag, etc.


Sabo was perfect, as he always is at these kinda events. Because of his good looks, and inquisitive manner, and as the only dog wearing a costume, he got a ton of positive comments and attention. The only time he got to yapping was when one of the two 'big-head' mascots came around. But so did every other dog there... dogs just don't like mascots, I guess.

The official box score listed a paid attendance of 901. I counted an actual attendance of 79, not including nine dogs. The teams and staff easily outnumbered the fans. If we discount those who were obviously "with the teams" (~20), with dogs (~15), or in the only occupied sky box (~12) there might have been thirty or so people in the fixed seats. Nevertheless, the 66ers staff put on a 'Sell-Out' effort, treated us great, the service was literally personal, and they put on a good show. Sabo will be back.

Zech Lemond	22 RH SP	pd#17	(dnp)
Brad Wieck	23 LH SP	pd#19	(dnp)
Rafael De Palma	24 RH P	pd#20	(dnp)
Nick Torres	22 RH OF	pd#21	LF 1-4 rbi
Austin Bousfield	22 RH OF	pd#29	DH 1-3 bb
Ernesto Montas	24 RH SP	pd--	SP Loss 2⅔-9 h11,bb,so
Ricardo Valenzuela	25 RH 1B	pd--	1B-P 0-4; 1-0 h2,so
Sean Newcomb	22 LH SP	#24, an#1	(dnp)
Victor Alcantara	22 RH SP	an#3	(dnp)
Roberto Baldoquin	21 RH 2B/SS	an#6	(dnp)
Jeremy Rhoades	22 RH SP	an#17	SP Win 5-0 h2,bb3,so6
Kody Eaves	22 LH 2B	an#24	2B 1-6 3b,rbi2
Eric Aguilera	25 LH 1B	an--	1B 6-6 2b,rbi4
Caleb Adams	22 RH OF	an--	RF 4-5

As for the game itself...

Well, I did mention the beauty of the minor leagues is you can pay attention to the game... if you so desire. The 66ers pounded Sabo's Storm 17-3. It got so bad the Storm brought their 1B in to pitch the 9th. Such is baseball. I've noted the performances of some notable players above. We'll see if any of them make it big in The Show.

Sabo's Padres (1-4, including this Storm loss), as well as the 66ers (1-1, including an Angel loss) have completed their dog game seasons. Just wait 'till next year, Sabo's thinking !!!1! The next dog game, an elimination game for the Cubs (1-0), is today at 4:05 pdt in Pittsburgh (2-5, elim).

Last evening, the Cubs won 5-0 in front of the Pups in PNC Park (Pirates, 2-6, elim). This moves the Cubs into undisputed first place, half a game out in front of a nine team peloton. The next dog game is Oakland's Bark in the Park, tomorrow at 7:05 pdt.

As I blogged, and like the earlier D'backs game, I gave serious consideration to taking Sabo to this game too. In fact, I would have made it a multi-game road-trip, and left for Oakland straight from the 66ers game. My reasoning was this: I wanna eventually take Sabo to both a Giants and an A's game. They each only do one dog day a year. They weren't nice enough to schedule them a coupla days apart this year, and it's unlikely they ever will. So it's going to be two trips. I've never been to AT&T Park, which is called the jewel of MLB. The Giants always sell out, I might not even be able to get a ticket next year... and the Giants aren't getting any cheaper.

OTOH, Sabo's never been to either stadium. I haven't been to the Oakland Mausoleum since the Flower era. That was before they built Mt. Davis (that monstrosity in CF), so it'd effectively be a 'new' stadium for me too. One way or the other, the Mausoleum ain't going to be around much longer. It's a night game... and the A's don't charge absurd prices like the Giants.


Even if Twain didn't actually write "The coldest winter I've ever spent was a summer in San Francisco", there's a reason the saying is said. Still, it could just as easily be brutally hot at a day game at AT&T, and the dog seats are the CF bleachers... no where near any shade. Everything being equal I'd prefer a night game.

Years ago, while a was taking a few classes at Cal, Uncle B stopped by. It was a nice and sunny in Berkeley, around noon in late July. He said: "Let's go see the game tonight over at the 'Stick". I asked: "What are you wearing?" He replied with something about shorts, or whatever. I borrowed the heaviest jacket I could find, and brought my own heavy jacket. We froze our butts off. We got great seats from a scalper, right behind home. Around the 7th inning, after the fog rolled in, we literally couldn't see the centerfield fence. There's no way the home plate ump could either. I wonder what they'd do today with the replay camera situation?

Anyways... even though Sabo won't be there, it's a pivotal game in the dog game season. If the A's (0-1, elim) win, the visiting Astros are eliminated. If the Astros (1-0) win, they'd tie the Cubs (2-0) for first, and eliminate the Mariners (2-1), Mets (2-2), Orioles (0-0), and the defending champion White Sox (0-0).

That's just what happened as the Astros won 5-4 in 10, beating the A's (0-2, elim), completing an undefeated dog game season at 2-0. The next dog game is Tuesday, August 18th... the D'backs (1-0) facing elimination in Pittsburgh (2-6, elim).

Pour one out for the star-crossed Orioles, and one for the defending champion White Sox, who got eliminated before they even had a chance to play in front of the dogs. With the four teams eliminated last night we're down to just ten runners... the Astros and Cubs tied for first, half a game ahead of a seven team peloton, with the Nationals (2-3) bringing up the rear.

However, we can get a better look at the two races by consulting the respective Playoff Reports from the Baseball Prospectus and the Sabo-Metric Prospectus. Just like the BP, the SMP takes the schedule, and underlying team strength, into consideration.

World Series	%	Sabo's DDC	%
(19-team field)	37.1	Cubs (2-0)	29.5 #1
Dodgers (61-46)	18.3 #1	Braves (1-0)	20.5 #2
Astros (60-49)	12.4 #2	Card's (1-0)	18.7 #3
Card's (68-39)	11.2 #3	(5-team field)	16.2
Yankees (60-46)	11.0 #4	Rays (1-0)	9.3 #4
Royals (63-43)	10.0 #5	Phillies (2-1)	5.8 #5

The Cubs are sitting pretty, tied for first place... but they don't control their own destiny. They need to win one more time in Pittsburgh, and hope the Braves and Cards lose a game. OTOH, the Braves do control their own destiny. They only need to win out in DC, then at home vs. the Phillies. There's plenty of scenarios that have a team from the 5-team field winning. The odds range from the Reds (3-2) at 5.3% to the D'Backs at 1.0%. The Rays need to beat the Orioles and hope six other teams lose. The Phillies need to win out in GA & DC, and hope the Cubs and Card's lose.

This wasn't the best Sabo Big Weekend™. That said, we still went places, and had a lot of fun. To be clear, I'm blogging about last weekend, the 31st to the 4th. I already blogged our misadventures at Petco Park / Miami 'Beach' Sunday in post #183, and our excellent adventures at San Bernardino 'Beach' Monday in post #183 and #184. I'll blog the Surfari part of this SBW™ as it was presented... San Diego beach towns, north to south.


I temporarily forgot that San Onofre State Beach, world famous for it's Trestles surf breaks, named after the adjacent NCTD rail bridges (pix of a now replaced San Mateo Cr trestle above), is also in San Diego County... just across the line from OC & San Clemency. No dogs on the beach, but in the same spirit as the rest of this Surfari... they do have some hiking trails that are dog friendly. My bad. As long as I'm apologizing, sorry B.Wilson, B.Crosby, and E.Starr.


Before we set out for Berdoo on Monday, we spent some time in Oceanside. We strolled about 25% of 'The Strand', from the Pine St access north to the pier. I was expecting to be disappointed, but was pleasantly surprised by the funky beach atmosphere along here. It's like if Missile Beach didn't have a seawall, cars could drive on the boardwalk, and it was filled up with folks from... well, Oceanside.

This segment of 'The Strand' is basically an alley, about 25 feet wide, with no sidewalks or curbs to speak of. On one side, right smack-dab up against the roadway, are houses and hotels, a few tourist oriented shops, and some pocket-parks. On the other side is the beach itself (not dog friendly), which on this Monday had tons of people with kids... also smack-dab up against the roadway. In between, peeps constantly wandered along and across 'The Strand', while a steady stream of cars slowly drove south.

I had no recollection of ever being here before... until we got to the pier. I definitely have a memory of the unique dual approaches and the steep ramp up (dog friendly, pix above) to the pier proper (not dog friendly). We also checked out the Pier View Way pedestrian undercrossing with the 'wavy' walkway decorations, and the Oceanside train station.

The Coast Rail Trail will eventually connect the NCTD Coaster stations from Oceanside to San Diego, about 45 miles. However, this 'eventual' will surely be after Sabo's time, and maybe after mine. Right now it exists as a handful of disjoint segments, two of which are in Oceanside. We hiked a short part of the northern segment, from the train station to Elm St.


We didn't surf La Jolla this Surfari... but we did cruise La Jolla, and then up old US-101 to Oceanside on Monday. Cruising is definitely a big part of the traditional Surfari experience. On old US-101 we cruised along the top of the iconic Carlsbad bluffs above the beach. Then we got out of the car and hiked that scenic stretch too (no dogs on the beach or boardwalk below).

A fair amount of production has been done here on these bluffs over the years... so it's one of those places in SoCal that people feel they've been to, even if they've never been to the state. However, I know I've actually walked this stretch before.


We also hiked the completed CRT segment in Carlsbad, past 'CP Carl'. What is a 'CP Carl' my (perhaps singular) reader might be wondering? Well, let me explain. In day-to-day talk, the term 'railroad station' refers a building. In general, when someone says 'Grand Central Station' they are referring to a building in NYC.

However... to a railroad, a 'station' is a named location along the rail lines. Passenger trains only stop at some of these kinda stations. If there's a building there, the building is referred to as a 'depot', and the station's name will be displayed on each end. If there isn't a building, a sign will be erected with the station's name on both sides.

CP Carl is one of these operational stations. There is no depot, only a sign (pix above), and you can't catch a passenger train here. Instead, the station marks the end of single track from the north, and the start of double track to the south.


So what?

Well, we also stopped by the old Carlsbad Depot, now the Carlsbad Information Center (dog friendly). The nice older ladies working there were very knowledgeable. They knew the depot was built by the California Southern RR. They knew the info on the plaque outside (pix above). They knew the old Encinitas Depot is it's twin, now moved to Leucadia and serving as the Pannikin coffee house. They knew the reason Carlsbad station was renamed 'Carl' for a while was because of confusion with Carlsbad, NM, which also had a Santa Fe Ry station. However, they didn't know that 'Carl', the station name, had been recycled a block to the south.

I had never been inside the old depot before. The ladies pointed out that (except for some interior partitions and the bathrooms) everything was original, including all the trim and window details. It doesn't feel 'restored', and it's not really... it's just still going strong 128 years later. Very nice.

FYI: Haggerty's is in Torrence, up in LA County.


Swami's, named after the adjacent Self Realization Fellowship center (pix above), is in Encinitas. Both the beach and the center aren't dog friendly. However, Cardiff State Beach, in the City of Encinitas, south of Swami's, is leashed-dog friendly. We had planned on surfin' it a week ago Friday, to kick off this Sabo Big Weekend™.

We never made it. This is the bad part.

Sabo has been so very good this 2015: The Year of Sabo. I've been putting off doing another State of Sabo Report (Top-10 list) for lack of content. However, I got lax a week ago Friday, and Sabo had an incident. Now, I'll be doing a Sabo Report ASAP.

For now, suffice to say that Sabo managed to get his head inside a Pit Bull's mouth. For his efforts, he was rewarded with two superficial wounds. One on top of his head, just over his left ear. The other on the bottom of his snout, his 'chin' so to speak, just under his left lip.

One thing that Cinnamon's Master S taught me was that dogs will hide their pain. These two wounds were quite superficial, and have pretty much healed by now. At first, they weren't even noticeable, and I didn't think he was injured at all. However, he was... and I could tell because he occasionally would breathe a little differently. However, after I discovered the one on the top of his head, I figured it all out. If I scratched his neck, he'd also take those different breaths, and I expected there to be a matching wound... so I dug through all that scruff he has under his 'chin'... and yep, there it was.


The next beach town south is Solana Beach. No dogs on the beach here, so our only objective was to have a beer (inside, pix above) at the Saddle Bar (Dave Bar #8). Sabo's been here before. We had planned this for Tuesday, to symbolically end this Sabo Big Weekend™. We did achieve this objective, but we moved it up to Monday as part of our Old US-101 cruise. The reason being...


The leash-free Horse Beach reopens to dogs the day after Labor Day, this year on Sept 8th. No sane person does near Del Mar on race days (Wed-Sun, this summer through Labor Day). We didn't fully explore Horse Beach last time because of the tides. This, and the fact I had a whole lotta errands to run on Tuesday, and the fact I needed to kick-start the planning for our fast approaching San Francisco trip (before the 29th)... all added up to me postponing any Del Mar trip until after the SF trip.

We still went down to the Beach Shack, even though Sabo wasn't in any mood for scofflawing Friday night. He wasn't really hurt... he's always let me poke his little wounds without complaint... but I think he was upset, a little bit in shock maybe. His pride was what was really hurting.

However, the other three nights we spent at the Beach Shack, he was back to his normal self. Cumulatively, we have now scofflawed, late at night, all the way from Pacific Dr to the jetty.


We got to Coronado about 3pm last Saturday. The sun had came out now, and it was a warm, clear, sunny summer Saturday. Of course, Sun+Summer+Saturday adds up to a parking disaster at Coronado's beaches. Now, I have ninja level skills at beach parking. But after driving around in circles for an hour and a half, even I had to throw in the towel.

Our other objective, lunch on the patio at the Coronado Brewing restaurant (I only had beers last year) wasn't going to happen either. Parking wasn't the issue... they have a lot in back. But they only have three outside tables, and they had a line down the block waiting for any table.

So, our Coronado experience was limited to cruising... the Silver Strand, Orange Av, and then over the scary big bridge (pix above). What can I say... cruising is definitely a big part of the traditional Surfari experience.


Just as I've run out of lyrics to bastardize, we've run out of beach towns to visit. We're at the southwest corner of the US: Imperial Beach. So named, BTW, to attract patronage from California's Imperial Valley.

Saturday morning a week ago Sabo was still in a funk. I wasn't sure my 'go-dog' really wanted to go to the Surf Dog competition. So I ran a little experiment. I know Sabo knows when I'm gearing up to take him on a hike. Sabo, the usual Sabo, is impatiently ready to go,go,go as soon as I start with the gearing. This time I made a show of slowly assembling Sabo's day bag... leash, bowl, plastic bags, etc. Sabo slowly went from complete disinterest to very interested... so off we went to IB. We had to park a few blocks away, and when Sabo got out of the car, he still seemed a bit sluggish. But, by the time we got to the leashed-dog friendly beach, he was all the way back to his usual self again.

The Surf Dog competition is a real thing, and is a lot like taking a dog to a baseball game... without a perimeter. We went out to the water's edge, and watched the dogs surf for a while. They had a buncha vendors giving away samples, and adoption agencies, etc. set up in the park by the pier (no dogs on the pier itself). Thanks to the Dodgers, Padres, and Surf Dogs, I haven't had to buy Sabo a bag of rocks all summer long.

Alas, the leash-free area was pen about 10x20 set up in the park, not a slice of beach like I imagined. Sabo enjoyed it none-the-less. Also, the beer garden was another one of those wrist-band-tickets-tiny-dixie-cups-long-lines kinda thingees, designed to defeat the purpose of having a beer garden. Ironically, it was run by Coronado Brewing, where we wouldn't end up having lunch later that day.


I don't remember ever going to the beach in Imperial Beach... and none of it looked even slightly familiar. Thankfully, it was a nice overcast almost the whole time we were there. Sabo had a blast, reacted to all the other dogs great, and was just perfect like usual at these kinda events. Mark this down as another event that Sabo will return to.

Afterwards, to compensate for the dysfunctional beer garden, we stopped at Ye Olde Plank Inn, on Palm Av. The building itself is one of the oldest in the county, dating to 1886. They also have a large dog-friendly patio. While leaving to start the drive up to Coronado, we ran into my old friend Sam, of the world's best taco shop... Taco Surf way up in PB. He and his wife the little Missile. He was out walking his little doggy too that day... what a small world, indeed.

Uh... the proverb is better directed at me. I did enjoy the two free J-Tacos we got because the 66ers scored over four runs. Whatever.

Anyways, I was examining Sabo, and I thought the wound on top of his noggin was all healed up... that there was only a tiny dab of dried blood in his hair. I tried to pick out that little dab... it turns out there was still a small piece of scab attached, which I inadvertently picked off too. That got a small 'welp' outa Sabo. Sorry my little boy... you are a better nurse than I.

Of course, with that little patch of hair picked off, I can actually get a pix now (below). So Sabo's loss (of a scab) is my (possibly singular) reader's gain (so to speak).

I also got a little 'grumble' when I poked at his wound under his 'chin' immediately after... but no reaction when I did so again in a half hour. I'm not going to pick at this wound, which is smaller BTW, mainly because of all the scruff under there. When I can see the scab has clearly detached, I'll cut it out.

As I blogged, The Missile, in her prime, had her pix up in several bars. She was the unofficial mascot, and namesake, of Old Missile Beach. She also had her pix up here at the Silver Spigot (Dive Bar #0), even though it's never been dog friendly.

I stopped by yesterday, for the first time in a while, and was disappoint. They had taken The Missile's pix off the wall. That was the last remaining Missile pix up. Oh well... time marches on, I guess. We sent her onward almost six years ago, and she moved outta town over ten years ago.

The lovely and talented Shae (like Shea Stadium, but the 'a' and 'e' are swapped) was working, the same barkeep who was working when I stopped by on the way to pick up 'Artie'. She said N was going to be in town, and was going to stop by the Spigot this weekend. So hopefully, I'll get a chance to personally forward a sheet from the Missile Pad, and she can meet Sabo out in the parking lot.


Down the street, the former Morena Club (Dive Bar #6) was closed. Sabo had gone there. The signs were down, and there was one of those big construction dumpsters in the parking spaces.

So, my (perhaps singlular) readers might be wondering... besides the occasional Sabo Big Weekend™, what's Sabo been doing this summer? Well, one thing is we're still working on The Big Enchilada, the Tri-Canyon project. Which, at some point I expanded to include, in addition to hiking every single trail in all three canyon parks, to connect to every single neighborhood park in the tri-neighborhoods that border the tri-canyons.

I later realized was the same as saying: hike every canyon, trail, park, and connect them all by surface streets, between I-8, I-5 and I-806, except along the San Diego River. So, it's a big project. Progress has been slow at times, primarily because we don't live near this part of town. But it's worth it... because these three canyons are truly great. I've also discovered more trails and parks than I imagined, as well as two dog runs, and a whole other (small) canyon, I wasn't aware of.

Another thing that's slowed progress lately has been the sun. Twice, a couple days ago, and a couple of weeks before that. It wasn't me this time... it was Sabo.

Both times, we were hiking the side-canyons off of Rose Canyon. Both times, it was about noon, and it was hot. The first time, I was planning on one of our longer hikes of the project, and the one which would have taken us the longest distance from the car. Only about a half-mile in... Sabo saw a bush, and hunkered down under it. I offered him some water, of course. About five minutes later, he popped up again... and was good to go,go,go. I cancelled our original plans, and substituted a much shorter hike, all in close proximity to the car, in case we needed to abort... but he was fine the rest of the day.

A couple of days ago, I temporarily broke the go-dog. Again, we were about half a mile in. Sabo hunkered under a bush. I offered him water... and he drank like a race horse. After about five minutes, he hasn't popped up... but gets up when I say 'let's go'... and off we go about 50yds to the next bush. Time to abort, so we make a u-turn. Sabo's not in distress, I woulda picked the little guy up and carried him if he was... but he don't like it. We bush-hopped back to the car, Sabo flaking out about three times more.

We get back in the car, I cranked the A/C. After another drink, Sabo flakes out in the back-seat shade. About 15 minutes later, the AC having now taken full effect, he comes back up front. Just to be sure... I get us out of the car. First thing... Sabo hunkers under a bush. No question... go-dog temporarily broken. Gotta that Sabo !!!1!

There was no way of foretelling this tragic situation... but if Sabo & me had gone to the A's game on the 6th, instead of the Giant's game on the 29th, I might have been able to say goodbye to Bert.

Bert (and yes, that was her real name), was my neighbor down in Missile Beach for several years. She was my "'mother from another". She loved the little Missile. She had a beloved big dog of her own, and I can't count the days we spend together at her house, while our dogs had a 'play date'. I do know however, it wasn't as many times as I'd get a knock on my back-door, and an invitation to go down to the bar... where Bert would inevitably tell the barkeep to "crank those tunes !!!1!".

Well, Bert moved to Pismo Beach after she retired, and after she sent her beloved big dog onward... about the time I moved out too. I'd seen her since, as she's game down a few times to visit. In particular, she celebrated her 70th down in Missile Beach.

But I owed her a trip... a debt I can never repay now. Back in June, I invited her to go to the Giants game, with Sabo & me, on the 29th. She was overjoyed, and so looking forward to it. Now, it looks like Sabo & me will be going solo (which is a PITA at dog days)... and I'll be learning how to use Stubhub, etc.

I might as well blog the "whole 'nuther story" of the Missile Pad. The worst Broken Arrow of the Cinnamon Era happened around 4pm pt on October 16, 2003. Our little girl was fine, and we got her back OK... but we didn't know anything at all for 24 horrible hours.

First thing Friday morning, her Master S goes to the print shop next door, and asks to get a stack of 'lost dog' flyers printed up (above). Now, the folks at that shop The Missile, they'd even got a (B&W) Boston puppy because The Missile was so cool. So S's money didn't spend, I was told they literally stopped the presses, and S walked out with his stack ASAP.

Those 'lost dog' flyers worked !!!1! Afterwards, the print shop folks asked S if he had any of the flyers left over. He said sure. They said bring them on in, and they'll cut-off the lost dog info, and make a notepad out of the dog pix remainder (pix of notepad with dog pix below). After we sent The Missile onward, I've been giving the few remaining sheets (there are only 18 left) to Cinnamon's old friends. Like N, who posted her's on the Spigot wall back when she worked there.

Friday Sabo saw something Flower, or Cinnamon, or any person had never seen before... Matt Kemp became the first of his Padres to hit for the cycle.


The Padres 46 years without wasn't the longest streak ever... it's the third longest, behind the Braves 76 years (Boston Brave Bill Collins 1910-10-6, skipping over Milwaukee to Atlanta Brave Albert Hall 1987-9-23), and the White Sox 55 (Ray Schalk 1922-6-27 to Jack Brohammer 1977-9-24). The longest streaks now are the Reds at 26 (last Eric Davis 1989-6-2), Royals 25 (George Brett 1990-7-25), and Cubs 22 (Mark Grace 1993-5-9). Next is the 17yo Marlins... who are now the only team to never have a player hit for the cycle.

Of course, hitting for the cycle is kinda a freak stat. Yeah, it's a great day at the plate, but there's better ones that happen more often. There have been 16 four-homer games, the record for TB in a game is 19, almost twice a cycle's 10, arguably any three-homer game is better than a cycle. The same doesn't apply to slightly less common no-hitter. Sure, a few non-no-hitters are better than some no-hitters... but that's a pretty small few. Sure, teams occasionally lose no-hitters, they're 289-2 under the current slightly flawed definition of a no-hitter (FYI: Under the previously severely flawed definition, I lost a couple of dimes betting on a pitcher who pitched a no-hitter for the losing side).

Of course, Sabo's Padres remain the only MLB team to never have a no-hitter. Their 46 year (7446 regular season games, and 34 playoff games) streak is also the third longest in MLB history... behind the Phillies 58 (Johnny Lush 1906-5-1 to Jim Bunning's perfect game 1964-6-21#1, 8945 RS games), and the Mets 50yo virgin (broken by Johan Santana 2012-6-1, 8019 RS games).

Gotta how Sabo "Keeps the Faith" !!!1!

After an almost two week hiatus, the dog game season resumes tomorrow in Pittsburgh (2-6, elim)... then continues Wednesday in Denver (1-2, elim).

A Pirates win will eliminate the visiting D'backs (1-0). A D'backs win, by two or more runs, will eliminate the Astros (2-0). Yes, the new tie-breakers might come into play... if the D'backs win by one, they'd need to score at least ten runs to stay alive and eliminated the Astros. A Rockies win on Wednesday would eliminate the Nationals (2-3).

And then there was nine... tonight Cali time, early tomorrow local time, in 15 innings the Pirates (3-6, elim) eliminated the D'backs (1-1, done) by a score of 9-8.

Tomorrow is Denver's annual Bark at the Park... $17+fees per person, free for dogs. But no Pit Bulls... per a Denver city law: "It shall be unlawful for any person to own, possess, keep, exercise control over, maintain, harbor, transport, or sell within the city any pit bull". A Rockies (1-2, elim) win would eliminate the Nationals (2-3)... and thus make it eight.

Tonight, the Nationals (3-3) stayed alive... beating the Rockies (1-3, done) by a score of 4-1. The next dog game is a week from today in Cincinnati (3-2). A Dodgers (0-1, elim) win would eliminate the Reds.

News of Sabo's 2015
Dog Day Championship ~

Road Trips & Rooftops, Part I

!!!1! NEWS FLASH !!!1! -- Pending formal & official approval by the Competition Committee... two more games have been added to the dog game season: 8-23 Card's @Padres and 8-28 Card's @Giants. The next four upcoming games are now...

• Sun Aug 23: Cardinals (1-0) @Padres (1-4, elim) Sabo !!!1!
• Wed Aug 26: Dodgers (0-1, elim) @Reds (3-2)
• Fri Aug 28: Cardinals @Giants (1-0) Sabo !!!1!
• Sat Aug 29: Cardinals @ Giants Sabo !!!1!

Earlier this month I promised Sabo I'd take him to Canine Cocktails at the Hotel Indigo downtown. Well, that was on Thursday... we didn't make it. Add another 'bucket' to Sabo's list. I hadda reason however...

Sabo & me were recently watching a game on TV from New-New-Busch Stadium. The announcers were discussing the new Ballpark Village mixed use mall across the street. This is the Cardinal's own (and owned) "Wrigley Rooftops". Which started me to thinking... where else besides Wrigley & Busch can you watch a MLB game without a ticket?

More to the point... where can Sabo watch a game without being admitted?

Well, apparently two places are Petco Park & AT&T Park. The Hotel Indigo's dog-friendly rooftop bar, Level 9, allegedly has a view into Petco Park (above). It wasn't open when we first went there. Sabo & me are going to check it out for tomorrow's 1:10 day game. Allegedly, you're allowed to watch part of the game through the RF fence at AT&T Park (below). We'll give it a try Friday, as we do the McCovey Cove experience outside of the 7:15 night game.

The recalculated Sabo-Metric Prospectus was pretty surprising (below). I figured the schedule additions would substantially improve the Giants & Card's chances, while marginally reducing all others. Instead it massively improved the Giants chances, slightly improved the Astros & Phillies chances (???/?), and substantially reduced all others... including the Cardinals.


The Committee needs to decide if 'rooftop' games should count at all, starting in 2016. If they decide that 'rooftop' games should count... then they need to decide if the rule change (from 'attend' to 'see') should be retroactively applied to this season. One criteria The Committee might use to make it's decisions is the quality of the 'rooftop' experience. Luckily for Sabo & me, we don't have to make these hard decisions.

Our job is simply to report on what these 'rooftop' experiences are like. So this morning we're off on a hike of downtown (start point TBA, depending on parking). Then we'll watch the Sabo's Padres at Level 9 bar (pix above, my first 'rooftop' game)... and as long as we are there I'll also have lunch at the Hotel Indigo lobby bar (indoors with food & dog, another first). After the game, we'll do a different hike of downtown (end point TBA)... then finish off the day off-leash at Grape St in Balboa Park.