Seeing AT&T Park and Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum this year was unexpected.  I made a last minute decision to attend a conference in San Francisco back in July.  I was lucky enough to be there during the week while the Giants were in town and stayed through the weekend and saw the A’s.  Let’s start with AT&T Park though.  I’ve wanted to hit AT&T Park since my dad and I started this whole tour of ballparks back in 2001.  Unfortunately he wasn’t there with me, but I thought I should scout it out for him while I had the chance. 

As far as the newer ballparks I’ve seen, AT&T Park is top notch.  It’s located in what appears to be a nice, clean part of town.  I did notice that there are not a lot of options outside the park for a pre-game meal or drink though.  People mostly seemed to be arriving by public transportation and going straight into the stadium.  There also appeared to be a complete lack of scalpers outside the stadium.  The game I went to was a weeknight game against the Nationals and I was able to walk up to the ticket window and purchase a great seat about fifteen rows directly above first base.

Once inside the stadium, I took a lap around to take it all in.  One of the best views, of course, is from the right field concourse looking out over the water.  I didn’t realize until I saw it in person that the majority of their outfield seats are bleachers.  I’m not a big fan of bleachers outside of older parks like Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium.  Anyhow, from the outfield concourse there are some gorgeous views looking out across the water.  I’m sure you’ve all seen the boats that float around just outside the right field wall.  Unfortunately, there weren’t really any the night I was there, but it was a great view nonetheless.  Continuing around the concourse towards left field there were some seafood concessions to go with the atmosphere, which was pretty unique as far as MLB ballparks are concerned.  Just beyond the left field seats is an area where children can play and a huge Coke bottle that reminded me of Turner Field, although theirs was not made of bats and jerseys and such like ours.

Overall, AT&T was a nice park as far as new ballparks go.  My biggest complaint was that their open concourse on the lower level between first and third base didn’t provide much of a view of the field.  Unlike the other parks I’ve been to with an open concourse, most of their concession stands were backed up against the back of the seats, therefore blocking the view.  Not sure what the point of an open concourse is if you’re going to block it with concession stands.  For a little sneak peek into the next part of this series though, let me say that Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is worse.  They actually had tarps up to block the view from the lower concourse!

Last but not least, I have to share the most out of the ordinary thing about AT&T Park: there are guys who go through the stands selling hot coffee.  Seriously, I was there in late July (in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt mind you) and the coffee guy was making more sales than the ice cream guy.  Guys actually walk around with a backpack that has a long tube with a nozzle from which they pour the coffee.  It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, especially considering this was a baseball game in late July. 

All that being said, I definitely recommend that everyone see AT&T Park if they get the chance.  Oh, and dress warmly!

(Pictures from the park to come soon.)

Francoeur ‘s first full month wasn’t terrible, but over the next four, he would hit a combined .217 with the same poor plate discipline that has become a staple of his offensive production and more importantly, without the power that had always been his saving grace. During those four months, the 24-year old outfielder managed to slug under .300 twice with his high-point coming when he slugged a measly .373 in the month of May. I understand the bad taste his 2008 campaign left in the mouths of Braves fans, but let’s give credit where credit is due. Francoeur finished off the season with a strong September; a performance that should not only give Braves fans something to be happy about, but may have saved Francoeur’s job.

Before any of you get all worked up and start calling for my head, I’d just like to point out that I’m not saying he’s put all his troubles behind him or that he’ll take a huge step forward next year. What I’m saying is that Francoeur hit .286/.333/.413 with eight doubles, one homerun, and one triple; production that seems to have gone unnoticed. His walk rate wasn’t as good as some other months and he showed relatively little homerun power but after the numbers Francoeur put up this year, let’s not nitpick.

The implications of this September performance may go farther than bringing a little optimism to an incredibly disappointed fan base. If you’ve been paying attention to the trade market over the past four months, you’ve probably seen Francoeur’s name a number of times. It’s definitely not the ideal situation for the team to trade him. For one thing, Bobby Cox and Frank Wren have no legitimate replacements, and if they trade Francoeur now, it’ll be for pennies on the dollar (think of it as liquidating your 401K right now). I’ve still seen Frenchy speculation scattered around the blogosphere lately, but I think now we can put it all to rest and just cross our fingers for next year.

Jeff, it looks like you’ve bought yourself at least another half of a year in a Braves uniform.

Let’s hope we can end on a good note.

Meanwhile, Brian Moehler is a bit of a meatballer. He’s averaged 1.17 HR per 9 innings as a major leaguer, and this year it’s up to 1.25. At home this year he’s given up 1.44 per 9. The odds are pretty good that he’ll groove one. Trouble is, the odds are pretty good that Campillo will do the same.

Chipper almost certainly isn’t starting. But the league’s best pinch hitter may have a hit or two left in him in the late innings. That’s the biggest reason we’ll be watching, anyway. (See below.)

To be precise — hat tip to Ububba of Braves Journal — his average sits at .365297, a nanotick higher than the all-time single season record for batting average by a switch hitter, Mickey Mantle’s 1957 BA of .364979.

Albert Pujols is 3-3 today, raising his average to .353. He’s been in a bit of a slump recently, though, going 9-42 in his last 13 games (.214 average) before today. Chipper’s been hot: in his last 13 games, he’s 18-40, a .450 average.

Both teams have 3 games left after this. Chipper will have an MRI Tuesday and says he’s not really feeling better, so it’s not clear whether he’ll start in any of the next three games. Here’s a rundown of the possibilities.

Albert Pujols averaged 3.24 at-bats a game over the Cardinals’ first 158 games. Let’s assume that he gets 10 at-bats over the last 3 games. If he goes 10-10, his average would be 0.365714, slightly higher than Chipper’s current .365297, so Chipper can’t quite rest easy and sit out the rest of the season — but it’s close.

Chipper’s MRI is set for Tuesday, two days after the last game of the Braves’ season. The scheduling — and his comments about not feeling better — cast doubts on his starting in any of the games, but it’s likely he’d be used as a pinch hitter even if he didn’t start. If he has no at-bats, unless Albert goes 10-10, he wins the batting race.

If Chipper goes 0-10 — which I doubt, because I doubt he’ll get 10 at-bats — he’ll be at .357, and Albert would have to go 6-10 or better. If Chipper gets an ohfer in 6 at-bats or fewer, Albert would have to go 8-10 or better. And if Chipper goes 1-1, there’s no way that Albert can pass him without going 11-11.

So the race is pretty close to over.

If you live in one of the countries where gambling is legal, you might want to bet against the Braves.

Also, do you think my predictions are right? Do the Brewers or Diamondbacks have a shot of crawling in? What do you think?

Oh, also, can we please shut Jair down already?

Today Jamie Parr goes against Mike Pelfrey. Parr saw the scoreless innings streak to start his career end at 14. Pelfrey’s having his breakout season this year, 13-10 with a 3.67 ERA, and is a big reason the Mets were able to come back from their early-season woes and has been an anchor in their tattered starting rotation. His home run rate has gone up slightly in the second half, but he’s cut his walk rate, and his overall season statistics aren’t a mirage. But we’ve beaten him pretty solidly. In 5 starts against us, he’s 2-3 with a 5.83 ERA, 16 K and 15 BB in 29 1/3 innings. Jamie has never faced the Mets, which is just as well. The Phillies tagged him pretty good and proper his last time out.

If we can’t salvage any of our own dignity, at least we can drag the Mets down with us. Cheers to that.

I answered Jessica Bader’s questions one last time, for one last Mets series. Let’s see if we can beat them for old time’s sake. Oliver Perez on the mound for them; he kills us, of course, but stranger things have happened. We’ve been playing much better since we were mathematically eliminated.