Tag: Javier Lopez

Spring Training: In the Ballpark

On By In Write FieldIn Baseball, Sports Photography, Spring TrainingLeave a comment
SF Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford
SF Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford

Another Spring… another Spring Training in Scottsdale, Arizona. As usual I went bipartisan, splitting things right down the middle: three San Francisco Giants games, and two Cleveland Indians games.

I ate too much animal protein and soft serve ice cream, and indulged in plenty of people watching. (The latter wasn’t always pretty. I don’t claim to be Stacy London, but come on baseball fans – even I can see it’s time to up your fashion game.)

I took in a few new ballparks this year, and discovered that — like snowflakes — no two are the same. Camelback Ranch (home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox), is fairly new and fancy, with the biggest, best bratwurst I’ve seen at a stadium. The meatball sub was tempting, but dangerous in the midday Arizona heat.

Despite its relative swankiness, Camelback Ranch has no cup holders – which I found astounding. How does something like that happen, in a place where temperatures top 90 degrees in the shade by April?

Foot glovesSpeaking of cup holders… at the Seattle Mariners’ beautiful stadium in Peoria, my seat mate shamelessly STOLE mine. I don’t mean she mistook my cup holder for hers. Nope, she used her cup holder for her water, and mine for her coffee. I let this slide because she was wearing foot gloves – in my opinion a far more heinous crime. If she could wear those in public, who knew what else she was capable of?!?!

At Maryville, parking is atrocious. I had a ticket to a Brewers’ game on day one, but after circling the park for at least 30 minutes in search of a garage or lot with space available, I finally called the game on account of extreme vexation and headed to the mall for some retail therapy. (Baseball’s loss was Anthropologie’s gain.)

At Scottsdale stadium (the San Francisco Giants vs. the Cincinnati Reds) I sat in front of two hard partying women in their 50s, who delighted in photo bombing their neighbors’ selfies. They also found the common baseball expression “can o’ corn” exceptionally entertaining, and dedicated an entire inning to listing other canned vegetables that could have been featured in the metaphor. They finally ran out of steam with “hearts of palm”.

“Can o’ corn” vs. “Can o’ hearts of palm.” Discuss amongst yourselves.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tim Lincecum: Here Today…

On By In Write FieldIn Baseball, Sports Photography4 Comments

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum enters the dugout at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA. September 9, 2013.Monday was probably my last chance to celebrate Lincecum Day at AT&T Park in 2013.  Tim Lincecum is scheduled to pitch at home just once more, against the dreaded first-place Los Angeles Dodgers, but I have no plans to attend the game.  I decided the odds for a positive outcome were better against the Colorado Rockies, and I was right.  While the San Francisco Giants offense didn’t come through in time for Timmy to get the “W”, we beat Colorado in a 10th inning walk-off thanks to a single by Brandon Belt.

Despite the win, the Giants were officially eliminated from the National League West pennant race on Monday.  For some reason, this development was not announced over AT&T’s P.A. system.

Will Tim Lincecum wear a Giants uniform next season?  I hope so.  Yes, I have a soft spot for the guy that obviously biases me — but if we fail to keep Timmy… who will we replace him with?  His 4.67 ERA is disappointing, yet Matt Cain’s 2013 ERA is 4.53 and Ryan Vogelsong’s is 4.88. And please, let’s not talk about Barry Zito!

In other words, it’s not as if pitchers with ERAs in the 2’s are just hanging around, waiting to be signed.  (In 2009, when he won his second consecutive Cy Young award, Timmy’s ERA was 2.48.)  I sometimes think San Francisco Giants fans are so spoiled by years of great pitching from Lincecum, Cain and Bumgarner, we have lost perspective.

So… here’s my humble, biased opinion on the best-case Lincecum scenario: The Giants resign Timmy to a two-year deal, while continuing to nurture prospects and shop for trades.  He threw a no-hitter once.  And he can ROCK the bullpen, based on his performance last October, so that’s an option if his performance as a starter deteriorates.

Let’s remember, Sabean, Baer and friends are businessmen, and Timmy draws crowds and puts cheeks in the seats.  Mine, to name just two.

As the baseball season enters its final weeks, enjoy these pics.  I’ll be on hand for the last Giants game of the season (fan appreciation weekend!), as is my custom.  Madison Bumgarner is slated to pitch.  Then… bring on the NBA!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

On Saturday Night, SF Giants Were One and Done

On By In Write FieldIn Baseball, Sports PhotographyLeave a comment
Celebration!
Celebration!

The San Francisco media began its “magic number” countdown about a week ago — the magic number being the number of wins required to clinch a playoff spot, regardless how well/poorly the runner-up team (i.e. the LA Dodgers) performs.  By Thursday morning, the San Francisco Giants’ magic number was five.

Because I had tickets to both Saturday’s and Sunday’s games against the San Diego Padres, I did more math than is advisable for a history major, trying to pinpoint the likelihood I’d be at AT&T Park to see the Giants win the National League West.  It’s not really about statistical probability, of course.  Barring some kind of Red Sox-style collapse, it was only a matter of time before they clinched.  But how MUCH time would depend on how much torture the baseball gods chose to inflict.

The gods were merciful, and the Giants beat the Padres handily on Saturday night to win the division.  Nervous energy hung in the air like the Bay Area marine layer, but the team played like vets who had been there before.  No torture necessary.

When Angel Pagan caught Mark Kotsay’s pop up to end the game, the place went insane.  It’s hard to describe the electricity and elation in such an enormous venue, where everyone is pulling for the same thing (or, “on the same rope” as Zen master/GM Brian Sabean likes to say). Everywhere you looked, fans were smiling, high-fiving and hugging, and no one was rushing for the exits to beat the traffic.  I stuck around until Giants’ president and CEO Larry Baer got hold of the microphone, and began his shameless plug for playoff merchandise.

The fact that starters – including my particular favorite, Tim Lincecum – didn’t play on Sunday was a bit of a disappointment, although no one could begrudge them their day off.  It gave the rookies some valuable playing time.  It also allowed people like me, who have been laser-focused on the playoffs, to just relax in the stellar weather, unclench our jaws, put down our cameras…. and enjoy the game.