Flotilla In The Mist

In the bottom of the 3rd inning Barry Bonds extended his Major League record for career walks with his 2,527th. The count was 3-0 before Rick Vanden Hurk put one pitch over the plate. Bonds walked on the next pitch.

I was standing out on the right field landing. You could purchase a standing-room only seat (pardon the oxymoron; I guess it's SRO ticket) for $14. Two college-aged guys I spoke with out there had done just that this morning on-line.

It's fun out there. From the foul pole to about 30 yards inward (i.e, from the "309" sign to the "365" sign), there are only three rows of seats. After that it's the promenade, which is well-stocked this evening. In fact, ushers are only allowing a certain amount of fans onto the walkway at a time. There's a lot of unhappy fans at the corner waiting for their opportunity to catch a historic homer in hopes that Todd McFarlane will overpay for it.

The vistas are good out there, once you get past the ushers. Standing there you can see the field, of course. Look off to your right, just beyond the left field upper deck, and you can see the fog beginning to enshroud the Bay Bridge. Look behind you, and there's the flotilla of kayaks patrolling McCovey Cove. I counted 18 kayaks in the 3rd inning.

Meanwhile, Barry Zito is being booed so much you'd think he was not giving Bonds a good pitch to hit. The Giant starter has allowed eight hits and six runs through four innings, and worse, kept us waiting for the next Bonds at-bat by doing so. Zito looks like anything but a staff ace this evening.