You don’t have to be rich to make a mean-ass burger!

No. Seriously. Just ask a humble guy by the name of Tommy Koulax. It was decades ago that he decided to make a commitment to make the finest burgers and hot dogs and fries in the Los Angeles area. His idea became a reality with The Original Tommy’s hamburger and hot dog chain. Before the baseball game with Oral Roberts on Thursday, I decided to make my annual ritual to the Tommy’s in Long Beach to savor a Tommyburger, which was laced with their special chili. I do this once per year, in the middle of my university’s baseball season, preferably in the first week of April, when the cherry blossoms flow down.

I should have taken a photo of the sketch of Mr. Koulax. This guy knew how to run a fast food chain. No franchising. Word-of-mouth advertising. Not spreading too far in the hopes of finding stability and not close part of the chain. He had savvy. And a famous slogan to go with it: “If You Don’t See The Shack…Take It Back!”

In a city where competing chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, and (my home base) Carl’s Jr. (only because they have one on campus) lock heads with other chains to find the right customers, there are some local chains that don’t believe in trying to spread worldwide. The Original Tommy’s is an example of this. It’s akin to the City of Lakewood government: Times Change. Values Don’t.

As I watched the game, I was not disappointed. Oral Roberts just disposed of Wichita State, a team who we lost two out of three to. Dr. Dan, a local supporter of the Dirtbags, as well as the author of the Diamond Dust blog and baseball insert, called for Mike Weathers’ crew to go back to the fundamentals. In spite of giving up an error, the Beach was able to play a solid game through Andrew Liebl, an ace from Livermore up in the Bay Area, and the Bags won 4-0. I think it was a good move not to risk Bryan Shaw choking like he did in the third game against Fullerton. By doing so, he avoided getting his closer risking some more scathing remarks, should he do it two home games in a row. In the pros, I think he would called down, and reassigned.

Speaking of which, the minors got going. While the Los Angeles Angels dropped their first match of the year to those loathsome scum from that cesspool of the Bay known as Oakland, their Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees, edged the Las Vegas 51s, 4-3. Ironically, the Angels lost by that same score.

One more thing: the 51s are affiliated with the Dodgers, and they are not starting in the right auspices. Still early, though. And I will bet you that Matsuzaka-mania will die quicker than it started. Maybe not now, but somewhere later this season.