Well, the Company Was Good
Jun. 27th, 2008 10:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevin_standleeI was halfway to the train station this afternoon when I realized that I had forgotten my orange Giants shirt and my radio, but by then it was too late to return without risking missing my train. The train was right on time. The assistant conductor of the Amtrak Capitol yelled at me, "This is not ACE!" as I started to board. (Because there is an ACE train to Stockton that calls not long after this Capitol train to Oakland and Sacramento, people boarding the wrong train is a recurring problem.)
I called back, "I know! Baseball! Coliseum!" The reason she thought I might be getting on the wrong train was that I was wearing my ticket pouch around my neck; many ACE passengers carry their proof-of-payment tickets on such pouches so they can doze on the trip back to Stockton without the ACE conductors having to awaken them for their tickets.
As I mentioned, I got to the game way early -- before the gates opened, even. I walked 1 2/3 times around the Coliseum before they opened Gate D, which happened to be the nearest to my seat. This was only the second time I'd been to the Coliseum, and the first time for a regular season game. I had lots of time to look around the place. It's not quite as dumpy as Candlestick Park, but it does have that rather cold, forbidding look about it. The concessions are better over at the Giants ballpark, too. After making a circuit of the place, I decided to get a giant atomic hot link and a soda. As I was heading from the hot dog stand to my seats, I came upon![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gil_liant and melchar, who had just arrived. They went off to get some food and I went to our seats.
There wasn't much to see. The Giants game was late last night due to a rain delay and then they had to fly back from Cleveland, so they didn't hold batting practice today. Oh, well. Trey and Barbara joined me and we ate our food and looked over the field and chatted. Eventually, there was a baseball game, about which the less said, the better for Giants fans, although we did lead for a while.
There was a particular comedy of mental errors involving right fielder Brian Horwitz. He and center fielder Aaron Rowland collided on a long fly ball in the sixth inning with runners on first and third. Horwitz did catch the ball as both players tumbled to the ground. The runner from third was going to score anyway on the sac fly, but the fielding mental error also allowed the runner from first to advance. Later in the same inning, Horwitz made two more mental errors, throwing to the wrong bases twice and giving up free bases to A's runners in the process.
The next time Horwitz came up, with one out, it looked like luck might be swinging back Horwitz's way, as the snake-bit right fielder hit into what looked like a routine ground out, but for a bad throw from the A's shortstop. Trey looked at Barbara and me and said, "Watch out; he'll get picked off."
Well, it wasn't a pickoff play, but the next batter hit a line drive to the second baseman, who threw back to first for an easy double play. Like I said, snake bit.
In the middle of the eighth inning, with the A's up 4-1, lots of people started heading for the exits. A loud A's fan two rows ahead of me started heckling the Giants fans for leaving early. He turned around and looked at me and said, "Oh, well, you're still here."
Perceiving that everyone around us was in a good-natured mood, even us Giants supporters, I theatrically stood up, affected great offense, and loudly declaimed to all around us, "What do you think I am, a Dodger fan?" That got a laugh from everyone.
The Giants went down tamely in the top of the 9th, and we made our way out to Trey and Barbara's car. The backup getting out of the game was not nearly as awful as those I remember from my days fighting my way out of Candlestick Park. I guided Barbara in to the place here in Fremont and thanked them for the ride and a fun evening at the ball game. I would have preferred if my team won, but it was still enjoyed myself: "Worth what I paid for it," as we say in BASFA reviewing-speak.
I called back, "I know! Baseball! Coliseum!" The reason she thought I might be getting on the wrong train was that I was wearing my ticket pouch around my neck; many ACE passengers carry their proof-of-payment tickets on such pouches so they can doze on the trip back to Stockton without the ACE conductors having to awaken them for their tickets.
As I mentioned, I got to the game way early -- before the gates opened, even. I walked 1 2/3 times around the Coliseum before they opened Gate D, which happened to be the nearest to my seat. This was only the second time I'd been to the Coliseum, and the first time for a regular season game. I had lots of time to look around the place. It's not quite as dumpy as Candlestick Park, but it does have that rather cold, forbidding look about it. The concessions are better over at the Giants ballpark, too. After making a circuit of the place, I decided to get a giant atomic hot link and a soda. As I was heading from the hot dog stand to my seats, I came upon
gil_liant and melchar, who had just arrived. They went off to get some food and I went to our seats.There wasn't much to see. The Giants game was late last night due to a rain delay and then they had to fly back from Cleveland, so they didn't hold batting practice today. Oh, well. Trey and Barbara joined me and we ate our food and looked over the field and chatted. Eventually, there was a baseball game, about which the less said, the better for Giants fans, although we did lead for a while.
There was a particular comedy of mental errors involving right fielder Brian Horwitz. He and center fielder Aaron Rowland collided on a long fly ball in the sixth inning with runners on first and third. Horwitz did catch the ball as both players tumbled to the ground. The runner from third was going to score anyway on the sac fly, but the fielding mental error also allowed the runner from first to advance. Later in the same inning, Horwitz made two more mental errors, throwing to the wrong bases twice and giving up free bases to A's runners in the process.
The next time Horwitz came up, with one out, it looked like luck might be swinging back Horwitz's way, as the snake-bit right fielder hit into what looked like a routine ground out, but for a bad throw from the A's shortstop. Trey looked at Barbara and me and said, "Watch out; he'll get picked off."
Well, it wasn't a pickoff play, but the next batter hit a line drive to the second baseman, who threw back to first for an easy double play. Like I said, snake bit.
In the middle of the eighth inning, with the A's up 4-1, lots of people started heading for the exits. A loud A's fan two rows ahead of me started heckling the Giants fans for leaving early. He turned around and looked at me and said, "Oh, well, you're still here."
Perceiving that everyone around us was in a good-natured mood, even us Giants supporters, I theatrically stood up, affected great offense, and loudly declaimed to all around us, "What do you think I am, a Dodger fan?" That got a laugh from everyone.
The Giants went down tamely in the top of the 9th, and we made our way out to Trey and Barbara's car. The backup getting out of the game was not nearly as awful as those I remember from my days fighting my way out of Candlestick Park. I guided Barbara in to the place here in Fremont and thanked them for the ride and a fun evening at the ball game. I would have preferred if my team won, but it was still enjoyed myself: "Worth what I paid for it," as we say in BASFA reviewing-speak.
