The Dodgers lost to a suddenly good Rockies team, Jason Schmidt and Matt Kemp (prone after hitting the wall) both left hurt, and a limp throw home from shallow center by Juan Pierre showed why opposing runners scoff at his arm. But the story out at today's opener was the stadium's newly engineered inaccessibility. My carload bailed out of the worst back-up I've ever seen on Sunset Boulevard in plenty of time to make the lineup introductions, via the old Chinatown-College Avenue-Stadium Way work-around. But at game time the entrance was still hopelessly clogged, and we could see cars moving around even in the fourth inning. "Hundreds of cars were still lined up at least a quarter-mile outside the Sunset-Exit A gate," the Times reported. "Frustrations were rising, especially as some fans were told they could not park in their usual spots, in order to comply with the new 'controlled zone parking,' which is being implemented this season."

Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts, post-game: "On the phone with my brother and father right now - both with 20-plus years of experience negotiating Dodger Stadium traffic. They are still in the stadium parking lot, having moved 'a foot and a half in 35 minutes.' My brother calls it 'truly a disaster' and 'the worst I've seen it,' even accounting for it being Opening Day."

Bill Plaschke in the Times: "Departing traffic was still bumper to bumper an hour after the game."

Plaschke also picked up that the concession lines were if anything worse, and got the quote of the day from Jeff Kent after some yahoo ran across the field and was carried off by guards: "I don't know why they don't show guys like that on TV. It has to be more entertaining than watching me strike out."

Photo: AP/Kevork Djansezian