Update 11-01-10: Obviously, I stand corrected. The Giants got it together and made me happy to admit that I was wrong. Amazing how quickly the outlook can change.

The San Francisco Giants started off the season pretty hot. They gave us fans hope that we had over come the hitting struggles of last year. They got our hopes up for a playoff berth in 2010.

Then they crushed us.

They reverted back to the San Francisco Giants of last season–perhaps worse. Don’t get me wrong. I still love the Giants. I still have hope. But I have this sinking feeling it will end much the same as least season–so close, but not quiet close enough. Upon looking at the 2010 All-Star Game roster for both the AL and NL, I think I’ve figured out our problem. We need All-Stars. Not former All-Stars like Freddy Sanchez. Not future All-Stars like Buster Posey. Current All-Star players.

But wait? Don’t the Giants have two All-Stars this year? Yes, and they are both pitchers. Everyone in baseball knows pitching isn’t the Giants problem, hitting is. Besides, Tim Lincecum, as much as I love him, wasn’t maybe quiet up to All-Star par this season, at least so far. And Brian Wilson? Well, he’s not called the “Cardiac Kid” for nothing. He’s a tough pitcher, but he’s sure tough on Giants fans too.

There was write-in campaigns for Juan Uribe and Aubrey Huff, both who have been hot this season. But that’s just the thing. They’re not obvious candidates. They’re after-thoughts to the All-Star selection. They may not be after-thoughts to Giants fans. I love them both. But when they are the best hitters on our team in “must have a hit” situations, that is a problem. I think Huff should have been on the roster. I hope he keeps playing like he has been and if he does, he will be an All-Star next year. But that’s next year and we have to hope San Francisco can keep him.

Did you know that Boston and New York Yankees have six players on the All-Star team this year? The Yankees possibly have a seventh in Nick Swisher. You can bet most of those players weren’t after-thoughts.

So, San Francisco Giants fans, listen up. Until the Giants start putting current All-Stars on the field, or until our players start playing like All-Stars all season long, we won’t be seeing too deep of a playoff run, if even that. I’m not saying we should be the Red Sox or the Yankees, but both of those teams have won World Series in the recent past.

Isn’t winning a World Series the goal for a MLB team? Your loyal fans deserve a chance at that.

This is it. The legendary Yankee Stadium, 1923–2008. The House the Ruth Built. Yogi Berra. Mickey Mantle. Joe DiMaggio. Lou Gehrig. Reggie Jackson. Just to name a few of the greats.

So, prior to the game, I got there early. I browsed the souvenir shops and had dinner at Yankee Tavern. It’s been around since 1923 and owned by the same family. Apparently the Babe was a frequent there as well. How cool is that? So the food was only average, but you don’t really go to a place like that for the food.

First thing I noticed that day. It was raining. A lot. I’ll go ahead and say now that the game got rained out. It sucked. A lot. I wanted to cry. However, here is the positive side of the evening. They still let people into the stadium because they didn’t call the game until over an hour after it was supposed to start. So I still had 2 hours to wander around inside Yankee Stadium. It’s old obviously. I know it’s been renovated over the years, but it’s still an old ballpark.

Second thing. Maybe the coolest thing. They have this memorial area in the back of the park, outside of Left Field. Big memorials for old players. Retired numbers. Fans can go there and look at them. By the time I realized it was there and walked down there, they had it closed off because of the rain. But again, I mostly got to see it. Apparently these things used to actually be on the field. How weird is that?

Third thing. I didn’t eat there, so I can’t comment on the food, so I’ll tell you about my seat. It was right by the right field foul pole. No, not near it. Right by it. I could touch it. In fact, I did.

From Yankees 08

See? I told you I touched it. Fourth. Yes. That is me in a poncho (I told you it was raining), and a Yankees cap. Yes, I bought that Yankees cap. Please forgive me. Honestly, I really do hate the Yankees, but I couldn’t help myself. I got caught up in the magic and the history. And that, my friends, is what makes Yankee Stadium a great ballpark. I’m sad I never got to see a game there, but I did have the full game day experience minus the actual game. I walked the paths of the greats. But I’m still sad. Did I mention how much it sucked? A lot? I’d tell you I cried myself to sleep that night, but I don’t think I slept that night (early morning flight), so I spent most of the night watching Hurricane Ike destroy Galveston. It put things into perspective for me. But it still sucked. A lot.

Do you want to see the new Yankee Stadium?

From Yankees 08

There it is. Just for you.

From Seattle Sept 08

Safeco is a beautiful park. I’ll have to rank them so far, but I’d say it’s is up near the top. First thing you should know is that it’s has a top that can close. That’s just cool. Second thing you should know is that this game probably had the biggest crowd of games I’ve seen this season. What? Seattle? Near last place Seattle? Yes. Okay, they were playing the Yankees, but still.

It’s down by the water. In fact, less than one mile from the ferry, which we took across to get to the game. No worries with parking. Third thing. They take care of their field. Taking care of your field is a pet peeve of mine. Brown spots, dirt spots, uneven grass. Those things just shouldn’t happen in MLB. Fourth thing. They’re a total sell out when it comes to food. I don’t mean they sell all their food either. I mean they “jump the shark” or just plain lame in my book. Hear this: You can get sushi at this ballpark. If you read that and thought “cool!” then we cannot be baseball friends. Baseball game food is hotdogs and beer (or coke in my case). Hamburgers are acceptable. Pizza is okay. I’d even give you chicken strips. Of course the snacks as well–peanuts, cracker jack, cotton candy, pretzels, etc…but sushi? They also have fish baskets and other seafood, as well as a whole host of other things that was making my head spin. Let it be know that the folks I was with ordered seafood. I told them I was going to buy “real” baseball food and let them be. Don’t get me wrong. I understand that bringing in the local food is good for the parks and makes it unique. I also understand that Seattle is a seafood hub. But there is a line and Safeco Park crossed it completely.

As for the game itself. It was a good game. Yankees second batter (yes, Derek Jeter) hit a homerun before I even got settled into my seat. The rest of the game was similar. Lots of hits, fair amount of runs scored, and the Seattle Mariners came away with the win. It was a near perfect game day (minus the smell of seafood around me).

 Okay, if you haven’t noticed, the NL Central has a hecka awesome cat and mouse game going on with the Cubs and the Brewers (the who? yeah, that team from Milwakee…does anyone even know any Brewers fans? If so, tell me. I’d like to meet them).

So, tonight, the beloved Cubbies lost to the Reds. Pretty pitiful if you as me, but that’s just my bias against the Reds. This means the Brewers and the Cubs are tied up yet again for the NL Central.

If you are a Cubs fan, I have some bad news. The Brewers have 12 games left. The Cubs only have 10. Yeah. But wait, it does get better…

If you’re a Brewers fan (like I said, i know of none), I have some REALLYY bad news. The Cubs are still going to win the NL Central. Why? Do you ask? Well, my friends, the Brewers, in their final games, have to play Atlanta…who’s about on the same par with the Brewers, win/loss-wise anyway. So they’ll probably split a few games. They also have to play St. Louis, who is behind them in their division (albeit 7.5 game back). Still, St. Louis could pull out a win. Okay, here’s where it gets worse. The final games of the Brewers season, they have to play the Padres. Despite being 2nd in the West, they still maintain a better record than the Brewers and can just flat be a tough team to sweep. And, I predict that the Padres will be the Wildcard for the NL (unless they come back up on AZ and take the West).

So what if the Brewers are playing some semi-decent teams? Well, compare that to the rest of the Cubbies schedule. Pittsburg (3rd worst team in the NL), Cincinati (just barely above Pitt, 6th worst team in NL); and Florida–THE worst team in the NL this season.

If they Cubbies don’t pull this one off, I will swear forever that the curse is real.

Okay, quickly, I’ll tell you about the other teams.

NL East:
Mets got 2 games up on the Phillies and 5.5 up on Atlanta. I don’t predict any big surprises here. Mets will make it in.

NL West:
AZ is 1.5 games up on San Diego (Padres). I’m going with AZ, but whoever is 2nd in this race will be the Wildcard, and a good one at that.

NL Central:
Do I really need to cover this again?

AL East:
GO BOSTON! Yeah. Not a fan of AL teams, but I like Boston. Why? Because I hate the Yankees and if there is any team that hates the Yankees, it’s Boston. We can bond together over hate. It’s all good. Anyway, they got 2 games up on the Yankees. I have faith they’ll pull it off, BUT the Yankees will be the AL Wildcard. Which means yet another Red Sox/Yankees AL series for a trip to the World Series. Yeah, who cares about the other AL teams.

In case you do…

AL Central:
Cleveland is 6.5 up on someone, Detriot, yeah, that’s it. Best known for usually being the worst team in baseball. Gotta give Detriot (Tigers) their props though…ending the season with a better record than most of the NL. If you do like Cleveland, I read a story tonight about the Mighty Casey stepping up to bat. Check it out. Oh, and this time, the Mighty Casey did NOT strike out.

AL West:
Anaheim, er, I mean the Los Angeles Angels are like 8.5 games up on Seattle. So unless Seattle wins all the rest, and Ana..er LA losses all the rest, the Angels are on their way to the Penant Chase.

But, who’s gonna play in the World Series, and win? Red Sox and Cubs? OH, wouldn’t THAT just be magical. Who knows? Bud Selig would probably arrange that just to take away from people remembering Barry Bonds this season.