Los Angeles Dodgers 4 at San Francisco Giants 5 - April 12, 2011

After a short flight from Tokyo, I landed in sunny San Francisco to start a 3-week journey across northern California and Nevada with the hope of watching 25 sporting events during that time.

I was quickly reminded about how things don't work as well in America as in Japan. There was the 40 minute wait at immigration including a rather thorough questioning by the final inspector. He asked me what sports I was planning to see, so I started enumerating my schedule (today in San Francisco, tomorrow in Sacramento, Friday in Stanford...) and he seemed bemused, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Surely nobody spends 3 weeks just watching sports. As I entered the 10th day his eyes glazed over and he waved me through, shaking his head in what I will assume to be awe.

When I got to my hotel, the room key was inoperative which necessitated two trips back to the front desk. Once I got in, the wi-fi didn't work and the TV remote was on the blink. I don't need the remote as I just put the tube on ESPN and leave it there for the day, but I do need Internet access. After a few minutes though, it was fixed, and now I'm able to bring you this exciting post.

Getting to the Park

I was staying out near the airport and took CalTrain to get downtown. There is a small, free parking lot at South San Francisco station which is just 20 minutes from the city. An all-day train pass for zone 1 is just $5 (the same as 2 one-way tickets, but you avoid the hassle of buying a ticket on the return leg) and drops you off right next to AT&T Park. If you are coming from the south and want to avoid the trouble of driving downtown, stop in here and take the train. Note that one station further south is zone 2 and the one-day pass jumps up to $9. As well, service is quite rare, about once an hour during the afternoon and limited after the game. There is a 10:40 scheduled train and if you miss that, the last train of the evening is at midnight. I am not sure if they run extra trains after Giant games.

If you drive downtown, parking is $20 close to the stadium and cheaper as you get further out. There are other options such as BART and the Muni that may be better depending on where you are coming from.

Another Roadtripper

Before the game, I had a chance to meet up with Andrew Van Cleve, who is another sports roadtripper. I first met Andrew last year in Chicago where he resides, but he is a native of San Francisco and is here visiting his parents. We toured around the ballpark environs with his father and caught up over a beer. When it came time to get tickets though, we couldn't find three in a row at a reasonable price, so we had to split up. But he did provide me with one piece of interesting news - StubHub sells tickets right up to game time. As one would expect, prices drop dramatically as first pitch nears, so if you live close to the stadium and can print out the ticket and head over.

AT&T Park

Before I met Andrew, I did the ballpark walkaround. There are plenty of reminders that San Francisco won the 2010 World Series scattered about, a few are shown below:

The park is still beautiful on the outside and in perhaps the most scenic location of any MLB stadium:

However, I noticed how the crowd has changed since the Giants won the World Series. There are far more casual fans here and this made things inside insanely crowded. Lineups for the men's room were extremely long even before the game started and didn't let up all night long. Walking the lower concourse between innings was a struggle. Fortunately, the Giants offer plenty of standing room, so I was able to move around and find a good spot for most of the game, away from the wandering masses.

I'm going to postpone a detailed review of the park until I come back next week as I didn't have time to really tour the inside. You really have to get in as soon as the gates open to beat the crowd and enjoy the park in relative calm.

The Game

I hadn't slept in about 28 hours when first pitch happened at 7:18 pm. I was worried about falling asleep but the Giants and Dodgers put on an entertaining affair that kept me enthralled and reminded me just how good baseball can be.

Tim Lincecum (above) started for San Francisco while the Dodgers sent Chad Billingsley to the hill. The first three innings were scoreless although neither hurler was overpowering. In the 4th, LA managed 4 hits around a Brandon Belt error to score 3 runs. Giants fans started booing here. Yeah, your team sucks people, and Lincecum is crap. I mean, you are one week into defending a championship with one of the game's premier pitchers on the mound and you are upset at a 3-0 deficit? Casual fans are also fairweather fans, and those types dominate when a team wins; they are also the quickest to leave at the first sign of difficulty.

Anyway, the Giants got 2 back in their half of the fourth on back-to-back RBI hits from Buster Posey and Pedro Sandoval. In the 5th they took the lead on RBI singles by Aaron Rowand and Posey. The fairweather fans went crazy. They don't seem to understand baseball is a long, long season. Manic ups and downs this early is just silly.

Tony Gwynn Jr. went 0-5. Dad was not impressed.

Lincecum continued to struggle and was finally removed in the 6th with the bases loaded and only one out. Guillermo Mota relieved and got two key outs to maintain the 1-run lead. But Jeremy Affeldt took over in the 7th and promptly gave up a solo homer to pinch-hitter Marcus Thames. Boooooooo! Affeldt is terrible! Booooooo!

The baseball gods must have been snoozing tonight, because the Giants fans were immediately rewarded for their hostility. Rowand led off the bottom half of the 7th and promptly crushed the first pitch from Blake Hawksworth to the deepest part of the park, legging out a triple. Hawksworth then unleashed a wild pitch and Rowand raced home to give the Giants the 5-4 lead and the fans responded appropriately.

After a scoreless eighth, Brian Wilson (above) came in to pitch the 9th. His ERA was 33.75 after one disastrous appearance, but he showed no signs of letting it bother him, striking out the side in 14 pitches to lower the ERA to 19.29. The crowd went wild; disaster had been averted as the Giants won to move to 5-6.

For me, it was a wonderful way to start the trip. A ton of energy in the park, and although I am slightly exaggerating, some of it was negative which surprised me. The whole season should be fun for the Giants' fans, their team is not likely to repeat so this is the time to revel in last year's success. Leave the booing to Oakland fans, at least those who are still there.

Next Up

I'm in Sacramento now where I spent the afternoon watching the AAA River Cats take on Toronto's affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s. In the evening, I managed to find a good ticket to what is likely to be the final NBA game in Sacramento. Check back for reports tomorrow.

Best,

Sean

Read More

The Future of Ticket Prices

One of my biggest expenses as a sports road tripper is game tickets. Next to accommodation, the actual sporting events are where most of my cash goes. Naturally, I try to be as thrifty as possible. I rarely buy tickets in advance because my plans often change and TicketMaster fees are outrageous. I either use the box office on game day or find someone who has an extra. At all times though, I'm aware of the face value of the ticket so I have an idea what I should be paying.

In the olden days (about 10 years ago), teams generally had the same pricing structure for each game during the season. A ticket would cost the same regardless of the occasion or the opponent. It was easy to study the seating chart and figure out the best place to sit as well as what would be a reasonable amount to pay to a scalper. Well, those simple days are fast disappearing. First there was variable pricing, where teams would set three or four pricing structures depending on the opponent. Rivalry games, opening day, and big stars generate more demand from fans, and therefore prices are higher. Similarly, a weak visiting team would see prices drop. For teams, it made good business sense to maximize revenue by charging more for popular events. For fans buying on the secondary market, it wasn't much of a problem as the prices in each category didn't fluctuate during the season, so you still knew what the face value was.

Now, however, comes a whole new structure: dynamic pricing. Check out the San Francisco Giants' ticket page. As I write this, there are 20 seating options for the next 6 home games listed. But each seating option has a different price for each game, and these prices can change as the game gets closer. They use the term market pricing, which I guess means that the price goes up as more people buy tickets and game day approaches. Yikes! This is bad news for me, as I like to buy my tickets on game day, again to avoid the extra charges and to have maximum flexibility. Now I have to worry about the price being substantially higher on game day, much like airlines raising flight prices as the flight date nears. It's a no-win situation for me.

The Giants are not the only team doing this. The Sacramento Kings have also been using a similar system recently. The game that I am hoping to see on Wednesday is likely to be their last game in the city. Demand has skyrocketed and the Kings have consequently jacked up ticket prices. Upper level seats are now $154 plus a $16.25 "convenience fee" for my TicketMaster friends. Of course, there are many Sacramento fans that are willing to pay that for what might be the last chance to see a pro basketball game in their hometown. As a visitor with no connection to the team, I'm not so willing. So I'll likely be on the outside unless I get lucky. Ironically the game is being dubbed as Fan Appreciation night, which really means "We appreciate one last chance to gouge you before we head off in search of richer fans".

Another relatively new introduction to ticket structures is known as game-day pricing. Many clubs now add a couple of dollars to the ticket price if you buy on the day of the game. Another way to look at it is advance purchases are discounted, which is fair enough. As a road tripper though, I am usually only in town for a day and don't want to risk a rainout or cancellation which would leave me stuck with the ticket. Not to mention that buying in advance incurs the ridiculous fees charged by TicketMaster. Either way, it makes the game just that much more expensive.

I expect to see more of this dynamic pricing on my future travels. I'm not sure how it will affect me, but it will be something worth tracking. I'm interested to see how things play out in San Francisco next week. Perhaps, like airlines, they'll have cheaper standby seats that only open up a few minutes before the game starts. But I doubt it. I think the only thing that I can rely on is that these extended trips are going to get more and more expensive as time goes on.

Best,

Sean

Read More

Fan Violence

A San Francisco Giants fan was beaten up in the Dodger Stadium parking lot after the home opener last Thursday night. He was wearing Giants' gear and was taunted by two Dodgers fans, who hit him in back of the head, causing him to fall down and bang his head on the pavement. The two cowards then proceeded to kick him before escaping into a waiting minivan. I'm not sure how nobody in the area managed to get the license plate of the van given that Dodger Stadium parking lots are notoriously difficult to leave after games. Regardless, the two scum who committed the act have yet to come forward, which is not surprising given that those who gang up on somebody aren't going to have the balls to face the punishment they deserve. Authorities describe them as Latino men in their early 20s, but have no solid leads. Turns out that the victim is a paramedic and a father of two, just to make the story sadder.

The Dodgers also look pretty bad in this, with owner Frank McCourt stating, "It's very, very unfair to take what was otherwise a fantastic day — everything from the weather to the result of the game to just the overall experience — and to have a few individuals mar that." With that stunted emotional outlook, it's no wonder he's getting divorced.

As someone who travels to sporting events, often in the colours of the visiting team, this story makes me sick. I've been yelled at, had peanuts thrown at me, and had the home team mascot cover me in silly string, but it was all good natured. Unfortunately, it just takes one idiot who feels that rooting for a different team gives him the right to ruin your experience and possibly your life. Teams have a responsibility to protect visiting fans and as Paul Oberjuce writes, the Dodgers have not been doing it. If it means selling less booze or maintaining a list of problem fans, so be it. But teams are loath to forgo any revenue streams, so don't expect any real changes. If you are a visiting fan, be aware that your safety is your own responsibility in Los Angeles.

I'll be attending a Dodgers-Giants game in San Francisco next week and wondering if anything will happen. I'm not a fan of either team in particular and just hoping to see a good game, but you never know if some inebriated Giants' supporters will try to take revenge. I expect security to be tight and obvious in an attempt to deter more moronic behaviour, and Dodger fans might be a bit less obvious in their cheering. In soccer, hooligans have led to fans being forced to sit apart from each other which means that you get a crappy seat when you are a visiting fan. Here's hoping that American sports don't follow that path because of two louts in LA.

Update: I'm adding a bit to this post as it's getting a lot of media play back home. The victim, Bryan Stow, remains in a coma and might have brain damage, while the perpetrators continue to hide. Their friends and family know who they are but no one has the courage to do the right thing. Shameful, but not unexpected, as cowards run together. I doubt that they are even aware of the damage they are doing to their own community, as all young Latino males at Dodger games are now suspect. It's going to be racial profiling all over again.

ESPN has also been following the story closely. Skip Bayless, America's most obnoxious sports commentator, said that visiting fans shouldn't wear their team's paraphernalia or cheer too loudly. I know it's his job to be outrageous, but this is just stupid. Watching your team on the road can be a great experience and is the whole point behind the sports road trip. It is fun to get to know the locals and have a friendly rivalry during the game. Unfortunately, a few fans base their self-worth purely on the teams they follow and cannot deal with the fact that there are people who root for other teams. It is because of these idiots that I need to keep my Leafs jersey at home? No! Simply put, teams need to protect visiting fans just as much as they do their own supporters. Drunkards need to be immediately removed and repeat offenders banned for life. Security has to be noticeably present throughout the venue, including the parking lots, until well after the game. Visiting fans should be aware of their situation and have an avenue to report any potential problems. And if you are a visiting fan, be mature. Cheering and friendly heckling is OK, being an asshole is not. If your team wins, enjoy it but don't rub it in. You are not a better person just because your team is better. Anyway, the sporting gods never take kindly to such behaviour and will punish you eventually.

The Giants are dedicating the first game of their LA series to Stow among other initiatives. In L.A., there will be far more security at Dodger Stadium. For the rest of us, all we can hope for now is that Mr. Stow recovers and this story stops other morons from taking out their personal issues on those wearing different team colours.

Best,

Sean

Read More

San Francisco Giants 7 at Arizona Diamondbacks 8 - May 20, 2010

I'm back in Phoenix for the 3rd time in 3 years. I love the hot desert weather, the In-N-Out burgers, and the scenic drives nearby. Of course, right now Arizona is going through some problems with their new immigration law that permits police to stop those they suspect of being illegal immigrants. As a foreigner in Japan, that sort of treatment is something we are also subject to. It's never happened to me, but friends have reported the occasional encounter with the authorities. I won't get all political here, but I am not boycotting Arizona when there's baseball to be seen.

Friday's Front Row

I posted on Chase Field last year, but there is one thing that I didn't try that I'd like so mention. It's the Friday's Front Row restaurant that is located well above the left field fence. You can eat here before the game and catch batting practice before the gates are opened. If you want to sit there during the game, there are a variety of options, with the most reasonable being the Upper Deck Tables at $30 per person with the entire ticket price being credited to food and drink. As you can see below, you are far away, but it might be worth trying once, and the food wasn't that bad.

The Game

With that said, let's get to the game. I was fortunate that 2-time defending Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum (above) was scheduled to start for the visiting Giants. He leads the majors in strikeouts while the D-backs lead all teams in times fanned, failing to make contact on nearly 25% of plate appearances! So I expected a K-fest tonight.

Just before the game started, the roof opened as it was a perfect 92 degrees outside. Beats the crappy cold cricket I sat through in London last week.

Rodrigo Lopez took the hill for the Diamondbacks and gave up a run in the first on a Pedro Sandoval double (below) that scored Freddy Sanchez, who was just activated off the DL.

Though staked to the early lead, Lincecum was not sharp. It was immediately noticeable as he walked Conor Jackson with one out and then gave up a monster fly ball to Stephen Drew. Chase Field is 413 feet to center and I'd say this ball went 412. But it was just a loud out and Justin Upton struck out to end the first.

Lincecum walked another in the second and then gave a free pass to Lopez in the third. A lead-off double by Adam LaRoche in the fourth went nowhere but it was obvious that Lincecum was struggling, missing with a lot of his pitches and looking frustrated on the mound.

With the Giants up 2-0 in the fifth, Lincecum gave up a 1-out single to Kelly Johnson and then walked Jackson for the second time. Drew then drove the ball down the right-field line that rolled around in the corner, resulting in a 2-run triple. A sacrifice fly by Upton gave the D-backs a 3-2 lead. After a walk to LaRoche, strikeout king Mark Reynolds, who had already K'd twice, crushed a fastball to deep left and Arizona were up by 3. Lincecum finished the inning but his night was over. He had a most interesting line though:

IP H  R  ER  BB  K  NP  BF
5  5  5  5   5   6  100 25

Twenty pitches per inning - certainly his worst start of the season and one that put him in line for his first loss. But Lopez couldn't hold it, giving up back-to-back jacks to Jose Uribe and John Bowker to start the 6th. After a walk and single, Lopez was gone but Sergio Romo was not much help, giving up a sacrifice fly to Sanchez and then intentionally walking Sandoval before Aubrey Huff doubled home two more runs to make it 7-5 Giants. That's back-to-back 5-run innings, an uncommon sight.

In the 7th, Arizona fought back on doubles by LaRoche, Reynolds, and pinch-hitter Chris Young that tied the game at 7. Jeremy Affeldt was on in the 8th and gave up a leadoff double to Jackson, who moved to third on a botched double-play ball off the bat of LaRoche (below).

If Uribe handled the toss at short, the inning would have ended, but he bobbled it and LaRoche was safe. With Reynolds batting, Affeldt tossed one in the dirt that bounced away from former Ottawa Lynx Eli Whiteside. Jackson gambled and took off for home. Whiteside couldn't pick up the ball and Jackson crossed safely with the go-ahead run.

Aaron Heilman continued in the 9th after pitching a perfect 8th, but he was pulled after a 2-out walk. Chad Qualls came in and struck out Uribe on 3 pitches for the save and Arizona had the 2-game sweep with an 8-7 win. Giants' manager Bruce Bochy was ejected (above) arguing the first called strike, but Uribe missed the next two by so much (below) that I don't think it made much difference.

This was not a particularly good game with the Giants walking 9 batters in just 8 innings and blowing two 2-run leads, but it was interesting. Lots of extra-base hits, some monster homers, and the home team winning in their last at-bat is entertaining at least, even at 3:14. Let's hope that's all the winning the Diamondbacks do this weekend.

Notes

The scoreboard here is incredible. The player's season stats, day's performance are shown for each appearance, and for one appearance his entire career stats are shown baseball-card style. The inning summary is also available, as well as the updated pitching line. Lots of interesting stories for each player too. Definitely the most informative scoreboard I've seen.

The Giants had an off-day last week but didn't skip their fifth starter. Lincecum pitched last week on 6-days rest and said he felt uncomfortable. I wonder if the simple decision to give him an extra day threw off his rhythm as he has walked 5 two games in a row.

With the Jays in town for the weekend, I won't do a daily posting of each game, but just a summary of the series. Also hoping to get a Suns-Lakers ticket for Sunday night. Check back early next week for all the details.

Best,

Sean

Read More