Marlins 4, Giants 1, from the Viewbox

It was a hell of an afternoon, and not just because the Fish won.

First of all, there's the weather. The climate in San Francisco is the strangest in America. The city and a few neighbors to the immediate south (like Pacifica and Daly City) are easily the coldest spots in the lower 48 during the summer months, with a near-constant wind coming off the chilly Pacific. My neighborhood, the Inner Sunset, is shrouded in fog pretty much constantly from June-August. Trust me, it's not as bad as it sounds.

SBC Park happens to be in the sunniest part of the city, the eastern shore of the peninsula, which is protected from the fog by the mountains that run through the middle of the city. But day games still typically run just 65-74 degrees on average, and night games never, ever stay above 70 when dark falls.

On this day, it was easily 85. Advantage: Florida.

The seats, "view box" section -- the very bottom of the second deck -- were the best I've had at SBC. Here's Carlos Delgado looking for another Bondsian splash hit, and those are the East Bay hills off in the distance.

A.J. Burnett was spectacular, staying ahead in the count for hitter after hitter, and forcing grounders when the Giants got runners on. He only got into trouble all day when his teammates' defense failed him. Here A.J. is hurling to Moises Alou, one of the only credible members of the Giants' current lineup.

Of course, A.J. was super-rad with his bat. I remember looking at his profile on the scoreboard and noting, "Funny, he has three hits this season, and they're all for extra bases. And two of them are triples!" And then, CRACK, Burnett launches one to left field. Moises barely gave chase. A.J. rounded the bases, and tagged home.

What amazed me most was how nonchalant A.J. was about the whole thing. He kind of jogged the bases, and then moped into the dugout, giving a few high-fists, but nothing too celebratory. It's like he got a transfusion of Kevin McReynold's anemic blood.

Miggy launched one, too, but also botched a simple play in the outfield, not too rare an occurence for him. Here he is, enjoying the ribbing from the bleachers.

Of course, the Marlins didn't win just because A.J., Miggy, and Encarnacion launched dingers. You may notice a certain mysterious presence up in the rafters, and you'll be excused if it smells a little fishy around here.