I Thought The Hot Dogs Tasted Funny

If you're going to pay $4 for a hot dog that would cost you a buck at Der Weinerschnizel, at least it should be rat-free:

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Aug. 5) - Angels in the outfield, rodents in the concession stand.

County health officials say they're stepping up enforcement at Angel Stadium, where they've found 118 vermin violations at stadium kiosks and restaurants over the last 2 1/2 years. That's a far worse record than Southern California's other two major-league ballparks.

Thirty-three of those reports represent "major" violations, in which "rodent activity" was observed by health inspectors in a "critical area" of 18 stadium food venues, the Orange County Register reported Sunday.

In the 412 routine inspections of Angel Stadium food venues conducted by the county Health Care Agency since 2005, vermin violations were found 25 percent of the time.

I attend a number of games at Anaheim Stadium every year, and in May of 2006 I took my daughter there and got the usual expensive hot dog and peanut dinner, and the next morning I threw up everything I'd eaten since 1974. I don't think I've ever been that sick in my life. I thought at the time that I'd just come down with a little stomach virus. Now I'm beginning to wonder.