Bookshelf:

Recently Read:

• Analog, February 2002 issue
• Analog, March 2002 issue

Currently reading:

• Nicola Griffith, Slow River

Next up:

1. Sean McMullen, The Centurion's Empire
2. Analog, April 2002 issue
3. Vernor Vinge et. al., True Names and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier
4. George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
5. Julian May, Jack the Bodiless
6. A. K. Dewdney, The Planiverse
7. Joseph J. Ellis, Founding Brothers
8. Guy Gavriel Kay, Tigana
9. Donald Kingsbury, Psychohistorical Crisis
10. Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life

Let's Try This Again

I haven't mailed off my nasty letter about my poor treatment by the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. I've got a draft written, but I was still seething about the issue on Monday when I wrote it, so it needs to be revised. (At least I didn't put any swear words into it.)

I've gotten a modicum of feedback on the subject. No one seems to feel that my treatment was reasonable, and (surprisingly) no one commented that my inflammatory entry was over-the-top. Some folks have noted that many sporting events seem to have adopted the same no-bags policy, but a few have also observed that the policy seems to be haphazardly enforced. The San Francisco Giants, for instance, seem not to be prohibiting large bags from the stadium (or else they're doing a poor job of screening for them). Heck, there were a few folks who brought large bags into the Coliseum for last night's game (we saw them), though others who were turned away (we saw them, too).

It's also been noted by a few people that the A's should refund the money we spent on game tickets and BART.

There also seems to be a consensus that the no-bags policy - obviously enacted to help prevent terrorist attacks at sporting events - is a basically ineffective one, perhaps one enacted primarily so the management of the teams and/or arenas could cover their asses. One person observed, "Palestinians would laugh at these precautions."

So: Uneven and shoddy enforcement of a policy which has few if any practical benefits and makes fans feel unwanted. Is there any dumbed policy they could have chosen to adopt? Sheesh.

Despite this (and because tickets had already been purchased), Debbi and I went to the Coliseum last night to see the Athletics open the season against the Texas Rangers. This time, they deigned to let me into the stadium.

The opening ceremonies were torn between being touching and being comically woeful. The introduction of the teams was fun, done All-Star Game style, with each individual player running on the field during introductions. But guitarist Joe Satriani was to do the national anthem, and the speakers weren't picking up his guitar. Just as it seemed they'd fixed the problem, jet planes buzzed the stadium overhead (quite impressive, and completely unexpected as they came from behind us) and Satriani apparently stomped off the field in frustration. The military men in center field holding a large flag seemed befuddled, and eventually folded it and left the field.

Maybe if they didn't treat their fans like they hated them, the Athletics would have had better luck last night. But I digress.

The game was lively. A's second baseman Randy Velarde was hit in the hand (we thought it was the head; we didn't learn until after the game that it was his hand) with a pitch, was on the ground for several minutes, and only played another inning before being replaced by Frank Menechino. Of course, Menechino drove the ball hard all night, so from the standpoint of the single game it was not a bad switch.

Rangers starter Chan Ho Park - a Dodger until this season - was hit hard, getting smacked for home runs and doubles. The A's kept Rangers right fielder Juan Gonzalez - who had had a good year in the field in 2001 - busy all night, chasing down doubles and singles in the corner. The A's kept making their slowest hitters run from first base to home plate on doubles, and we all cheered when Jeremy Giambi slid into home (his failure to do so on a crucial play in last year's postseason being a frequent subject of off-season debate).

We got a brief burst of fireworks after David Justice's home run. I was also cheered that the gourmet pretzel stand is still there. They've also added a Krispy Kreme donut stand, which sells their famous donuts for only a 100% markup over the store price. Since I can easily drive to a nearby store, I passed on them.

The most remarkable thing during the evening was when Debbi noticed that there hadn't been a walk in the game through he 5th inning, a fact which Syd confirmed. In fact, if Menechino hadn't walked in the 6th inning, there would not have been a single walk in the game. This strikes me as remarkable: How often does a game feature no walks on either side of the field? Not very often, I'd guess. That would have been something to remember, if it had happened. (Okay, maybe only something geeky to remember.)

Anyway, Mark Mulder easily tamed the Rangers and the A's won, 8-3.

The ride home on BART was long, as apparently there was a broken-down train at the south end of the line. We didn't get home until about midnight.

I'm still mighty peeved at how I was treated on Sunday, but I still do enjoy going to a baseball game.

I still haven't written about the movies we saw on Sunday, or about playing Ultimate frisbee on Saturday. Maybe later this week.