THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, BUT FANS AREN'T FILLING THE SEATS

          In S.F., "on a lovely day for baseball," the Giants, in
     the middle of a pennant race, drew "only" 12,623 at 3Com
     Park to see them beat the Cardinals, according to Carl Nolte
     in a front-page piece in the S.F. CHRONICLE.  The night
     before, only 13,098 attended, and Nolte writes that "nobody
     can understand it."  Despite the "exciting and interesting"
     team, the Giants are averaging 19,439 per game, compared to
     the league average of 28,523.  Giants VP/Communications Bob
     Rose: "Let's just say we won't lose as much money as last
     year.  Are we disappointed?  Sure we are disappointed." 
     Nolte: "No one knows why the team has been drawing badly. 
     Some say it's the weather, but the last few games ... have
     been played in perfect conditions."  Nolte also adds that
     the BART transportation strike "doesn't go anywhere near the
     ballpark" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/11).
          ACROSS THE BAY: The A's drew their smallest home crowd
     since September 23, 1986, as they had 4,753 last night
     against the Blue Jays (David Bush, S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/11).