Observations from Attending My First Giants Game in 2008

I attended my first game of the 2008 season in San Francisco last night when the Giants played the Mets. The Mets won 9-6 and scored about 8 runs in the fifth inning. I left my seat at the end of the fourth inning so I missed out on almost all the fun. Here are my observations and notes from the game.

• Barry Zito sucks. The fans got behind him in the beginning but turned on him once he got in trouble and started giving up walks and hits.  Here is a video of Zito I took attempting to throw a strike - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEc9pw1Aw7M
• The Giants try to pretend that Barry Bonds never existed. They don't sell his jersey anymore or have anything in the park to remember him by. I did see one guy with a Barry Bonds jersey.
• The Giants have set up tables outside each entrance gate where fans have to open up their backpacks and purses for inspection by security before they are allowed to enter the park. The security guard told me they started doing this a few weeks ago. He inspected my backpack and asked me if I had any weapons such as knives, boxcutters, or guns with me. Of course, I said no. I wonder if he asked the white old lady behind me if she had knives or guns too!
• Last night was really really cold and windy. It reminded me of the Candlestick Park days!
• I saw former Rolling Stone editor and music journalist Ben Fong-Torres at the park. He was on the same train with me and was telling his friend how terrible Zito is. 
  
• Zito is always a topic of discussion with fans. They always discuss his salary and how he is the worst acquisition ever for the Giants.
• What happened to all the pretty girls? I guess chicks do dig the long ball and since Bonds is gone, so are the hotties. Maybe they will show up in the summer when the weather heats up?
• There were lots of Mets fans in attendance wearing their Mets jerseys, hats, and jackets. I saw some Beltran, Wright, and Santana jerseys. 
• The park was filled up for a Tuesday night and there were not a lot of empty seats in the lower levels or in the bleachers. 
• The ushers are overly aggressive and rude. Nothing has changed from past seasons I guess. I saw two confrontations between fans and ushers. The confrontations ended up with the fans storming away angry and the ushers with a smug smile on their face. Is this how you want to treat your season-ticket holders and fans?  
• One usher came up to me and asked me where my seat was. I told him I had no idea and walked away.
• I missed out on the big fifth inning by the Mets because I was playing Gran Turismo on the new Playstation 3s they had in the club level.  I saw many Giants fans leaving and I thought the game was over. I walked to a TV and saw that the score was 9-3. 
• I was in the elevator leaving and the Giants employee operating the elevator  yelled "Going down" and one fan responded by saying "Just like the Giants" which made everyone laugh. The employee asked what the score was and some fan said it was 30-3. 
• Lou Seal is the most entertaining Giant. I would rather see him pitch than Zito. I am sure Lou can hit better than Brian Bocock or any other player pretending to be a major leaguer. Here is a video of  Lou Seal being funny 

2008 Giants Are Truly Pathetic

A columnist for the local San Francisco paper said the Giants are entertaining and "must-see television."

The columnist is old and fat and probably has nothing else to do than watch this sorry team lose day after day. There is nothing "must-see" about this team.

Nothing thrilled me more than going to the ballpark to watch the great Barry Bonds take an at-bat. Bathrooms and concession-stand lines were empty when Bonds was coming to the plate. It just isn't the same when Fred Lewis and Dan Ortmeier is up at the plate taking their hacks.

The 2008 Giants are not a fun team to watch and are very boring. Sure, I am tuned in to every Barry Zito start, but it is for all the wrong reasons.

I pay attention to Zito's starts because I enjoy watching him have no command of his pitches and lose game after game. Zito makes it interesting and even when he pitches a decent game statistically like he did tonight, he still loses. He actually lowered his ERA tonight to 6.25.

If Bruce Bochy continues to send him out there every fifth day, there is a good chance he could lose 20 games this year. I never thought Zito was a likable guy, even though the local media portrays him as a cool dude who works hard.

Zito's attitude and the way he talks after losing makes me think he doesn't care as much as he should. Win or lose, he will collect his hefty paycheck every two weeks from the Giants.

The Giants don't have a good manager or a good team. Their GM, Brian Sabean, is one of the worst GMs in all of baseball. The only people who compliment Sabean are other GMs. They don't want Giants management to fire him so they can make more deals with Sabean and steal more quality players from the Giants organization.

Omar Vizquel is fun to watch when he is playing shortstop, and Tim Lincecum is one of the most exciting pitchers in baseball. Besides these two players, I don't really care about the rest of the team.

I miss Bonds a lot, but I also miss Pedro Feliz. After watching Bochy manage for over a year, I even miss Felipe Alou.

Aaron Rowand may be a gamer, but I don't find him likable at all. He is an average player at best. I used to be a fan of Rich Aurilia when he hit 37 homers in 2001, but that was seven years ago.

Bengie Molina tries his best and has my respect, but he is not a cleanup hitter on any other team. Matt Cain is a solid pitcher, but he never gets any run support and clearly is frustrated by the lack of offense every time he is on the mound.

This team can't hit with runners in scoring position and are never able to get the key hit they need in order to win games. Bochy always seems to make the wrong decisions and doesn't know when to take out his pitcher or keep him in.

Mike Krukow, the Giants' announcer, is the ultimate homer and can be quite annoying. After an out by Vizquel, Krukow chimed in with "that was a great at bat" before they headed to commercials. Tonight, he insisted that the home plate umpire was squeezing Zito and not calling strikes. Krukow has excuses for everything and always remains positive.

The Giants have a good chance to be contenders this season. They are contending for last place and have an excellent chance to lose 100 or more games. There is nothing "must-see" about this team.

Things to Like and Dislike So Far for the 2008 Giants

The Giants are surprising their fans so far with their 6-8 record. The team has given fans a glimmer of hope for the future. Players like Eugenio Velez, John Bowker, and Fred Lewis have brought some excitement and energy to the club.

It was a true blessing in disguise that OF Dave Roberts hurt his knee again and Lewis now gets consistent starts. The fans were sick and tired of seeing Roberts get called out on third strikes and playing bad defense in the outfield.

Bowker was a big home run hitter in the minors and he could be here to stay. The Giants need all the power they can get in the lineup and Bowker should get every chance to develop and show he belongs in the majors.

Brian Wilson looks to be a legitimate closer and his electric fastball is probably the envy of Barry Zito. Keiichi Yabu and Merkin Valdez have solidified the middle relief.

Eugenio Velez has sparked the Giants with his speed and Brian Bocock has provided steady defense. They both are base-stealing threats as well and have combined for six steals so far.

Rich Aurilia, Ray Durham, and Randy Winn are still starting unfortunately. Fans are tired of seeing them play and they bring nothing to the table. Bruce Bochy should start Dan Ortmeier over Aurilia and let Ortmeier learn on the job.

The Giants should also send Barry Zito to the minors. He is 0-3 and he has run out of excuses. The Giants don't have the guts to send Zito down to Fresno but he is doing nothing but hurting the team. I would rather see them bring up a pitcher like Matt Palmer from Fresno than see Zito pitch again.

Overall, the Giants should be happy with their 6-8 start after starting off the season 1-6. The Giants lucked out on Robert's injury and also Kevin Frandsen's injury. If Frandsen was healthy, Velez would probably not have made the opening day roster.

This team will continue to take their lumps during the course of the season, but the future looks a lot brighter now than it did two weeks ago.

Giants vs Brewers Sunday In -Game Blog

• It is currently 4-0 Brewers in the fifth inning. Gabe Kapler just hit a HR off Barry Zito.
• Brian Bocock and Jose Castillo both have an error.
• Ben Sheets, the Brewers starter, is pitching a great game. He has 8 Ks through five innings. The Giants are lucky to even put the ball in play.
• The Giants started their "B" lineup today as outfielder Fred Lewis and catcher Steve Holm get starts.
• Unfortunately for Zito, the Brewers started their "A" lineup and none of their primary starters got a day off.
• Eugenio Velez is starting in right field for the Giants.
• Ryan Braun just hit a HR off Zito. 5-0 now.
• Zito has one K today which is his average per start. It is not easy to get hitters to swing and miss at 82mph fastballs in the majors.
• If you told me the Giants would have a better record than the Tigers after five games, I would probably not believe you. The Tigers play tonight and should win their first game of the year with Justin Verlander on the mound.
• Bill Hall just struck out again. Without him, Zito would have no Ks in this game.
• Ben Sheets just ended the fifth inning by striking out. 3 Ks now for Zito.
• Has anyone noticed how skinny Zito's arms are? I think my arms are bigger than his. Here is a video of Zito and Lou Seal at Macy's last year in Union Square. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq0aWuRjp0g
• The video was taken by me. Lou Seal stole the show in my opinion. I took a picture with him but didn't bother to meet Mr.Zito.
• Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn are not in the lineup today. Rowand has a bruised rib cage and Winn is injured I believe as well.
• Why didn't the Giants sign Kosuke Fukudome instead of Rowand? It would sure help bring some local Asian people to the ballpark and get them interested in the team. Hey, who's in charge of marketing for the Giants?
• Zito's day is over as Brad Hennessey is now pitching. Hennessey will try to lower his 37.80 ERA today.
• Zito's ERA is now 6.30. He went five innings and gave up three earned runs along with two homers. He threw 106 pitches.
• We are going to the seventh inning now as Hennessey had a perfect sixth inning retiring all three batters he faced.
• Tomorrow's starting pitchers for the Giants home opener against San Diego are Greg Maddux and Matt Cain. 
• The Giants will end their road trip with a 1-5 record. Some bad teams start off the season well and give their fans false hope. The Giants couldn't even do that. The fans in the Bay Area deserve better.
• Ned Yost, the Brewers manager, took a lot of heat in Milwaukee last season. He is lucky his team is off to such a good start. Yost made many terrible moves last year as manager and needs to learn from his mistakes or he will be replaced.
• Dave Roberts took a called third strike in the first inning to start off the game. He takes a lot of called third strikes. It seems like one every game. Roberts isn't hitting and his defense is atrocious.
• Sheets is still in the game. He has thrown 90 pitches through seven innings. I wonder if Yost will let him try for the shutout. He will start the top of the eighth inning.
• 6-0 now as the Brew Crew added a run with a Braun double that scored Fielder.
• The Brewers added another run in the 8th inning with a Braun single to make it 7-0.
• Sheets gets the complete game as the Giants get swept. Total domination as expected by Sheets today.

Giants vs Brewers Live Blog for Friday

I will be blogging throughout this game with game updates and thoughts.

* It is currently 3-0 as the Brew Crew got three runs off starter Jonathan Sanchez in the first inning.
* Rickie Weeks led off the first with a single and Prince Fielder drove him in with another base hit.
* Bill Hall drove in two runs with a homer.
* The Giants still don't have a home run this season.
* Aaron Rowand is in the lineup today but he is batting an injured rib cage. Aaron is a gamer... had to remind you guys just in case you didn't know that.
* This Giants starting lineup is as threatening as a 90-year-old lady in a dark alley.
* Rich Aurilia is struggling big time. Where is Daniel Ortmeier?
* We are in the top of the 3rd inning and Dave Roberts just struck out looking. He did the same a few nights ago against Derek Lowe. Another great pickup by GM Brian Sabean!
* Randy Winn just hit a single to continue the top of the 3rd.
* Starter Carlos Villanueva already has 4 Ks.
* Sanchez is looking impressive as well with 6 Ks through only three innings.
* Kevin Correia will face Manny Parra tomorrow and Barry Zito will pitch against Ben Sheets on Sunday.
* Aurilia is now batting .083!
* Just when I diss Aurilia, he hits a single! Now batting .154!
* Brian Bocock is up now. He hits a bunt single. This kid has never played above Single A before this season. He did play in the All Star Futures Game last summer during All Star Weekend in San Francisco. He is young and has a good future as a major leaguer but I don't think he is ready right now.
* Runners on 1st and 2nd for the Giants. Here comes Sanchez. He is 1 for 14 in his career as a hitter.
* Sanchez strikes out again. Villanueva now matches Sanchez with 6 Ks apiece.
* The Brewers starting lineup has catcher Jason Kendall batting 9th and the pitcher batting 8th. Kendall would be considered a "second leadoff man."
* We are heading to the top of the 5th. 3-0 Brew Crew
* Milwaukee has scored five runs in the bottom of the 5th inning. Bill Hall hit a long three run homer off Giants reliever Keiichi Yabu.
* Sanchez is responsible for seven of the eight runs and his ERA is 15.75. He does end the day with 8 Ks.
* Will the Giants score a run today?
* Where is Barry Bonds?
* Hall now has 2 homers and five RBIs so far today.
* The score is now 8-0 and we are in the top of the 6th inning.
* This will be Villanueva's last inning as he has thrown 88 pitches through five innings already.
* Things may be bad for the Giants but at least they are not the Tigers! The Tigers are on the verge of losing to the White Sox and going 0-4 to start the season. It is 8-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning in Detroit.
* The Giants just scored a run! Rowand doubled and Jose Castillo sent him home with another double. It is now 8-1.
* Aurilia just drove in Castillo with a single! 8-2 Brewers. Aurilia ups his batting average to .214 with the RBI single.
* This game is getting way out of hand now. We are STILL in the bottom of the 6th inning and it is now 11-2 Brewers.
* Now it is 12-2 as Hall gets his sixth RBI of the afternoon!
* Giants reliever Brad Hennessey has given his team no relief as he has given up five hits and gotten only one out. Another run comes in so it is 13-2. They keep on scoring runs as I type!
* This will be it for me for this afternoon. Next game is tomorrow morning at 10:05 am in the West Coast.

SF Giants Are Ready for 100 Losses in 2008

The San Francisco Giants embarked on their journey to 100 plus losses by losing to the Dodgers yesterday 5-0. Brad Penny and three relievers shut out the pathetic Giants.

Barry Zito got the loss and his fastball was in the low to mid 80s. The only thing high about Zito is his ERA which is 7.20 after the horrid outing. Zito says his arm is fine and he is not injured. Could Zito have been using steroids and other drugs with the A's?
He used to pitch in the high 80s before but now has no velocity at all. He only struck out one batter all game.

If Zito cannot beat the Fresno Grizzlies, there was no chance he would beat the Dodgers yesterday afternoon. Zito had a tough outing against the Giants Triple A squad last week. Some fans are probably thinking the Giants dumped the wrong Barry.

There was nothing likeable about the game if you were a Giants fan. The pathetic lineup could do nothing right. I wonder how Matt Cain feels as he will be pitching tonight. If he doesn't pitch a perfect game, he probably has no shot of winning tonight.

Don't feel sorry for these unwatchable losers though. Zito and Aaron Rowand got big contracts and the weak economy won't hurt them as much as it hurts the fans. The Giants think their fans are dumb if they continue to watch the worst team in baseball play. It seems the only winners this year are Barry Bonds and KTVU. Bonds doesn't have to carry this team on his back anymore and KTVU doesn't hold the TV rights to Giants games anymore.

2008 Giants Ready To Begin Dismal Season

Spring training is almost over and the Giants, ready or not, will be heading up north for their final exhibition games on the weekend. This year will most likely be filled with lots of pain and agony. This roster is full of players that might not be major-league caliber and also not very likeable.

There will be no Barry Bonds to save the day this time. The most popular player they have is shortstop Omar Vizquel who is injured to start the season. Their big free agent acquisition, Aaron Rowand, is a good but not great player. According to the Giants marketing department, he is quite the "gamer" though. The highest paid player on the team is Barry Zito.

Zito may be likeable to young girls and Hollywood starlets but he does not have many fans at 24 Willie Mays Plaza. Zito was probably the most booed Giant last season. With his pompous attitude, high ERA, and rich contract, he is a big target for angry and disappointed fans after every horrific outing. When he shows up at fan functions, he shows as much passion and energy as a gay man at the Playboy Mansion.

The media can bash Bonds all they want but he was beloved by many fans. Who doesn't like to watch baseball history or long home runs? Bonds had the whole Bay Area flocking to AT&T Park every season. No one on the team can fill up seats like Bonds could.

Who cares about Kevin Frandsen or Daniel Ortmeier? Does anyone like Dave Roberts besides Red Sox Nation? Has he done anything good since stealing bases against Mariano Rivera in the ALCS a few years ago? How about Randy Winn and Ray Durham?

The veterans on this team are just playing out their careers on a losing team and collecting a paycheck. The younger guys on the team like Fred Lewis just want to be up in the big leagues and are more concerned about that than winning.

This team is going nowhere but down in 2008. The problem is they won't even be loveable losers. There will be packed houses when the Mets, Cubs, and Dodgers come to town, but half of the fans will be wearing the visiting team's hats and jerseys. If you thought last season was bad with Bonds, imagine what will happen this year.

SF Giants Are Disrespecting Their Fans

Any Giants fan who renewed their season tickets for the 2008 season must be a gluten for punishment. This season hasn't even started yet as we are still in spring training, but the team is already showing many negative signs.

Injuries are mounting due to the veterans getting older, and the youngsters are underperforming as well.

The Giants are trying to trick the fans into thinking the team is full of hard-nosed gamers. They want you to believe that Kevin Frandsen and Daniel Ortmeier are hot young prospects who every team would covet. The reality is that if you want to see some real good young prospects who play hard, I suggest you check out the Oakland A's across the Bay.

Players such as first baseman Daric Burton and catcher Kurt Suzuki are top prospects who will play hard and have a lot of talent. GM Billy Beane is one of the best GMs in baseball and knows what he is doing by rebuilding with youngsters. The fans in the Easty Bay have great faith in him and their minor league clubs are stacked with potential superstars.

Can you say the same about GM Brian Sabean for the Giants? The Giants and Sabean are just deceiving the fans if they tell everyone that this team is better without Barry Bonds. Fans in San Francisco know how bad the offense was when Bonds was out of the lineup last year due to him taking a day off or having an injury. There won't be any difference this year.

Giants officials wished they had the All Star Game this year instead of last year. Barry Bonds was the main attraction in 2007 due to the home run chase. They also held their fans hostage by making fans purchase season tickets in order to be assured they would get All Star tickets. Many of the very same season ticket holders are now cancelling their season tickets. It appears that Aaron Rowand isn't the attraction and draw that Bonds was. Who would have believed that?

This team has the potential to lose 100 games. Every team in their division got better and improved during the offseason. Barry Zito is already rounding into regular season form. He gave up 8 runs today against the Royals and is now 0-3 this spring.

The Giants are having a horrible spring. They can't hit or pitch well enough to win games. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox can lose every game during the exhibition season and no one would be worried. A weak team like the Giants need to win games in the spring in order to gain confidence and a winning attitude.

If Sabean was smart, he would have traded Noah Lowry last season. Lowry is now out until the end of April with an arm injury. He has absolutely no trade value at the moment. The Giants sure could have traded him to a team for a bat.

I suggest the Giants swallow their pride and resign Mr.Bonds. This would help their offense and also bring in fans to the ballpark. Unfortunately, I am not the GM or the owner of this downtrodden team. The best way for fans to show their displeasure will be by not attending games. Maybe after seeing many empty green seats will Peter Magowan realize what a big mistake he made in letting Bonds go and resigning Sabean to a contract extension.