We got there about two and a half hours before the players were brought out on stage at the San Francisco Civic Center and the whole plaza was already crowded as the pictures above show. Below left is the crowd behind us when we arrived and below right is the crowd about an hour later. Everyone kept pushing forward. In fact, the girl with the orange ribbon in her hair and her boyfriend in eye black were later in front of us. 

Above is the crowd in front of the stage as the time nears. Below left is the statue of Abraham Lincoln when we arrived and, below right, the statue an hour later after the crowds had broken past the barricades. It was about as close to a crowd panic moment as I had ever experienced. I had my escape route planned. There were many people around us who had to be helped over the barricades by paramedics because they were feeling faint.

Above left is Public Defender Jeff Adachi and other city workers watching the festivities. When Mayor Gavin Newsom got up to speak, about half of them went back to work. Similarly, when Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger got up to speak, all the state workers out on the balconies and rooftops of the state office buildings across the plaza also disappeared. Above right is my view of the stage which is why I don’t have many pictures of the players actually speaking. I only saw them in profile.  Below left and right is the crowd when the players were arriving at 1:00 p.m.         

Above left is a lovely lass on someone’s shoulders. Above right is The Dog (with bunny ears) who had gotten as close to his patron Mike Krukow as he could get today. Below left: Everyone gets dressed up in their finest for this rare occassion. Below right: Classic Giants truck. It was probably built in 1954 when the Giants last won the World Series!

Above six pictures: Pre-game panorama of McCovey Cove from atop the Arcade.

Below: In the bleachers during batting practice (looking left and then right).

Above four pictures: Panorama of the Texas Rangers taking batting practice.

Below: Fans arriving early before the game while a strong wind blows from the south.

Above and below: Fans standing in the bleachers during the National Anthem.

Above: Giant Coke Bottle, Giant Glove, and Lady Antebellum singing the National Anthem.

Below: The wind has shifted in a more westerly direction by game time

Above: The military flyover coming… and going at the conclusion of the National Anthem.

Below left: The Warren Giles Trophy for the 2010 National League Champions on display.

Below right: An ice sculpture on its way to the restricted media buffet dining area.

Above: Aubrey Huff at bat in the second inning and bleacher fans in between early innings.

Below: A U.S. Army Ranger PFC leading the fans in singing God Bless America.

Above and below: The bleachers are full of anticipating giants fans late in the game.

Above: The Giants finally get the last out and the Giant Coke Bottle begins to pulsate.

Below: The hilarious fans I sat next to during the game and some other knuckleheads.

Above left: Willie Mays statue before the gates open.

Above right: Fans entering the stadium a couple hours before game time.

Below left: Main entrance to AT&T Park at 24 Willie Mays Plaza.

Below right: Texas Rangers bus making the turn and heading toward AT&T Park.

Below four pictures: Panorama of McCovey Cove taken from atop the Arcade before the game

Above left: Our local Wayne Freedman filing a report from the bleachers.

Above right: Dallas-Ft. Worth Channel 11 reporter filing a report from the field before the game.

Below left: Fans milling around watching reporters getting their stories in before the game.

Below right: Rick Sutcliffe giving his thoughts to Chris Berman (hidden behind the camera).

Above: Buster Posey fan who led cheers with ”Who you gonna call?!?!” (Ans: GO BUSTER!!)

Below: Buster Posey stretching and the flags at game time. (No wind. No rain. No problem.) 

Above: Fans standing for the National Anthem.

Below: Hoopla after the National Anthem. (Notice the four jets flying off after the fly over.) 

Above left: Pensive fans watching the action on the field.

Above right and below: Happy fans celebrating the Giants’ six run inning (and a victory later).

Below left: Lights across McCovey Cove after the game.

Below right: Marina entrance to AT&T Park taken from the bow of the Larkspur Ferry.

       

I
saw a naked guy in San Francisco yesterday. Now before jumping to conclusions
about any proclivities I may or may not have, let me explain. As I was driving
down Oak Street, I looked across the Panhandle of Golden Gate Park at the
runners in the Bay to Breakers Race. About a hundred yards away, I thought I
saw a naked guy running in the opposite direction. I looked again and confirmed
that the tall gentleman was sans a stitch because his carpet did indeed match
his drapes: ecru. I thought it might be an omen of an odd ballgame to come and
I was correct.

(Above pictures: Crowds line up for free bobbleheads and
then flood the bleachers for free baseballs during batting practice. Below:
Flags at the beginning of the game and Mill Valley school kids singing the
National Anthem.)

I
got to AT&T Park early to get my bobblehead doll of Willie Mays making his
iconic “Catch” during the 1954 World Series. I’m all about the free bobbleheads
and so are a lot of other Giants fans. Ergo, the early birds get the dolls (or
“action figures” as we masculine types prefer to refer to our baubles) and I
was very early this day. Barry Zito was going up against Brett Myers
of the Astros and the Giants were going for another possible sweep at home, a
sweep that eluded them against the Cardinals, Phillies, and Rockies during a previous
home stand. A win today would split this current home stand and practically
wash away the bitter taste in our collective mouths left by the Padres sweeping
us… but not quite.

(Below: Barry Zito throwing his customary long toss
warming up before the game and the crowd in the bleachers waiting for the game
to begin.)

Barry
Zito
started the game shakily giving up three hits in the first inning but allowed
only one run to score. Brett Myers started the game even shakier giving
up two runs in the first inning on a two run homer by Andres Torres
before an out was even recorded. Barry Zito got through the next two
innings facing only six batters and Brett Myers got through the next
two innings facing only six batters. Barry Zito threw 25-10-8 successive
pitch counts through the first three innings and Brett Myers threw
24-10-8 successive pitch counts through the first three innings. This game was
already becoming weird. (Below: Bleacher crowds.)

The
Astros tied up the game 2-2 in the fourth inning on a solo home run by Carlos
Lee; the first round-tripper given up by Barry this season. It stayed tied
until the bottom of the sixth when Aaron Rowand led off with a home run
over the centerfield wall. Andres Torres hit the next pitch for a
double, went to third base three pitches (and one out) later on a single by Benji
Molina, and scored the Giants’ fourth run on the following pitch that was
wild to the backstop. However, Barry Zito gave up a run in the next
inning on a one-out single by ex-Giant Pedro Feliz who went to second on
the next pitch when Tommy Manzella grounded out and scored on the next
pitch with a double by catcher Kevin Cash. But with a runner in scoring
position and two outs trailing by one run, the Astros inexplicably sent up
their pitcher Brett Myers to bat for himself. And the Giants almost
squandered that gift when rookie Matt Downs barely smothered a grounder
to his left and, on a panic throw from his knees, was baled out by Aubrey
Huff who somehow kept his foot on the bag while diving up the line as he
caught the throw thereby preserving our one run lead. Weird game.

(Below: Brian Wilson pitching for the final out as Giants fans wait and hope.)

And
then in the ninth inning after two were out, Brian Wilson gave up
successive singles to pinch hitters Geoff Blum and Cory Sullivan.
With speedy pinch runner Michael Bourn at third base, pinch hitter Kazuo
Matsui came up to the plate. Reminiscent of yesterday’s game when Kazuo
Matsui battled Brian Wilson for about fifteen pitches before he made the
third out with the bases loaded in a one run game, Kazuo Matsui again
battled Brian Wilson to a full count on six pitches with the game on the
line. As I whispered to myself “Throw a slider… Throw a slider…” because Kaz
kept fouling off fastballs, Brian Wilson threw that slider and Mr.
Matsui swung through it for the final out of a 4-3 victory. Last Friday, the
Giants were 3.5 games behind the Padres in the standings and now today the
Giants were just a half game behind the Padres with a two game series at Petco
Park coming up tomorrow. This young season has already become weird but we Giants fans wouldn’t have it any other way and that’s the naked
truth. Go Giants!

(Below: The Giants and their fans celebrate the sweep.)

       

It
was a picture perfect day on the bay, like Mother Nature was celebrating the
return of our San Francisco Giants back home to AT&T Park again. Tonight,
the San Diego Padres would try to spoil this cheery party as they sought to
keep their half-game grasp on first place in the National League West division.
To battle these overachieving upstarts from the south, the Giants sent out the
re-born Barry Zito with his spotless 5-0 win-loss record. To defeat this
former Cy Young winner’s intentions, the Padres tabbed fellow southpaw Wade
LeBlanc with his spotless, if less stellar, 2-0 record.

From
the first inning, I could tell Barry Zito would be severely challenged
tonight when notorious Giant-killer Scott Hairston battled him for
eleven pitches before flying out to Aaron Rowand to open the game. And
then that other little Giant-killer, David Eckstein, hit Barry’s second
pitch to Aaron Rowand for a single. And then Barry Zito issued
the first of his seven walks he would issue this evening to Adrian Gonzalez.
Although Barry escaped scoring damage that inning, he didn’t the next inning. Oscar
Salazar beat out an infield single to Juan Uribe and Jerry Hairston
hit an 0-2 pitch over the head of Aaron Rowand for a double. After Barry
walked Scott Hairston on a full count, David Eckstein hit another
single to Aaron Rowand for a couple of runs before Aaron threw out Scott
at third base on the play to end the inning. By then, Barry had already thrown
48 pitches.

Like
the Padres, the Giants put at least one runner on base in eight of the nine
innings they batted. Like the Padres, the Giants eventually scored two runs
themselves on a single by Aubrey Huff in the third inning (driving in Pablo
Sandoval who had hit a triple) and on a triple by Juan Uribe in the
fifth inning (driving in Aubrey Huff who had doubled). But unlike the
Padres, the Giants could not score a third run in this game. And unlike the
Padres, Giant pitchers issued total of twelve walks in this game compared to
the five allowed to the Giant batters. And one of those twelve walks was issued
to Kyle Blanks in the fifth inning who promptly stole second base on the
next pitch and scored the Padres’ winning run three pitches later on a single
by former Giant catcher Yorvit Torrealba. And although Barry Zito
suffered his first loss this season after throwing 108 pitches in five innings,
Wade LeBlanc would not earn his third win because Padres pitcher Bud
Black lifted Wade in the fifth inning with two outs and Juan Uribe
standing on third base. It turned out to be a wise decision when reliever Ryan
Webb induced rookie Matt Downs to ground into an out and end the
threat. And although the Giants did get a runner to second base with only one
out twice more in this game, they failed to get that elusive timely hit and run
and so they lost 3-2. But they fought and battled this game as they will
tonight when Matt Cain takes the mound. So… Go Giants!

       

May
2. It was a lah-dee-dah kind of sunny Sunday afternoon around AT&T Park as
I walked around waiting for my friend to arrive with his club level tickets. We
met, strolled over to the Java Hut, and sucked down a couple brews down before
his friend Bill showed up. Adrian and Bill ordered burgers and another round
for us we caught up on gossip and baseball news. By the time we had finished
and took the elevator up to the air-conditioned corridors above, the Giants
were batting in the bottom of the first with no score yet. We stopped at the
bar first so Bill and Adrian could order their top shelf double cocktails as I
watched Aaron Rowand strike out on a low outside slider in his first
official at bat since returning from his Dodger-induced face fractures. Ouch.
The bar tab came to about $50. Double ouch! So this is how the other half
lives, huh? (Above left: The Intintoli arriving from Valejo. Above right: Fans
milling about the Willie Mays statue. Below left: Fans milling about the Juan Marichal statue. Below right: Little Leaguers lining up for the
pre-game parade on Little League Day.)

Jonathan
Sanchez
wasn’t pitching too bad today but he wasn’t particularly sharp. He pitched
through a first and third situation in the second inning and Derek Fowler
was thrown out trying to steal second base to end the third. But the fourth
inning proved a microcosm of Jonathan’s efforts this day. Carlos Gonzalez
grounded the ball into and out of Jonathan’s glove and, rather than chasing it
down for a play at first, he walked over to pick up the ball as Carlos crossed
first base. Everybody was like, “WTF Jonathan?” Even though Troy Tulowitski
wiped the bases clean on a double play two pitches later, Jonathan hit Jason
Giambi with a pitch and then walked the next three batters for the first
run of the game. And when Jonathan walked Gonzalez with two outs in the fifth
inning and gave up a single to Tulowitski, he was out of the game. But Brandon
Medders put on the Sanchez and walked Giambi to load the bases and then
allowed three straight singles for three more runs. Everyone was like “double
WTF Brandon?” Me, I got up and got everyone another round… of beer. (Below left: Behold all the beautiful people sitting with me. Below right: Lookee all the poor schlubs sitting in the extreme nether reaches of AT&T Park.)

As
rocky as Jonathan Sanchez and Brandon Medders were is how smooth Jhoulys
Chacin was. The Giants have always had problems against rookie pitchers and
Mr. Chacin did not disappoint. Besides an error in the first inning and a walk
in the third, Jhoulys kept the Giants hitters at bay until rookie Matt Downs
doubled down the left field line with two outs in the fifth inning. And although
pinch hitter Eugenio Velez coaxed a walk, Aaron Rowand avoided
the proverbial hat trick by grounding out to Troy Tulowitski instead of
striking out to end the inning. After that, it was three up, three down for the
sixth and seventh innings before the Rockies took the young man out with a 4-0
lead. The Giants eventually found a man to match pitches with Jhoulys Chacin
in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings and he went by the much less colorful
name of Todd Wellemeyer. That means Tim Lincecum will start the
road trip on Tuesday in Miami and end it next Sunday in New York City. Below left: Aaron Rowand is back in Willie Mays’ position. (Near left below: Aaron Rowand patrolling centerfield. Near below right: Aaron Rowand waiting for the pitch. Far below left: Giant ducks on the pond soon to be left wanting. Far below right: I can see J.T. Snow [sitting] and David Flemming [standing right] from where Isit. They’re beautiful people, too!)

Adrian
left in the sixth inning and Bill left in the seventh because that’s what
beautiful people do, I suppose. Me, I stayed until the bitter end because
that’s what bleacher creatures like me do. Heck, I even scare myself when I
look in the mirror sometimes. And I’m glad I stayed. I saw a Giants team that
didn’t give up. I saw out rookie, Matt Downs, have a great day with two
doubles and a walk. I saw Aaron Rowand get a single in his last at bat
to get off his short schneid. I saw another of our rookies, Dan Runzler,
mow down the Rockies’ best two hitters, Troy Tulowitski and Ian
Stewart, with strikeouts in the ninth inning. And I saw Aubrey Huff
give us Giants fans renewed hope for the future of this team with a long,
majestic home run deep into the right-centerfield Arcade seats. So, although
the Giants dropped every last game of the three series they played this home
stand at AT&T Park, they won all three series against very good teams and
now it’s time to take this winning formula on the road. I can hardly wait. Go
Giants! (Below left: Bleacher creatures hanging out. Below right: Ugly people in purple uniforms. Yuck!)

       

April
30. Friday nights are always rowdy affairs at AT&T Park, especially
when the Dodgers are in town. But this night was reserved for the Colorado
Rockies to visit and that was not too bad because the Giants and Rockies have
been playing some very competitive games against each other for the past few
seasons and many professional baseball wags have picked the Rockies to finish
ahead of the Giants in the National League West Division this year. The Rockies
were sending out righty Aaron Cook to face the enigmatic Barry Zito
who has been pitching superbly so far this season. The skies were clear and the
wind was brisk as the National Anthem was sung. But the Rockies soon brewed
baseball trouble when Eric Young, Jr. led off the game with a single on
a 3-0 pitch and scored five pitches later on Carlos Gonzalez‘s single to
right field. (Above left; Todd Wellemeyer and Matt Cain trading
pitching tips before the game. Above right; the Rockies relievers doing
pre-game wind sprints. Below left; Barry Zito warming up with some long
toss. Below right; pre-game tribute to the late Rockies President, Keli McGregor.)

Aaron
Cook
preserved the Rockies’ single run lead until the fourth inning when Benji
Molina fought off a two-out two-strike pitch for a single to rightfield. Aubrey
Huff followed suit two pitches later. And then Mark DeRosa accepted
a four-pitch walk and the Giants were in business. It was then when some yahoo
decided it would be a good idea to jump onto the field. After San Francisco’s
finest frog marched the yelling yokel to his just rewards under the bleachers, Jose
Uribe promptly herded home a couple of ducks on the pond for a 2-1 lead
with a single. However, the Rockies tied it up the next inning with consecutive
leftfield singles by Melvin Mora and Clint Barmes. Melvin Mora
came in to score the Rockies’ second, and ultimately last, run of the game on a
passed ball to Dexter Fowler. But the Giants answered immediately in the
bottom of the fifth when Andres Torres walked, John Bowker
singled, and Pablo Sandoval beat out an infield single to score Andres
Torres with the go-ahead run. And then the Giants scored their next, and
ultimately last, two runs of the game on an opposite field double to the
left-centerfield wall by Aubrey Huff. Aubrey Huff, where have you
been and welcome back! (Below left; the flags flying during the National
Anthem. Below right; the Petaluma combined orchestras and choirs performing a
rousing version of the National Anthem.)

After
that mid-game uprising, Barry Zito took matters into his own left arm
and carved up the Rockies’ line up like a German chef serving up slabs of
weiner schnitzel for a beer hall full of fat, suds guzzling Visigoths. Although
Barry walked Todd Helton in the sixth inning, he quickly ended the
inning on a double play grounder off the bat of Miguel Olivo. Barry
Zito ended his evening in fine fashion when, after Dexter Fowler
doubled in the eighth inning, Barry had clean up hitter Troy Tulowitski
struck out except for the non-call by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez
that was roundly booed by the sold out AT&T Park crowd. However,
undeterred, Barry Zito cowboyed up and got Troy to slap at his full
count offering and Juan Uribe sealed the deal with a pretty catch
near the leftfield camera well. And when Sergio Romo and Jeremy
Affeldt shared the honors of dispatching the Rockies in the ninth inning, Barry
Zito had his fourth victory of this April without a loss. Who is this
masked man anyway? (Below left; bleacher crowd before the game. Below right;
bleacher crown after the game.)

On
a final note, I happened to be surrounded by some of the rowdiest, leather-lunged
fans I’ve heard in a long time. Maybe because it was college night but these
kids reminded me of me when I was a lot younger and a little more foolish. But
they had a lot of heckle because they were on centerfielder Dexter Fowler
from the first pitch to almost the last. A lot of their jeers were just so
inane; it was hilarious. “Hey Fowler! Your shoelaces are tied.” “Hey Fowler! I
hate you personally! “Hey Fowler! Look up!” etc. It was just a good thing the
Giants won this game because their girlfriends would have been miserable having
to deal with their collective bitter disappointments had the Giants lost. But
the loudest guy was right behind me and he not only heckled Dexter Fowler,
he heckled the home plate ump even before Benji Molina caught the pitch
he demanded to be called a strike. His nice, observant blonde girlfriend
reminded me of the girlfriend in “The Big Bang Theory” who hangs around science
geeks amused by their odd behavior. But it’s all good in the neighborhood
because it’s the bleachers so everyone has a right to act as crazy as they want
to be as long as they are not profane. Go Giants! (Below left; the crazy guy
with the blonde girlfriend celebrating the Giants victory. Below right; a
fishing rod rigged up to a box to pick up baseballs off the field during
batting practice. If anyone knows the owner of this contraption, please leave
me a comment below.)

       

April
28. A noontime squall hit AT&T Park as I arrived for the Tim Lincecum
vs. Cole Hamels matinee match up. But as soon as this spring shower
arrived from the west, it left for the rest of the country just as quickly and
the game began right on time: 12:45. Timmy Bigtime was his usual dominating
self by mowing down the Phillies in order for the first four innings (although Placido
Polanco‘s single in the fourth was wiped out on a Chase Utley double
play two pitches later.) And then big Ryan Howard opened up the fifth
inning with a long opposite field home run. But other than that and a Ryan
Howard two out double in the seventh, no one else reached base against Tim
Lincecum during the first eight innings.

In
contrast to the constrained Phillies, The Giants had base runners in every
inning of this game. But they didn’t score their first run until the fifth
inning when Andres Torres drove in Nate Schierholtz with a double
down the leftfield line. Then the Giants broke open the tied game in the sixth
inning with consecutive hits by Benji Molina and rookie Matt Downs
followed by an intentional walk to the now-dangerous Nate Schierholtz.
After Cole Hamels struck out Tim Lincecum for his ninth (and
final) “K” of the game, he unintentionally walked Andres Torres for the
go-ahead run and Edgar Renteria capped off the inning with a single
driving in two more runs for a 4-1 lead.

For
all intents and purposes it seemed the game was all but over given the way
Timmy Freaky was pitching today. But after getting one out in the ninth inning,
he walked Shane Victorino on four straight pitches causing Bruce
Bochy to pull him and his 102 pitches in favor of closer Brian Wilson.
And Brian did what Brian does and got the first batter out for the second out
in the ninth inning. But Chase Utley rapped the next pitch for a single
and Brian pitched around Ryan Howard loading up the bases. And then Jason
Werth battled Brian Wilson for seven pitches to avoid the proverbial
hat trick this day and avoid it he did by launching his eighth pitch down the
rightfield line twisting and turning and finally coming to rest with a thud
just beyond the glove of Nate Schierholtz and on top of the chalk line
for a bases clearing double and a tied game. A collective groan arose from the
crowd.

But
the weirdness was not over this day. Jeremy Affeldt hit the first batter
he faced in the tenth inning with his second pitch and Brian Schneider
came around to score the go-ahead run on a passed ball which Pacido Polanco
swung at but was inexplicably judged a wild pitch by the official scorer.
(Everyone was having a bad day by now.) But the Giants tied the score 5-5 after
Nate Schierholtz doubled off of Ryan Madison (I think) and scored
on a single by Andres Torres. Of course, the Phillies scored another go
ahead run in the eleventh inning when Raul Ibanez greeted reliever Sergio
Romo with a single and scored with two outs when Wilson Valdez
lofted a double down the line and over the glove of Eugenio Velez and off
of the leftfield wall. But just to add insult to injury, Wilson Valdez
scored the needed insurance run when Eugenio Velez “Cadillaced” over to
a can of corn in left-centerfield and let the ball clang off his glove for a
two-base error.

As
it turned out, that boneheaded play caused the run that killed us because the
Giants scored their sixth run on a single by Benji Molina and a double
by Nate Schierholtz. But the tying run was cut down at the plate by a
beautiful snatch and spin-throw by first baseman Ryan Howard to catcher Brian
Schneider who also spun blindly and beat Juan Uribe‘s hand to the
plate for the second out of the inning. Andres Torres sent us home under
gloomy skies when he grounded out to second base. This game had everything:
great pitching, lucky hitting, heroes, goats, sunshine, rain, smiles, and pain.
The only thing it lacked was a Giants victory. But the Giants did take another
series from the defending champions and now we have the pesky Colorado Rockies
coming in this weekend. It should provide for more exciting baseball. Go
Giants!

It was going to be a tough game for sure. Roy Halladay was one of the best pitchers of this decade, he was the 2003 American League Cy Young winner, sported a career 152 – 76 win/loss record, and was 4-0 for the Phillies this year. The Giants offensive has been anemic last week so it was up to Jonathan Sanchez to keep the game close if the home team had a chance to win this series opener against the reigning National League champions. (Above left: Tim Lincecum was showing Todd Wellemeyer some pitching grips before the game. I hope some of it sunk in. Below right: Jonathan Sanchez warming up.)