Not Going Anywhere

View from the stands at 7 o'clock.

After a full day at the office I hoofed over to AT&T Park to watch the Oakland A’s take on the Giants. With their cross-Bay rivals boosting the attendance, the game was sold out. There was almost as much green and gold as there was orange and black.

A group from the church had bought a block of seats in the upper deck behind home plate (the minister is an avid fan). After a visit to the ATM--a hot dog and soda combo is $12 and my family would be having dinner at the game—I settled into my seat. The wind wasn’t blowing on Friday night, and the game turned out to be a pleasant experience--more so for the Oakland fans. The home team mounted a late-inning comeback to tie the game and even had a great chance to win---tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, one out, and a 3-0 count to Ray Durham—but couldn’t pull it off.

The tenth inning became a “tragicomedy” when the Giants ran out of catchers because of injury. Third baseman Pedro Feliz put on the pads and made his major league debut behind the plate. Oakland baserunners took full advantage and scored a couple of runs. The Giants meekly surrendered, 5-3. Despite a promising start to the season, San Francisco looked old and listless (a judgment confirmed by Oakland's consecutive shutout victories this Saturday and Sunday). It doesn't look like the Giants are going anywhere this year.

Friday night's game took nearly four hours,and we were home by midnight. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. © 2007 Stephen Yuen

Barry Bonds singles in the tying run in the bottom of the 7th. He also stole a base (!) in a critical situation, but his teammate couldn't drive him home.