Baseball is Getting Good in the City by the Bay

In a Sporting News magazine article, recently, was a question to a former major league umpire (Vic Voltaggio).

Vic sounds a little bitter in his response as to whether he thinks there should be more instant replay in major league baseball.

In response to your question about replay-you'll notice I left off the word instant-the games are too long now, with players stepping out of the box on every pitch to adjust their batting gloves or the unending conferences on the mound and the argument over the most inane things.

I liked it better in my time when the players played and umpires were not afraid to umpire, if they want to bring all of this technology to a game I used to love, why not get rid of the umpires and use robots? (The thought is a possibility for future consideration, ya think? Especially when bitter people like Vic are entered into the equation. We are only searching for ways to get the call right. Not to demean a man attempting to do his job. Sometimes things happen that don't allow you the position to view the play. Certainly you don't want to call something you did not see?)

And Mr. Miserable, a.k.a. Vic Voltaggio finishes his thought with: That way the players will have no one to blame for their lack of skill except the robot.

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At 25th and Valencia is a local watering hole called Clooney's. It's the place to watch the orange and black play post-season baseball.

A bartender (Debbie) colored some extra face-cloths orange so the regulars could have rally towels. And when the Giants are making plays the orange cloths are blurs of excitable moments.

Sometimes the chant of "Let's Go Giants" fills the air and the bonding that goes on is fantastic. People you may have seen once or twice are now rooting for the team you are rooting for and you're both "high-fiving" to every good thing that happens for the orange and black. (And you're in agreement with every blown call against the Giants, as well.)

The prices are right and the atmosphere is perfect to watch a game if you crave the "fan experience." I recommend it to anyone in the area.

The scheduled times for the National League Championship Series are as follows:

Game #1(at Philadelphia) 4:57pm
Game #2 (at Philadelphia) 5:19pm

Game #3 (@AT&T) 1:19pm
Game#4 (@AT&T) 4:57pm
Game#5 (@AT&T) 4:57pm

Games 6 & 7 are in Philadelphia. Times are currently unimportant.

Kevin J. Marquez