Santa Cruz Wharf

Debris from the partial collapse (CBS/YouTube)

The Santa Cruz Wharf experienced a partial collapse after being buffeted by large waves on December 23rd. Repairs had been planned since 2014 but were stymied by environmentalists to protect seagulls (who are not endangered): [bold added]

Strict permitting requirements and lengthy litigation by environmental activists have stalled efforts to fortify the pier that could have helped it withstand the storm, current and former city officials say.

At the center of the delays: seagulls.

It was for the benefit of the western gull, commonly known as the seagull, that the city of Santa Cruz delayed the most critical part of the repair work, installing new timber piles — the columns that hold up the wharf — until September, because gulls and another bird, the pigeon guillemot, make their nests in the wharf’s wooden beams.

The protections for the birds are imposed by the state Coastal Commission, from which the city must obtain a permit before it can do repairs. Most major construction — including replacing the piles — must take place between September and March to avoid the nesting season.

“Our work window is a very narrow six months over the winter time when we tend to have storms and big waves,” said Tony Elliott, director of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the wharf. “The wharf is a 110-year-old structure, and it requires a lot of work. … It takes more than six months out of the year to maintain it effectively.”

Neither the western gull nor the pigeon guillemot are endangered species, yet the Coastal Commission says federal and state laws protect their nesting areas.

One can see thousands of seagulls in San Francisco and down the Peninsula in Foster City. They swoop into the stands at the end of Giants games, looking for scraps. They are ubiquitous, far from endangered, and, frankly, hazardous to human and animal health. Somehow I think the seagulls will adapt if they couldn't nest at the Santa Cruz Wharf over several summers.

The blame for the wharf collapse rests squarely on the shoulders of the California Coastal Commission, which refused to modify its protection of the nesting areas of a species called by many as flying rats.

Giants v. Guardians: Unexpectedly Pleasant

There's no substitute for travel if one wants to get a full sense of a place. In this case I'm not talking about visiting another country or another State, but just spending time in the maligned City by the Bay.

It was a perfect day to take in our one Giants game of the season. Highway 101 North from the Peninsula was moderately busy at noon, a sign of returning commerce, but still not up to the levels of 2019.

We pulled into Oracle Park's Lot A, a quarter-mile south of the stadium. The Mission Bay district, formerly the land of railyards and industrial warehouses, has been transformed with residential highrises. The UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay opened in 2015 and the $1.4 billion Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors, opened in 2019.

McCovey Cove behind right field and the O'Doul Bridge

There was nary a homeless person or drug dealer in sight as we walked with hordes of fans over the draw bridge and to the south gate, both of which were named after baseball legend Lefty O'Doul. Except for areas under construction, the sidewalks were pristine and wide. Perhaps by coincidence there were friendly patrol officers all around Oracle Park

We got to our seats at the bottom of the first inning, and the Giants were already trailing the Cleveland Guardians by a score of 4-0. The Giants looked lifeless; by the bottom of the 7th, with a score of 5-2 and taking into account the Giants' month-long lack of hitting, we talked about leaving after the 8th. But to everyone's surprise

Wednesday, the Guardians led the entire way until the eighth when their lead evaporated with one swing of J.D. Davis’ bat. His three-run homer tied it and San Francisco went on to win 6-5 in the 10th on LaMonte Wade Jr.’s late-afternoon heroics, a sacrifice fly to left with no outs.

The Giants won on a walk-off sacrifice fly, an unexpected outcome just three innings ago.

In fact the whole pleasant experience today was unexpected. Maybe next year we'll sign up for two games.

Fair Weather + Shirt

The Giants (46-43) are 13 games behind the Dodgers(59-30), yet the bleachers were filling rapidly an hour before game time. It could be the dedication of Giants fans, or the perfect weather (69 degrees, sunny), but the likeliest motivator was the free aloha shirts given to the first 20,000 to enter Oracle Park.

Someone close to me suggested that I could leave after obtaining the colorful garment. No sirree, if I left now these would be the most expensive aloha shirts in the closet at $100+.

Besides, I'm not just a fair-weather fan. Admittedly, the weather is pretty nice...

Update: the Giants won 2-1 on a balk in the 8th inning:

Former Giants reliever Jandel Gustave balked home Wilmer Flores with the go-ahead run and San Francisco held off Milwaukee 2-1...Crew chief Bruce Dreckman said plate umpire Pat Hobert noticed a “start and stop” by Gustave in his motion, terming it a “textbook balk.”

Giants vs. Dodgers Game 5: Good But Not Great

A checked swing ends the season (USAToday)

Everyone knew that the Giants-Dodgers season-long rivalry had to come down to the deciding game of the 5-game series.

As contests go, it was good, but not great, and not because the result let down this home town fan: the Dodgers won 2-1. They will go on to face the Atlanta Braves for the National League Championship, the winner going to the World Series.

IMHO, a "good" game is close throughout, thereby heightening the suspense of each pitch. Moreover, both teams should play well and not lose the game because of a fielding mistake, e.g., a dropped fly ball with the bases loaded. (Actually this time the lone error by the Dodger's third baseman in the bottom of the 9th inning raised the excitement because it increased the Giants' chances of winning or tying the game.)

A great game should have a number of spectacular fielding or base-running plays. Home runs can aid the enjoyment, but not for me are the 9-8 bashfests where the pitchers can't do anything right. The game ended, not with a spectacular play at home plate, but just the opposite of excitement: a checked swing that was ruled strike three by the first-base umpire.

It was a desultory end to an unexpectedly glorious season.

We are spoiled by a culture that bombards us with narratives every day; life is often not that exciting, and the results often disappoint.

Another Pleasant Afternoon

We had such a good time at the Giants outing earlier this month that I couldn't pass up the promotion for today's contest against the Padres. The Giants are only 1½ games ahead of the Dodgers for the National League West title, so every game counts.

The view from left field wasn't as good as the one near home plate. On the other hand the tickets were 80% cheaper.

The Giants were losing 4-0, at the end of 5 innings, so I took a stroll around Oracle Park.

The Coke bottle and glove had lost some of their shininess over the years.

Inside the Coke bottle are slides that kids 14 years and younger can ride, ending with a slide into a "home plate."

9/16/21: the view from the LF bleachers

The glove is 501 yards from the batter's box, and no one has ever hit a home run that far at Oracle Park, much less into the glove.

In the sunlit stands fans were partaking of liquid refreshment, chatting pleasantly with their seatmates, and giving the action on the field half their attention. Families wandered around the food kiosks, cogitating about whether to spring for the overpriced comestibles.

2004: at least you could say you watched Barry Bonds

I got away cheap with a $10 hot dog, and a $7 diet Coke.

The view from the left field bleachers is pretty good, especially if one is a fan of Giants outfielder #33 Darin Ruf, who has a .277 batting average, 15 home runs, and 41 runs batted in.

Darin Ruf has a way to go, however, before he makes people forget the player who wore #25 in left field.

The teams traded a few scores, but the Giants weren't making headway. I continued the slow, 3-inning circumnavigation around the stadium.

The kayakers in McCovey Cove were enjoying the afternoon, though there wouldn't be any "splash home runs" hit their way.

The Giants caused a brief flurry of excitement in the 9th inning, but the tying run never got to the plate. San Francisco lost 7-4 and now holds a 1 game lead over the Dodgers, who didn't play today.

The Giants' loss just made the final 15 games more suspenseful, and we will follow them closely....on television. We can handle only so many pleasant afternoons.

A Pleasant Afternoon

On this pitch Darin Ruf broke a 1-1 tie in the 8th with a double that scored Kris Bryant from 2nd base.

When one goes on a trip and doesn't know when one will go back to that destination, caution and credit-card limits are thrown to the wind.

And so it was that on our only Giants game of the season we sat behind home plate in the best seats that I had ever purchased for a major league baseball game. (My grand uncle Freddie had closer seats for the Triple-A Islanders back in the 1960's, but that was the only thing better then than now.)

My helmet had "SF", not "NY" (Bon Appetit)

The afternoon was warm, not hot, at Oracle Park with only a slight breeze. There was no need to don the sweaters that we always carry to San Francisco even during the summer.

Marking another first, I bought a $20 helmet nachos, a gross-looking but good-tasting mixture of nachos, cheese, guacamole, ground beef, sour cream, and jalapeño peppers ladled into a plastic bowl in the shape of a full-size SF batting helmet.

Did I mention that dietary restrictions were suspended as well?

The Milwaukee Brewers had won the first three games of the four-game series, dropping the Giants to second place in the NL West; the Giants needed the win to keep up with the Dodgers. Augmenting the tension, the game was a tight 1-1 pitching duel through seven innings. The Giants went ahead 2-1 on a double by Darin Ruf in the bottom of the 8th, and Thairo Estrada followed with a three-run homer to seal the deal.

The Brewers didn't go down quietly in the 9th, as a long ball down the right field line was initially ruled a two-run home run, then corrected to a foul ball. Adding to the crowds' pleasure, Brewer's manager Craig Counsell was ejected for protesting the call. After that, the Brewers were done.

A thrilling 5-1 Giants victory (the game was closer than the score indicated) and a pleasant afternoon in the San Francisco sun--it's rare that an experience exceeds high expectations. I'll start saving up for next year's game....

Giants: Hope They Snap Out of It

Maybe the lucky hat will help.

The San Francisco Giants are on a four-game losing streak. More significantly, they fell out of first place in the National League West for the first time in three months to the rival LA Dodgers.

We are going to see them play the Brewers today at Oracle Park. This will be the first and probably only game we'll attend this year.

Hope we'll see them snap out of it.

Saturday in the Park

Good reasons to see the Giants vs. Reds on Saturday:

Beautiful afternoon weather, with great views of the bay.

High quality, albeit pricey, food.

The fancy, new scoreboard--now fully operational--chock-full of information for baseball junkies and casual fans alike.

Free bobblehead that depicts Pablo Sandoval's pitching:

[On May 6] Sandoval became the only other player besides Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson in 1905 with a homer, steal and scoreless pitching outing in the same game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Reason not to go the park on Saturday: Giants baseball. The Giants lost to the Reds, 5-4, in a desultory performance by the home team.

Front Runner, C'est Moi

I thought I was a sports fan, but it's become clear that I'm a front runner, aka bandwagon-jumper (on when my teams are winning, off when they're losing).

I followed the 49ers and Raiders through the 1980's and mid-90's, after which both became perennial losers (the Raiders somehow made it to the 2002 Super Bowl but were blown out 49-21 by the Buccaneers). I didn't regularly watch football again until Jim Harbaugh coached the Niners to three straight Conference championships and one Super Bowl in 2010-2014.

Klay Thompson and fan in 2014

I first went to see the Giants in the Oughts to see Barry Bonds hit home runs in the new AT&T Park. I continued to attend games during the championship runs in 2010, 2012, and 2014 but gave up on the Giants after 2016.

As the football and baseball teams faded, the Golden State Warriors picked up the slack by winning an NBA title in 2015. After losing in the 2016 finals, the Warriors astounded the basketball world by signing Kevin Durant, one of the top-three players in the NBA.

The Warriors were champions in 2017 and 2018 but this year seem to have found another gear. Their two superstars and shoo-in Hall-of-Famers, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, have regained their MVP-level form.

Tonight the team's third- or fourth-best player, Klay Thompson, set the record for three-point shots by making 14 in a game against the Chicago Bulls. Sports Illustrated: Klay Thompson Scores 52, and Now the Warriors’ Death Star is Fully Operational

Thompson’s 52 shows what the Warriors can do when they are singularly focused on maximizing their talent on a night-to-night basis, and not taking a long-term view about saving it for the postseason. We aren’t even two full weeks into the NBA season, and we’ve already seen top-level performances from Curry, Durant and Thompson.

The Warriors appear to be fully living up to the hype placed on them in 2016, and at a more sustained level than we’ve seen in the past, at least during the regular season, and certainly never this early. We don’t even need to discuss what that means for the rest of the league. It’s the same as what they feared the moment this team was put together.

Experience has shown that I can't be a fan the entire year; work and family (sigh) have their own demands. Thank you, Warriors,--and 49ers, Raiders, and Giants, too-- for allowing this front-runner to strike the right balance.

A Good Night

Despite the runner, the first baseman is well off the bag.

In football, basketball, or ice hockey the players move in a dervish of activity. The average fan can follow the main action around the ball or puck but little else.

In baseball there is time to observe and even think about the strategy. The pauses between pitches, and the fact that for the majority of the time the pitcher, catcher, and batter are the only ones whose actions count, allow even casual fans to appreciate the game's nuances.

Normally the first baseman stays on the bag to prevent the runner from stealing second. In the fourth inning, because there was a teammate on second base, the first base runner could not advance.

The Giants opted to allow the Cardinal runner a big lead in return for placing their first baseman in a better defensive position. The speed of the runner, the potency of the batter, and whether there were one, two, or no outs also entered into the decision. The inning did end with no runs allowed, and the Giants won 8-2. Thinking, eating, and winning are three of my favorite pastimes, and tonight I got to do all three.

A Cheap Date

We attended our first game of the season on April 22nd with no enthusiasm. The Giants had suffered their fifth straight loss Thursday night and were performing poorly in all phases of the game.

Happy times often result, however, when expectations are low.

The Giants beat the Marlins, 8-1.

We joined the crowd's rousing ovation to Barry Bonds, Florida batting coach.

The predicted rain did not materialize. The night was clear and cool, perfect for baseball.

The tickets for our group cost $16 each. The low price rationalized buying $12 beer (pictured).
Yes, we're definitely a cheap date, multiple meanings intended.

The Pub at Ghirardelli Square

Pork belly sliders ($11) with lettuce, tomato, and garlic aioli

I had a business lunch at the Pub at Ghirardelli Square, so there was no escaping the traffic of the Giants' Opening Day. As expected, it took longer to traverse three miles on City streets than it did the 21 miles from Foster City to the San Francisco off ramp.

Ghirardelli Square, three miles from AT&T Park, was uncrowded. The game wouldn't be over till 4, and the friendly waitstaff didn't mind us taking up space.

I celebrated yesterday's clean but far-from-optimal bill of health by ordering three pork belly sliders. They were tender, delicious, and had the highest calories-from-fat percentage of anything consumed this year. Tonight I'll just have to double the dose of statins that doc had prescribed.

The Giants had come back from a 4-0 deficit and would go on to beat the Dodgers, 12-6. Though it was tempting to watch the game's finish on the Pub's big screens, I got out of town well before rush hour. Parking, with validation, cost $5.

Ghirardelli Square celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and had undergone a facelift. It is a worthy member of the San Francisco Quickie Tour.

Bowing Desultorily

Tony's Pizza sign in top right is half the distance to the goal.

Having bought cheap ($29.50) tickets weeks ago to what turned out to be a meaningless contest, we made a last-minute decision to go to the game. Besides, it was the first-ever Stanford Night at AT&T Park.

We waited to get the commemorative cap. An alumnus in the line said that he hoped that they wouldn't run out.

Yep, $60,000 per year but everyone's gotta have the hat! Shortly after we got to our seats, the Rockies jumped to a 5-1 lead.

We left in the 7th inning. A comeback was very unlikely with players that we casual fans have never heard of. The Giants never made a game out of it and bowed desultorily, 9-3.

Hey, but at least we got a hat.

Baseball Justice Restored

Rare sight: Giants congratulate each other after a win.

In the important Bay Area sports news of yesterday (kidding!), the Giants broke a nine-game home losing streak by defeating the Seattle Mariners 6-2 behind the pitching of Tim Lincecum and hitting of Matt Duffy.

It was an interesting game to witness, and not just because the home team won.

Giants centerfielder Angel Pagan got thrown out for arguing two called strikes in the middle of his at-bat (manager Bruce Bochy, who unfailingly supports his players, was also ejected) in the 8th inning.

Rookie Jarrett Parker was substituted for Pagan and promptly took a third strike. The scoreboard showed that poor Parker's batting average fell from .111 (1 hit out of 9) to .100 (1 for 10). It seemed to this casual baseball fan that it was pretty unfair to charge Jarrett Parker with the strikeout after one pitch, but professional statisticians must know the rules, right?

Faith in the justice of baseball was restored when a check of the box score this morning showed that Pagan, not Parker, was assigned the strikeout. Now, if they can just do something about the designated hitter...

Talk to the Hand

Talk to the hand, 'cause the ears aren't listening.

(At least, that's what my audiologist says).

Vaguely Un-American

Arriving a few minutes early for today's Giants game against the Mariners, I picked up a roasted vegetable sandwich from the Garden section in center field. Sure, it was healthy and delicious, but meatless at a ballgame? Seems vaguely un-American.

Wait 'Til Next Year

Giants have never had a dominating record, but this year's
3 and 8 is breathtakingly awful.

It's not only that they're 3 and 8 and that they're in the throes of a seven-game losing streak; when the Giants fall behind, their hitting has been so pitiful the fans give up hope and start leaving. We're at the ballpark tonight to see for ourselves how bad things are.

After four innings the Diamondbacks are ahead 4-0, and Giants starter Jake Peavy has been chased to the showers. It looks like 2005-2008, the post-Bonds, pre-Posey years.

8th inning: most "faithful" were gone

Update: the D'backs have made it 5-0 in the fifth. At least the kielbasa was pretty tasty.

Update 2: Final score Arizona 9, San Francisco 0.

A Useful Application

Another useful application of data analytics: Time, via IdealSeat, shows the ballpark sections that have the highest probability of receiving a foul ball.

At AT&T Park the section is not behind home plate but near the right field foul pole. (When we sat near the visitor's dugout in August it seemed like the sections behind us got at least one ball per inning, but that observation is, of course, only anecdotal.)

Popular Family Outing

AT&T Park, across from McCovey Cove

Last Friday we took our nephew's family, which included our one and only grandniece, to their first Giants baseball game. The home team led the Dodgers, 4-0, after the first inning and won going away, 9-0. The lack of suspense gave the new fans an opportunity to explore AT&T Park, eat the tasty, overpriced food, and acquire a glimmer of understanding why a Giants baseball game is a popular family outing.

Petit Sets the Record

The Giants celebrate after a 4-1 victory over the Rockies.

We attend a few games at AT&T Park every year. Normally we sit in the cheap seats (<$30) with a group, eat, drink, cheer, and have a rollicking time. Today three of us splurged on tickets in the Field Club section ($100-$140). Not only is the perspective of the game different, so is the fans' treatment. Waiters take custom orders, and security guards keep a close eye on who enters and exits.

The game was marked by Giants pitcher Yusmeiro Petit setting the major league record for consecutive batters retired:

In the third inning of a 4-1 Giants victory, the 29-year-old right-hander with a fastball that rarely touches 90 mph set the record by retiring his 46th straight hitter, with a strikeout of former San Francisco farmhand Charlie Culberson.

Along the way, Petit broke the National League record of 41 that had stood since Jim Barr of the Giants established it in 1972.

Two pitches after Petit broke Mark Buehrle's big-league mark of 45, the streak was over. Rockies pitcher Jordan Lyles rapped a double to left, then scored on a Charlie Blackmon single, the only run against the Giants in their third straight victory.

We stayed well past the final out to enjoy the view. Everyone enjoyed the experience, and not just because the Giants won.

I fantasized for a few seconds about buying season tickets, but, after observing season-ticket holders leave in the eighth inning, realized that it's hard to maintain the euphoria over 81 home games (the economists call it diminishing marginal utility). But same time, same place, next year? Count me in. © 2014 Stephen Yuen