Giants Ready for Opening Home Game After Weeks of Banner Displays and Ground Preparation!

Fever is mounting as the Giants are due to play their opening home game against the Atlanta Braves in a few hours time before a sell-out crowd.

The Opening Pitcher is still being kept as a 'mystery man'.

But for weeks now, around the streets of San Francisco there has been no doubt that the Giants are coming back, and with a vengeance, as bright orange banners of their top pitchers have filled the air. Especially along the Embarcadero forming an orange avenue just up from the ballpark and towards the Bay Bridge.

While two-time Cy Young Award winner, Tim Lincecum, has had special MUNI honour. His poster has been placed on the side of  MUNI trains so Tim has been seen in action gliding around the city!

'There's Magic Inside' is the theme.

'Panda' is Pablo Sandoval. 'There's Nasty Inside' is Brian Wilson, 'Fire' is Matt Cain, and 'Hook' is Barry Zito.

By yesterday afternoon the ballpark was taped up and ready. Inside, the grass was glistening green, the pitch levelled and smooth and impeccably prepared after weeks of hard work by Head Groundsman Greg Elliott and his team.

The game starts at 1.35 pm. After three days of playing the Atlanta Braves, the Giants immediately move on to challenge the Pittsburgh Pirates, also at home. Earlier this week they beat the Houston Astros 10-4  in their opening games of the season.

Tomorrow is the Cy Young Award night when Tim Lincecum will be presented with his award at 6.30 pm before the game. At the end of the game will be fireworks, one of the Giants' popular extravaganzas that light up the Bay and McCovey Cove.

SF Giants Opener Against Houston Astros - Free Viewing at AT & T Park

It didn't need the sun, although it shone beautifully, to bring out the smiles on the faces of thousands of Giants' fans as they celebrated the opening of the 2010 season at the AT & T baseball park this afternoon.

The Giants were playing their opening game in Houston against the Astros and a free event with hotdogs, giveaways and autograph signings of former players were part of a jumobotron viewing party.

The gates at the Willie Mays Plaza opened at 3 pm and three thousand hotdogs were given away. Christin and Garron were about to tuck in. 'I love that!' Christin said of the hotdog offer.  'That's what got us walking in!'

'Fantastic!' agreed Garron. The couple work opposite the ballpark. However, Christin really does have more of an interest in the Giants than food! A San Franciscan, she is a lifelong, diehard fan who has endured many a weather-beating at the Giants' former home at Candlestick Park.

'We used to laugh at the tourists who came in their tee-shirts and shorts. We don't have to do that here, it's so warm and sunny,' she said.


Today, with the opening of the season, the Giants are celebrating the 10th Anniversary of their move from Candlestick to the AT & T Park.

Garron describes himself as a 'recent transplant' to the city. His loyalties are with the Atlanta Brewers but he had plenty of compliments for the Giants. 'I've always liked the Giants. They weren't one of my hated teams,' he said.

The game started just after 4 pm with Cy Young Award winning pitcher Tim Lincecum on the mound in Houston.

But not before a presidential Opening Pitch had been thrown by George H.W. Bush.

It wasn't long before the fans in the ballpark in San Francisco were cheering for the home runs. When John Bowker got an RBI - Run batted in, Mark, (lt), and Sean were jubilant!



With the Giants already in the lead by 3-0, there was much to celebrate!

cont in next blog

SF Giants Celebrate 10th Anniversary of Move to AT & T Park from Candlestick Park - One Lifelong Fan's Nostalgia

When the San Francisco Giants play their opening game of the season in Houston this afternoon, it will mark the tenth anniversary of their move to their home at the AT & T Park, south of the centre of the city.

David is a lifelong Giants fan who has nostalgic memories of the old Candlestick Park, the good and the bad, and their move in 2000.

'I have four brothers and my dad used to take us out to Candlestick Park, take us out to the bleachers, and back then they were bleachers, wooden benches all the way across!' he recalled.

It was probably 1968, he thought, when his dad first took him along. 'We still had Willie Mays out there, Willie McCovey, the Alou brothers, Matty, Felipe, Jesus, all three of them played the field for us, left, center, right,' he said.

'We had Juan Marichal,' he said, adding to the list. 'He completed half of the games he started, which is unheard of now.'

His memories of Candlestick Park are chilly and windy. 'I remember any time we went out there, it was time to get out your heavy coats and your blankets.' The stadium, now the home of the 49ers football team, is on the bay south of the city.

The wind not only affected temperatures but play. 'My dad said if it wasn't for that wind blowing, Willie Mays would have broken the Home Run record.' A view that was shared by many people, added David.

And then the amazing stadium, with its address of 24 Willie Mays Plaza, south of the centre of the city opened up. David was there on Opening Day. 'It was so different compared to Candlestick. It was an event just to walk around the shops and the food stalls. At Candlestick, the vendors came to you!' he said. 'There was great excitement. Everybody was happy, it was a hopeful feeling,' he recalled.

He remembers boats sailing up the creek - pictured behind him - to sit in McCovey Cove and wait for the 'splash downs,' and also remembers there being one in the very first game that was held there!

The players that stand out in David's mind during the move to the AT & T Park were Barry Bonds, one of the greatest-ever baseball players, Jeff Kent and Kevin Mitchell, both winners of the National League's Most Valuable Player award, and 'Matt the Bat' Matt Williams.

The stadium - only named AT & T Park in 2006 and originally called Pacific Bell Park, then SBC Park - arguably has the most stunning views of a baseball stadium. On a sunny day, it's an experience just to sit high up in the stands and gaze out across San Francisco Bay.

Not surprisingly, with such a smart stadium, new fans were attracted to the game. 'There were much more family, much more novice kind of fans,' said David.

Candlestick Park was for hardcore fans, much more so when the seasons were lean and the team was on hard times. David and his family were among them. 'We were out there at least 20 times a season,' he said.

However, Candlestick Park days might have been bleak weather-wise, but David looks back to a warmth of camaraderie with the players. 'It seemed the players were much more in touch with their fans at Candlestick. After the games the players would be out in the carpark signing autographs. Now you have to pay for their autographs or its only on special days,' he said.

David"s Best Player?

'It would have to be Willie Mays. He was just an all-round player. There was never a dull moment with him.'

Best Season?

'I would have to say the World Series with the Angels. That was a beautiful season. (The Anaheim Angels defeated the Giants by four games to three in 2002)

'And the playoff against the Pittsburgh Pirates. That was incredible to see Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays, they were the two titans of the time.'

Was he at Candlestick Park when the huge 1989 Loma Prieta quake struck as the World Series, a Bay Area battle between the Giants and Oakland Athletics, was about to start?

'No, but I remember that day I was working in Brisbane (opposite). It was exactly 5.04 pm and we were watching the game on TV. I remember the announcer saying the stadium was shaking...and just after they said it, we felt it.'

The quake was so severe, David and his colleagues were sent home, and, stopping off at a gas station on the way, he bumped into Oakland Athletics player Jose Cansenco. 'I said "hello" and he signed a couple of autographs and then he said he had to go. Probably because we were all Giants fans!' laughed David.

Hopes for this year?

'There's a good feeling for this year. It's rare when you get that good feeling without there being named players. I'm looking to see Andres Torres and Travis Ishikawa come alive.'

And what of the girls' heartthrob, two-time Cy Young Award winner, Tim Lincecum?

'He brings the game a sense of "regular-guy", he's not a prima donna.'

David's family tradition with the Giants is continuing. His son, Joseph, is a fan, and his six-year-old grandson, Julian, playing in his first year in the Little League, will be going along with his grandpa.

Unfortunately, David is working today and so won't be at the free jumbotron viewing in the ballpark that will be showing the Giants opening game being played away against the Houston Astros.

The game is at 4.05 pm but the ballpark gates open at 3 pm with free hotdogs for the first 5,000 fans. Sponsored by the Giants, and Comcast SportsNet who also have giveaways for the first 2,000 fans, there will be a chance to visit the field and dugouts, and have autograph signings from Giants alumni.

Said David, 'But I'll be there in spirit and hear all the cheering as I pass by!'

SF Giants' Pitch Ready for Opening Home Exhibition Game Against Oakland 'A's!

It may be April Fools Day, but preparing the Giants' pitch at the AT &T Park has been no joke.

Tonight sees the Giants testing it out for the first time in an exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics.

And for award-winning Head Groundskeeper, Greg Elliott, it marks the culmination of six weeks of intensive labour and innovative changes...see previous blogs

In fact, the pitch has been almost ready for the last two weeks. In mid-March, Greg surveyed his handiwork and said, 'We could play baseball now. We are fine tuning.'

'We are 85 per cent ready for opening day. That doesn't mean we couldn't play. We could play a game out here tomorrow but it wouldn't be to our standards,' he said. 'Our standards' meaning nothing less than perfection, of course.


One of the new features is a different mix of grass, chosen for ability to withstand wear and tear, recuperate quickly and, not least, colour.

Underfoot, it needs to be spongy and springy, said Greg testing it out. To his delight the grass had grown in well and the colours were 'coming along.'

What greeted his eye at that moment was the ryegrass, the new incumbent being a Bermuda that is still dormant.

He dropped to the ground enthusiastically and peered into a strategic gap in the grass. There, poking through the sandy-coloured soil, were tiny shoots of Bermuda Tifway 11, displaying small spreading sprouts.

'We are starting to get positive growth, it's very exciting! It's loving the sun!' he said.

The tricky part to build is the pitcher's mound. This mound is in only it's second season of being built with six specially-engineered circular steel pallets that hold compacted soil for firmness. Their faint outline could be seen below the topsoil.

That day, Greg wanted more moisture in the mound. 'Moisture is the key to everything we do,' he said, a fine balancing act between too much and too little. Helping this is a totally new feature of moisture sensors. Three have been placed in the grass to measure moisture levels, ground temperature, salinity and acidity.

'It's a really cool project, technically speaking,' said Greg, adding 'Who knows, we could do it in the soil in the future.'

An accurate record of water levels also means less water being used, saving both on the environment and the bills. Being green is 'really big for us,' he said of the Giants' organization. 'There is no reason to have any excess out there and many reasons to take care especially of our resources.'

There was good news about the infield. It was 95 per cent ready in Greg's estimation. The test, and he  knelt down to demonstrate, is to put a small, sharp-ended key into the clay and twist. If the key turns smoothly, all is well, but if it turns up chunks of soil, then more work is needed.

Underfoot, the infield must give a 'cork-like feeling, springy and firm.' His infield responds just the way he likes it! He is going to continue giving it a little more conditioner, and remove a few tiny 'rocks'.

Rocks?

'People misunderstand and panic when I say 'rocks'! he said hastily. 'It's gravel, really.' He caught sight of a 'rock', bent down, picked it up and held it out in the palm of his hand.

Reassuringly, the 'rocks' that instill fear of a ball veering off course are bits of gravel smaller than one-quarter of an inch, part of the normal make-up of soil. Fine tuning indeed!

Home plate was more of a problem. 'We weren't happy with home plate, so we turned it over to dry it a bit more. Today was a good day. We have got the weather for us to do that,' he commented.

His instinct had served him well. It was hot in the empty stadium at 1 pm, and by the end of the day television weather reports were showing a high of 71 degrees, the highest temperature so far this year.

What was the problem with home plate? The 'tarp' had been down for a long time and with the El Nino spring producing well-fulls of water, it was 'dry on top and squishy beneath.' The field would have suffered too, but for Greg's care of the mix of soil and sand, and tilling to greater depth.

With innovations that Greg, the Giants and fans alike hope will make it one of the best baseball pitches in the country, he paid tribute to the enormous support given to him by the Giants' organization and particularly his boss, Jorge Costa, Senior Vice President, Ballpark Operations.

Now the day of testing is here.

'We call it Ground Hog Day when the team's in town!' he said, by which he meant that there are little variations to the daily maintenance 'but the end result is the same.'

In a few hours, the Giants will be playing against the Oakland 'A's. They play their opening game of the season away to the Houston Astros on Monday, which leaves Greg a few more days for final tweaking. Then the Orange and Black onslaught of the 2010 season begins at home next Friday against the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Greg and his pitch will be ready!

Preparing the SF Giants Pitch for the 2010 Season - Part 2

Greg Elliott is the Giant's Unseen Pitcher, a man charged with producing a perfect pitch before the baseball season has even begun and without ever throwing a ball...see previous blog 


For the Head Groundskeeper of the San Francisco Giants baseball team, the most complex part of pitch construction is the pitcher's mound.

A carefully calibrated centre-piece that can hinder or enhance a pitcher, this season the Giants' mound will bear the imprint of the likes of Cy Young Award twice-winner Tim Lincecum, whose skills have catapulted him into a two-year, $23 million contract, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner.

Aware of the need to achieve both a firm foundation and softer topping, last season Greg instituted a new design. This involves six specially-engineered circular steel pallets - similar to those pictured above. The pallets, like giant trays, hold about a four-inch depth of solid, undisturbed soil.

The pallets were lifted out of the ground at the end of last season and stored under the bleachers until ready for use again. Then, like a circular jigsaw, they are slotted together and laid over the cement pad that forms the base of the mound.

'They should create a more consistent pitching surface for the pitchers - it's all about consistency,' said Greg, using the 'C' word that is one of his twin themes, playability being the other.

His next task is to shape the mound using infield clay for a lighter topping, and allowing air and water into the surface soil.

He literally inches his way over and round the precious mound, making sure it is 18 ft in diameter, rises to a plateau measuring 5 ft by 3ft and 10 inches above home plate, slopes gently down at one inch per foot, and has the centre edge of the players' rubber exactly 60 ft 6 in from the rear point of home plate.

'Building a pitcher's mound is as much an art as it is a science,' says Baseball Almanac on www.baseball-almanac.com.

'We've been able to embrace both aspects, the artistic and scientific parts,' said Greg. Describing the artistic part as 'how you interpret it, check the shape and compaction,' he added, ''I think we've taken the technological aspect as far as we can and so the artistic part is up to us.

'It's more artistic than anything. You have to have a feel for it. There's no books on it, there's nothing really out there.'

Another job is to install the infield clay, also stored under the bleachers - pic left -and base lines at home plate, and level them.











Then there are the bull pens to build, both for the Giants and the visiting teams. Greg uses rectangular steel pallets of heavily compacted soil - pic above - for the Giants, and steel frames built with pieces each weighing one ton.

 pics show Greg constructing the visitors' bullpen last week after the grass has been laid

Two of his final remaining tasks are to nourish the field with 'earthworm castings', the waste of earthworms broken down - 'It helps to root the field in better,' he said, meaning that it helps with water flow as well as nutrient levels - and root out bugs.

'Then we're pretty much ready to go! We start hosting baseball games. That's when we get into our general maintenance,' he said.

With hardly time to draw breath, once the games start, Greg moves into high-gear care and repair.

When there is a game, he mows every day, irrigates lightly and daily as opposed to the alternative groundkeeping philosophy of 'deep and infrequent', fertilizes before each 'home stand', deals with pests, aerifys and top dresses, and manages the clay surfaces.

Has he ever been thrown a curve ball?

'Oh yes!' he said, throwing his head back in bemusement. 'There's always curve balls!!!'

Last season a rock jammed part of the irrigation system overnight. A puddle of unwelcome water greeted him in the morning in the left field, though fortunately it was during preparation time just after the soil had been laid. 'We just had to be patient and let it dry out,' he said.

During the season, the Giants' grounds are also open for community events including concerts. After one particular concert, he found he suddenly had to replace 18,000 square feet of sod, when he was hoping that only 6,000 square feet would be needed.

Concerts, especially combined with weather, are unpredictable. 'With concerts you don't know what you're going to get,' he said. Come what may, his role is to make sure that the players are unaware that anything has happened!

Then there is surface damage that Greg always has to be on his toes about, though 'that shouldn't be a problem if you're doing things right with your maintenance and if you have good grass,' he said. Basically, 'we can resod it and move on.'

The front of the mound and around home plate are treated as individual areas, and rain, especially during games, is always a concern. A polyvinyl field tarp of 170 square feet is pulled over the field for protection.

Over one inch of rain makes Greg nervous, though 'one-quarter of an inch in ten minutes could be just as devastating as one inch over a day,' he said. However, rain in San Francisco is 'not as large a concern here because of the weather patterns, but we are expecting a rainy spring with El Nino.'

Greg is entering his third season as Head Groundskeeper for the Giants. In all, he has been a Head Groundskeeper in baseball for 12 seasons. Before the Giants, he was in Minor League Baseball with the Lake County Captains in Eastlake, Ohio, where he also ran a consulting company to help local schools with sports fields for soccer, football, baseball and soft ball.

'That's why I know a lot about this,' he said. Before that, he was with the Cedar Rapids Kernels in Iowa, and in assistant roles in Indianapolis and Arizona.

He trained as an elementary school teacher at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. 'My mum was a teacher, so I thought that was the way to go, but in the long term it wasn't what I wanted to do,' he said.

Immediately after teaching, he became Director of Stadium Operations with the Toledo Mud Hens in Ohio, after which he went back to school to train in groundskeeping. And not just any school. Rather, Michigan State University where one of his professors was 'Yard Doctor' John 'Trey' Rogers, professor of turfgrass science, who helped Beijing in their preparation of the Olympic stadium.

A training that no doubt contributed to his outstanding achievements of being a four-time winner of the South Atlantic League Groundskeeper of the Year Award and twice Sports Turf Manager of the Year for Class A Minor League Baseball. Modestly reticent to talk about his achievements, he pays tribute to the Minor League teams that 'allowed me to grow as a professional.'

So what drew him to this career?

'Love of sport,' he said. 'My dad coached Little League Baseball for 25 years so I was always around a ballpark. And my first job was working for that Little League as a groundskeeper.'

Strange, how things come around, he mused.

His predictions for the Giants for this season?

'I'm not in the prediction business. I do know the expectations are high for the Giants, and they would like to get to the play-offs. They want a shot at that.

'Their expectations are high, which means my expectations are high.'

Preparing the SF Giants' Pitch for 2010 Season

Greg Elliott is the Unseen Pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. A man charged with producing a perfect pitch before the baseball season has even begun and without ever throwing a ball.

The skills and ambitions of players and the hopes of thousands of fans depend on his pitching skills, though his name will never appear on the jumbotron scoreboard.

For Greg is the Head Groundskeeper. A few weeks ago, he stood in time at the end of the winter season with its roller coaster of other sporting and community events that have ravaged the pitch, and the heraldic call of spring and the 2010 baseball season.

He has until April 1 to produce that perfect pitch for the first of the home Spring Training games, and just a few more days beyond that, while the Giants pit their skills in their opening game of the season away to the Houston Astros, to tweak it. Then on April 9, the gates of the AT&T ballpark will be flung open wide for the fans and the team will parade out for six days of home games, first against the Atlanta Braves and next, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

But in February, Greg gazed at bare soil and sand, a freshly-minted sprawling green lawn, and unblemished, skilfully constructed pitcher's mound, homeplate and infield yet a vision in his mind's eye.

A former elementary school teacher who retrained with a degree in Sports and Commercial Turfgrass Management, he is an award-winning groundskeeper and soil scientist looking for the best and utilizing the latest technologies. There are changes underfoot.

By mid-morning that day, with a tractor tilling the soil and skid steers flattening it, he was confidently proclaiming they were 'ahead of schedule.'

'There's a tight deadline to get the field in, but we have enough time to appropriately grow it,' he said.  'A 'tight deadline' - to be ready for a game - would be "we have a game next week!"' he said, as he supervised the team of workers in the stadium.

With or without baseball, Greg is a pitcher for all seasons. His winter season begins in October with disassembling part of the old pitch.

'At the end of the baseball season we remove the infield material - a clay loam soil -and remove the portable mounds and store these in the 'players' lot' under the Coke sign,' he said. The Coca-Cola sign being an iconic 80-foot wooden bottle high up on the far end of the stadium with viewing platforms and four slides, and which flashes with celebratory lights on a home run.

Then the stadium is prepared for community use and football games. This winter they hosted two games of the California Redwoods plus the college football Emerald Bowl. A massive 350 tons of sand was spread over the pitch. Not just any sand but a USGA (US Golf Association) 'spec' sand, and grass was rolled on top of it.

By the end of January, the pitch was gone in readiness for a stadium-shaking event when Greg and his team truly felt the earth move under their feet. Approximately 6,000 cubic yards of it.

The annual Supercross event, a stadium version of motocross, is a mud-fest. Plastic sheeting goes down over the entire field and for two days soil is trucked in to form a six-inch 'road base'.


Supercross chose the original soil ten years ago and it is stored in nearby Mission Bay every year and reused - pics of soil at Terry Francois Boulevard, Mission Bay

The set involves jumps and a different track design each time, and takes Supercross over a week to build.

Once the last vestiges of one of the most popular events on the social calendar have finally gone, the old sod layer of last season's pitch is removed and recycled. A company truck it away, put it through a grinder and sell it as premium top soil. Fans wishing to grow their flowers or seed a lawn with a souvenir bag of dirt trodden on by their heroes, need only buy!

Which leaves Greg to face a bare field and the prospect of FanFest, a pre-season opportunity for fans to roam freely around their beloved stadium, go where usually only the elite go, and collect player autographs.

A light covering of sand remains, and Greg stands in a stadium that resembles more of a military practice ground for Iraq and Afghanistan, and watches as thousands of pairs of fans' feet trample joyously over his denuded pitch.

Now winter has passed, the fun is over and it is time for the soil scientist to apply his knowledge with seriousness to help the team do what they and everyone wants them to do - win games.

'Playability and consistency' are his twin themes. 

Firstly he replaces the field, bringing in fresh soil and mixing it with the sand after FanFest. The soil needs to be tilled, and this year Greg is using 'farm discs', two rows of rotating metal discs that till down to a new depth of ten inches.

'That's why we're trying to go deeper with the tilling. Playability and consistency, that's what we want,' he said. He has to balance two aspects: compaction of the soil that will give a firm, stable foundation, and  enough space within the soil for the roots of the grass to flourish.

'It's one thing that makes my job hard,'  he said, referring to compaction. 'I need to relieve it. When you compact, air and water space is limited. You need a free-flowing soil, you need to let oxygen in.'

Once the field has been tilled, then laser technology is employed to level it to a degree of NASA-like accuracy. A rotating laser pole is held aloft that communicates to a receiver that in turn sends down information to a box plate. The box controls a blade that pushes and pulls the soil, and by the time it is finished the field is level to a staggering 0.2 inches per 100 ft.

Next, irrigation heads are replaced on the sprinklers - there are over 60 in the outfield and about 20 in the infield, and finding them is not always easy! - and then ground levelling is fine-tuned to an even more staggering accuracy of 0.1 inches for every 100 ft.

Now the field sits waiting for a spring coat of over 107,000 square feet of freshly-growing grass. And it's out with the old style, and in with the new. Abandoned, is a mix of Kentucky Blue Grass and Perennial Ryegrass.

'This season we're changing to an overseeded Bermuda Grass Tifway II with Perennial Ryegrass. This will handle wear a lot better. We hope it will make a large difference for us,' said Greg. The Bermuda will form a protective mesh over the ryegrass, which is a tough grass popular for sports fields in southern states, and should recuperate more quickly. And when the Bermuda goes dormant in cold temperatures, the ryegrass will complement it by remaining green all year.

Greg is hoping the Giants will flourish along with the grass!

With the field attended to, he will turn his attention to the pivotal points of a baseball pitch, the pitcher's mound, infield and bases, and the bullpens. For the next stage in the preparation of the Giants' pitch, see next blog.

17th Annual KNBR 680 Giants FanFest - 3

Thousands of San Francisco Giants fans filled the AT &T ballpark today for the 17th Annual KNBR 680 Giants FanFest - see previous blogs

One of the treats of the free event was to wander into areas normally reserved for the players and media. Like the players' clubhouse.

A long queue snaked slowly through with fans able to sit in the locker areas and have a quick photo taken. Luis of San Francisco was touring the clubhouse for the first time.

'It's a nice opportunity to be in the clubhouse,' he said.

And up in the press box, with it's expansive views over the stadium and beyond to the bay, was Steve, of Sacramento.

Steve has been a fan since 1968 and doesn't have a favourite player. His most vivid memory of the Giants is 'as a kid listening to Lon Simmons on the radio.'

His hopes for the team for 2010 are 'to be competitive.'


Out on the pitch, KNBR 680 were hosting a Question and Answer session, and around the stadium, memorabilia and Giants sportswear were on sale with hats being a popular try-on item.



By lunchtime, long queues were building up at the familiar food stalls.

But the Giants are not just past and present. They are also about the future. Two up-and-coming players tagged as 'hot prospects for San Francisco' are 22-year-old Clayton Tanner and 26-year-old Paul Oseguera. They were in the Giants' lobby signing autographs for fans as they arrived.

Both are hoping to make it into the Giants' team - 'Absolutely, that's the goal!' said Paul - and soon.

'Hopefully next year,' he said.

Both players have a distinctive characteristic, they are 'lefties'!

'It's one of the biggest advantages in baseball,' said Clayton. 'It's pretty much perfect. It means you will always find a job somewhere.'

When he was younger, he hadn't wanted to be a pitcher but had ambitions to play in a position like an outfielder. But all coaches test out left-handers with pitching, he said, and when his coach at high school followed the pre-ordained path....the rest became history.

Clayton, and likewise Paul, were netted for their pitching talents.

pic: Paul, fan Jocelyn who was delighted to meet them, Clayton

17th Annual KNBR 680 Giants FanFest

For thousands of San Francisco Giants' fans, today was an orange and black sizzler of a Saturday!

It was the day to celebrate the 17th Annual KNBR 680 Giants FanFest, a free open-house at the ballpark that enabled them to collect autographs from some of their favourite players, walk the ground and sit where their heroes sit, raise money for charity and set their thoughts on the 2010 season.

And it was free.

The star of the team, two-times winner in succession of the Cy Young Award, Tim Lincecum, was there early in the morning.

Even if fans didn't get his autograph, there was plenty of support for his request to raise his salary from $650,000 to a cool $13 million. The Giants have offered $8 million and the matter is set to go to arbitration this month.

'I'm excited!'  said Jessica from the Bay Area, relishing the atmosphere of the dugout for the first time and looking forward to the new season.

Asked if Tim Lincecum was worth $13 million...'Hell, yes!' she said, nearly jumping off the bench. And if he pulls off an incredible feat of winning the Cy Young Award for a third year in a row?

'I'm going to be ecstatic!" And then she would pay Tim $30 million. 'I think he should be paid what (Barry) Zito is getting paid, $120 million over six years, I believe that's what it is,' she said.

What are her expectations of this season?  'Hopefully, a winning season,' she said.

In line in one of the three autograph booths were Vida Blue, Roberto Kelly, Shawon Dunston and Mark Gardner. And queuing to see them were Megan, from San Francisco, and Lauren, from the Bay Area.

Their favourite players?

'Tim Lincecum,' said Megan. 'He's 'The Freak'!' she added simply, giving the reason for her choice. pic - Megan & Roberto Kelly

And worth $13 million?

'Definitely!'

Lauren picked pitcher Brian Wilson, 'because he's a darn good closer. He's not too bad looking, either!'

How do they think $13 million compares with other players?

The top-paid player in the US is Alex Rodriguez - A-Rod - of the New York Yankees at around $25 million, their friend, Robby, pitched in. And the average salary is $2 - $3 million a year, he said.

He wouldn't give Lincecum as much as $13 million. 'I think it's a bit much, but he does deserve at least the $8 million, maybe $10 million. He's a really good pitcher,' he reckoned.

Though if Lincecum gets a third Cy Young Award then he 'definitely' would be worth $13 million.

Robby's player of the season is Brian Wilson. 'His style is different to anyone else's, he's really nifty.'
pic - Robby & Shawon Dunston

cont in next blog

San Francisco Giants Prepare Baseball Park for Monster Energy AMA Supercross FIM World Championship

It's going to be a dirty but thrilling weekend down at the San Francisco Giants' baseball park.

The spruced green turf is covered with plastic sheeting and wood and has become a building site. All in preparation for one of the Giants' biggest events of the year, the  Monster Energy AMA Supercross FIM World Championship.

Denny Hartwig, press spokesman for the event, is expecting a stadium of over 40,000 people.

Last year saw a large crowd attend, 'but we're attracting better than last year,' he said.

'Everywhere we go in San Francisco there are welcome arms and everyone here seems to have some kind of interest in motorcyles, either in the street or in sport. I think we have a built-in fan base,' he said.

Bringing the huge, annual event to San Francisco, the only Northern California location of the championship, has a distinctive feel.

'It's cool!' Denny said. He is from Chicago, and says the downtown feel of the AT & T Park is quite different. 'It's a big park...and this is a huge major city in the US, but it feels like a neighbourhood venue.'

The event, sponsored locally by Big O Tires, is only the fourth so far in the world championship series of 17 races. Outside the ballpark today, a mobile office for promoters, Feld Motor Sports,  was in action, and  the area around McCovey Cove is a gigantic truck fest.

A mobile medical center with rescue jeeps is parked immediately outside the gates on the cove side, and across the water the Giants' grounds have been transformed into the pits, with trucks gleaming with team and sponsorship logos.

At midday, the pits were quite quiet with only a few mechanics and team managers around.

Enjoying a casual lunch under their canopy were the Yamaha team of mechanics with Team Manager, Brad Hoffman.

Brad leads the Factory Yamaha 250 cc Team, which has two West Coast riders. His young charges are 19-year-old Broc Tickle and one of the youngest competitors, 16-year-old Max Anstie.

Brad has high hopes for them. 'These guys have been, speedwise, capable of winning, they've won qualifying races, but they have made some mistakes in the main races.'

Their highest placing has been fifth, but Brad is optimistic that a win is there for the taking on the track. Of tomorrow, he said, 'We hope to be on the podium - top 3. Our guys are all fast enough to do it. You have to have a (good) start, be fast and not make mistakes.'

So what makes a star rider?

'You have to have riding ability, kind of a natural talent,' said Brad, but after that boys 'train like a top athlete.' They cycle, go to gyms and focus on nutrition. 'Most of these kids have been riding since they were three-or -four-years-old,' he said, 'and that's because dad's rode or raced.'

At 16 years, Max, who's father was a professional rider in England, is at the youngest age possible for someone to enter the sport professionally. In the 250 cc range, the top age is around 25 years, whereas in the 450 cc class, riders continue into their 30s.

Brad has worked his way through the sport beginning as a rider - 'I went pretty far at amateur level' - then training as a mechanic before becoming a Team Manager. pic Dave, Ricky, Eric Brad, Karl

Under the Dunlop canopy, there was a small production line energetically fitting tyres onto wheels. The team kit out all 80 bikes in the competition.

Of the new tyres, Brady said, 'They're more intermediate whereas normally it's a hardpack.'

Both Brady - centre pic - and John - left - run their own businesses during the week, Brady an engine repair business in Michigan, and John, a motorcycle shop in Murrieta, Southern California.

Why do they work for supercross at weekends?

'I like it a lot!' said John with great enthusiasm.

'There's something different every week. I get to work with a good group of guys,' said Brady.

Safety is paramount and Risk and Safety Officer, Joe, who works for the promoters, was wandering around the ballpark late this afternoon.

How does he find the burden of responsibility?

'It's pretty laid back. It's all about common sense, there's not a book on it,' said the Ohio man who has been running the safety aspects of the races for 32 years. His number one priority is 'safety of people on the floor. There's no place where you are immune from being hit with a motor cycle.'

A safety upgrade is that every group of workers is colour-coded by their clothing, eg TV crews, of which there are only two, 'house' and CBS, flag stewards, promotors, medics. Instead of having to scrutinize identity tags, Joe can see at a glance where everyone is and, importantly, immediately pick out anyone who shouldn't be there.

Referring to the stands, he said, 'There are people up there - and he mimicked using binnoculars - and they're on the phone to me all the time. This is the greatest motor cycle spectacle in the world. This is very professional.'

And 40,000 people is no great shakes! There are 72,000 in Atlanta, Georgia, he tells me calmly.

Does he enjoy his job? 'I wouldn't be here if I didn't! I like meeting people, you meet people in all phases of life, that's an education,' he said.

Plus, there is one small bonus. For the 18 locations - 17 races and the US Open of Supercross - he sees home only on a Monday and Tuesday.

'Then I'm on vacation seven months of the year!' he said, with just a hint of a smile.

Someone who is ready to champion the riders is Scott, who had just purchased his ticket.

'It seems like they're really athletic, it's a real endurance race, and they don't get the recongnition they deserve for how hard and dangerous the sport is,' he said.

'And I feel they should get better TV time on prime time.'

All the $10 dollar tickets had gone, so Scott had a $25 dollar ticket, but paid $18 dollars with a coupon.

He's looking forward to tomorrow!

Opera at Giants' AT & T Park

About 26,000 people spread across the pitch and nearly filled the stands at the Giants' AT & T ballpark last night for a free live broadcast of Puccini's opera, Tosca.

The simulcast is an annual event at the ballpark and was part of the opening week of the San Francisco Opera's 2009 summer season, titled 'Summer of Seduction.'

Performed in Italian with English subtitles, it was relayed from the War Memorial Opera House onto the Giants' massive screen, the Jumbotron.

'An idealistic artist, a celebrated singer and a corrupt police chief engage in a fierce battle of wills in this tempestuous tale of cruelty and deception,' says the SFO website. 'With its themes of political intrigue, sexual intimidation and official hypocrisy, Puccini’s great melodrama set in 1800 is anything but dated.'

In the title role and making her debut for the company was Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, with baritone Lado Ataneli as Scarpia, while tenor Carlo Ventre played Cavaradossi.

Tosca opened last Tuesday and runs until June 26.

Next, as part of the Summer of Seduction, is Porgy and Bess with a George Gershwin score, followed by Verdi's La Traviata, which ends on July 5.

Opera lovers can look forward to a second free opera performance, Verdi's Il Trovatore, to be shown at the ballpark on Saturday, September 19.

For more info: sfopera.com

For pics of the event by Chris on Flickr click here