After soggy party, grounds crew gets to work

Mostly because the San Francisco hitters weren't the only ones rakin' at the Giants' ballpark.

Head groundskeeper Greg Elliott and his crew worked until midnight after Monday night's NL championship series clincher, pulled the tarp across the field and began bright and early again at 8 a.m. — with a midafternoon deadline before the Detroit Tigers' workout ahead of Wednesday night's Series opener.

Giants bench coach Ron Wotus walked into the ballpark Tuesday afternoon and headed straight for Elliott to check on his progress. He appreciated the hustle.

"They're busting it, is right," Wotus said.

It's the most rain Elliott has seen in such a short span since he came aboard from Cleveland in 2008. Headphones in his ears as he spread new dirt and methodically raked it just right, Elliott monitored the entire process as his crew scurried every which way to prepare the field. In front of the visitors' dugout, the World Series logo was painted on the grass.

"Two and a half inches came down the day before the Braves opened here in 2010 (NLDS), but not in that kind of a short timeframe," Elliott said. "They're going to hit. We're working on a deadline."

Not that the Tigers seemed too concerned about the conditions.

"Last night was a crazy game and it looks like the field got beat up a little bit," Detroit reliever Phil Coke said. "I was just peeking out there because I haven't seen the field since I was in junior college. I looked out there and it looked like it got a nice little beating last night from Mother Nature. I know that the grounds crew does a phenomenal job because the park always looks pristine. So I'm not really worried about field conditions or anything like that."