Some Stadium Shots from an Attended Game and It's Card Show Weekend

I was fortunate to see Roy Halladay pitch as a Phillie when they visited San Francisco on April 26. Unfortunately, this was the outing where he received his only loss so far this year. I think I should seek to not see the Phillies anymore in other stadiums. Since 2007, I am 0 for 6. Therefore, I will speak not of the game on the field

Here's the view of the field and ballpark from my seats behind first base at the rear of the first level. I liked these seats for a number of reasons. First and foremost, there was a unvarnished view of the field. Second, for right handed batters, there was a great view of the strikezone. Third, the section was one step away from the tasty fajita and nachos place they have in the stadium. Last, we were shielded from the wind, which from those of you who have ever been to a game in San Francisco, know this is very important, especially at night.

I went with an eclectic mix of folks. People wearing Phillies hats, Giants hats, and A's hats. And in my group there were also a couple of Mets fans. It's easy to enjoy a baseball game with friends on a Monday evening.

Also, there's a card show in Daly City, CA (one of the Tristar ones)that I will be attending on Sunday morning (before my soccer game, of course). I haven't been to a real card show since 1999. I hope it's fun. Wish me luck!

Oh, and enjoy the images below. I am trying to get the rest from the friend who actually remembered to bring the camera to the game.

A Look at AT&T Park in San Francisco

I went to the Phillies vs. Giants game on August 2 and unfortunately, as has happened the three previous years that I have attended a Phillies game in San Francisco, the Phillies lost. This time it was ugly and they had no chance, so I didn't feel so bad.

Sidenote: Is it strange I'm less bothered by losses than I used to be? The Phillies are in first place, the Phillies are in first place...2008, yes...1964, no...this is the mantra.

Losses in which the other team outplays your team are easier to swallow than blown opportunities. Though there are opportunities nearly every inning, just track AVG with RISP and less than 2 outs the last couple weeks to source frustration of the fans of nearly every team.

In any case, I sat further away than I would prefer because I went with a group of people. Here's some photos of the general atmosphere of the stadium, set on the Bay (does the Bay actually have a formal name?), next to a bunch of piers.



Action on the field,the Giants were setting up for a rally, which was successful.


The left side of the Phillies infield warming up.


The huge HD scoreboard. This is one of the best scoreboards I've ever seen. It gives the scoring decisions next to the lineup as plays occur and even incorporates OPS into the statistics shown.


A view of left field. That Coke bottle is actually a functioning sliding board.


A view of the scoreboard in center field again. Davey Lopes's visage appears.


The whole outfield with the Bay in the background. That boat has to stay until 15 minutes until the game is finished. One time I was at a game that went into the 13th inning. And you know those people that leave early? They were on the boat for nearly 90 minutes. Being in San Francisco at night, it was also freezing.



The view down the right field line. Behind there is the famed McCovey Cove. During day games, you can usually find a couple kayaks or boats out there. During a night game, there's usually none. Some player doesn't play here anymore.

Overall, it's a fun place to watch a game. Plus during a cold night, you can enjoy clam chowder in a bread bowl. Giants fans, for the most part, don't mind if you're cheering for the opposing team (except if the Dodgers or A's are visiting). I recommend coming here....during a day game.

Game Attendance Report-May 1, 2009: Giants vs. Rockies

I attended my first game of the season this past Friday night. It was not a typical, picturesque spring evening for a ballgame. Then again, the nights in San Francisco never are.

This is how you prepare to attend a Giants game. Wear a sweatshirt. Wear a jacket. Bring a winter hat and a pair of gloves. Make sure your bank account has enough balance to buy both beer and hot chocolate...(I usually don't drink either because I am naturally a warm person.)

To top it off for this game, it had been raining all day. Lucky for those wanting to attend the game, the Giant's groundskeeping crew had the foresight to put the tarp on the field during the entirety of the afternoon. At around 6:45, I finally left for the ballpark because it was announced formally that the tarp was removed, and the game would be played as scheduled.

As I normally am for most things, I was late to the game, arriving at the bottom of the 2nd inning. It seems most people were late (or didn't show at all). The paid attendance was announced as 31,000; there was definitely maybe half that amount of people there. Not that I blame them, in the Bay Area, it is unusual to have rain once May arrives.

As I made my way down to my seats (winning a company raffle is a great thing) with garlic fries in hand and the coat and hat firmly worn as the misty rain swirled around me, I looked up to see the Giants had made a dent in the starting pitcher's windup armor, establishing a runner on first base.

The Giants did go on to score a run in that inning, thanks to a Travis Ishikawa double, establishing a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the evening. There were very few outstanding performances during the game; though there were no overtly sloppy ones either. Ryan Spilsborough did make one memorable running basketcatch in right field.

Randy Johnson's pitch movement and selection were impressive. His fastball reached 91-92 mph and his slider was at 83-84 mph with some serious bite. On the other side, Ubaldo Jimenez battled wildness and held the Giants to only 3 runs in 7 innings. The Rockies hitters, however, could not support the effort. Chris Ianetta unloaded an absurdly deep home run in the eighth and Ian Stewart soon followed with a 420 foot double to right-center. The Rockies were able to load the bases with 2 outs, but Brian Wilson, the Giants closer, came on and struck out Ryan Spilsborough swinging on a 3-2 fastball.

Note on Brian Wilson: His fastball touched 100 mph once according to the inflated stadium radar gun reading, but he was extremely wild. Also, his video entrance to House of Pain's "Jump Around" was really tacky.

All in all, it was a fun ballgame to attend. It had tense moments, a close score, and it stopped raining by the 4th inning.