Greetings from the East San Francisco Bay area. I’m out here with my Dad for a few days. It’s my first full week of vacation in 2012.
Rain is in the forecast for the duration of our stay but that’s ok. Much of the precip that fell during the day and night on Tuesday was of the misty, drizzly variety.
After a wonderful bowl of pozole at the Taco Grill (part of the Fruitvale Public Market) on 12th St. in Oakland, we hit the Coliseum for Tuesday night’s Royals/Athletics game.
We sat under a rain-protected overhang in the mezzanine level behind home plate. The ticket was priced at $25.
Despite no discernable change in the rain’s intensity as we approached and then went past the time of the game’s scheduled first pitch, the decision was made to take the field’s tarp off at 7:10 PM. The game started at 7:48 PM.
It rained steadily throughout the contest and then opened up cats and dogs in the Royals’ half of the eighth inning. Had those in charge started the game on time to begin with, it likely would have been played to its fair conclusion.
Instead the game was scrapped a few minutes after 11 PM. The Royals won 3-nil. The A’s mustered just one hit, a third inning rip from the nine hitter in their order (Cliff Pennington).
23-year-old lefty Danny Duffy went six strong for KC. He was mid-90’s on the gun all night. He struck out eight from a pretty weak Oakland lineup.
The warm and personable former Met and current Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur continued a blossoming friendship that he initiated last year with a hearty group of A’s fans who sit in right field. During the second rain delay, Frenchie stood in a pouring rain to take pictures and sign autographs with the A’s fans who had been cheering for him all night.
Attendance was announced at 10,670 but there couldn’t have been more than five grand in the house. Members of the grounds crew paused in their throw-down of speedy dry when a tape recorded version of the national anthem was played. I’ll speak later about the A’s efforts to relocate but let me just say that the Coliseum is a fine place to watch a game. Easily accessible by public transit, the ballpark is outdated but not at all lacking in the basic necessities.
The massive amount of foul territory down both lines makes pop ups near the stands a real adventure for the corner infielders. The bullpens are old school. Relief pitchers are almost completely exposed to the elements.
We go back to the Coliseum in a few hours for the series finale. The highlight of this trip comes Friday afternoon when we hit the Giants home opener across the bay.
The vibe here is exceptional.