Friday was a perfect day to take in a game at AT&T Park. Sitting in the bleachers above home plate, I enjoyed the view of the East Bay, ships meandering lazily on the blue waters, and the videos on the bright new scoreboard. The downside was that I had to watch the Giants play baseball.
The Giants don’t have the worst record in the major leagues, but on Friday they looked like the worst team. There’s no shame in losing to clubs with more talent like the St. Louis Cardinals, but there are no excuses for making little-league mistakes that kill whatever chances you do have. Lumbering veterans were thrown out twice trying to score from second base on a single to the outfield; the runners were so slow that the crowd didn’t even boo the umpire’s decision. And a critical infield error allowed the Cardinals to score three times when the Giants had a 2-1 lead.
His supporting cast was so poor that Barry Zito, the most overpaid pitcher in baseball ($18 million per year for seven years, currently with a 4.50 earned run average and 0-3 record), looked good in comparison, and most commentators didn't blame him for the loss. After the Cardinals built their lead to 5-2, fans started to leave. We stayed to the end—the final score was 8-2—just in case the Giants mounted a highly improbable comeback. Hey, you never know, and as for the season, it’s only April. © 2008 Stephen Yuen
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