The Bay Area in Perspective

Garciapara and Drew Score, originally uploaded by drtaxsacto.

Tonight we missed the Rivercats game and went to AT&T Stadium to see the Dodgers whoop the Giants - 14-7 (The Cats won but the Sidewinder's lucky number is down to 10 - any combinations of Sidewinder wins or Cats losses puts us out of the playoffs).

There are a couple of things about the rivalry. When you go to Chavez for game you don't hear the intensity of fervor that you do in SF. All through the game there was the chant BEAT LA (They did not). Bank of America (initially a quintessential San Francisco financial institution) gave out free hats to the kiddies - Beat LA (by the way B or A is now Charlotte NC based - sorry SF).

The first two innings SF looked like SJ (the San Jose Giants are the Giants Single A Club) - two errors on one play. By the second inning the "Giants" were down double digits. The Giants had a couple of innings where they began to catch up. Barry Bonds got in for a short period and did zip.

Vin Scully, whose broadcast career began with the Dodgers in 1950, was there tonight and I also got a picture of him. As I wrote earlier in the year, I met Scully a couple of years ago. It was a real experience. He remains the prime radio voice of baseball. Scully succeeded the legendary Red Barber and actually broadcast with him for his first three years. Barber gave Scully some advice about how to be a good broadcaster - he suggested that the younger anouncer do all of the following - remain quiet and let the crowd noise be heard in a particularly dramatic moment; don’t get too close to the players; remain unbiased and fair; give the score of the game on a regular basis as listeners are constantly tuning in and out; and be yourself on the mike. Scully added a phenomenal knowledge of baseball history to add color to his commentary. He is truly an American treasure.

One other comment about the game. Tonight's game had 42,000 fans. The traffic into SF was horrible. Coming home it was better. AT&T is an expensive evening. Their big hotdog was expensive, so was the beer. There is a great variety of food types and lots of different types of beer. But Raley Field is about as good and much easier to get in and out of. Parking, close to the field (instead of $5) is $30.

For my money, the quality of the baseball in Sacramento and the cheaper evening and easier in and out - makes it a much better venue.