660 (Giants 7, Brewers 5)

Opening Day for the Giants was really Barry Bonds Day, and he did not disappoint.

Jon Miller, decked out in a tuxedo (he wore shorts to San Diego's opener), introduced the Brewers and the Giants bench, giving way to Hall of Famer Lon Simmons for the starting Giants lineup. There was much cheering and laughing, even when the jokes made no sense. After the lineups, Barry was presented with his sixth MVP award by Wayne Gretzky and Bill Russell. You may have heard of those guys. Those three combine for 20 MVP awards.

Peabo Bryson sang the national anthem, followed by the annual flyover of four F/A-18 Hornets. I must be getting older because they didn't sound as loud as I remember.

Mayor Gavin Newsom threw out the first ball. He was greeted by equal parts boos and cheers, which I guess has something to do with the gay marriage thing. Newsom used to be a real baseball player, even getting drafted by a big-league team. He didn't look the part, though, as his throw skipped past A.J. Pierzynski.

The center-field scoreboard is improved this year, with more batting stats and even the current pitcher's season stats. Still no lineup boards, so you're still left guessing about the batting order for the team out in the field. There's tons of room to add a couple of boards on the girders next to the big board.

The good feelings went away quickly once the game started. Jerome Williams looked hittable all game, and the Brewers jumped on him for a run in the first. That lead was coughed up quick by Matt Kinney ("You know it's bad when you can't hold the lead for more than seven pitches," Nate said). Bonds walked on four straight in the inning.

J.T. Snow seemed to be fighting the ball all day (maybe it was Lon's suggestion that the Gold Glove Award should be called the J.T. Snow Award) and had one clank off his glove in the third, which led to two runs on the play after he chased it down and skipped a throw home. Bonds cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the third when he drilled a single up the middle to score Durham. I didn't even see the ball until it was to the outfielder. All I saw was Kinney ducking as the ball shot through.

Bonds came up again in the fifth with the Giants down 4-2, runners on first and second (Durham and Snow) and two out. The sub-.200 Pierzynski was on deck, so it seemed that the Brewers would do what most sane people would do -- walk him. Kinney appeared to be doing just that, as his first three were way off the mark. The 3-0 was near the zone and Bonds fouled it back into the top deck.

Bonds turned the 3-1 pitch into a classic Bonds homer: high, hard, and no doubt about it from the second it left his bat. Absolutely fantastic. The crowd went nuts, Barry circled the bases, and a giant "Bonds 660 HR" banner came down next to the scoreboard, a counterpart to the "Mays 660 HR" banner on the other side. Once Barry hit home, Willie Mays came out of the dugout with his Olympic torch. It was a bit strange, but I liked Mays' intentions.

The homer was fantastic, but you have to wonder what Yost was thinking.

"Maybe I'm just too stupid to walk him every time," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "I'd venture to say there's not another player on this planet better than Barry Bonds." (CBS Sportsline)

The rest of the game was anticlimax, but not dull. Wayne Franklin came on in relief and performed well, except for his snooze job that allowed Scott Podsednik to steal third without a play with two out in the seventh -- Podsednik took off with Franklin just standing on the mound and it looked like Podsednik was the only player on the field who was moving.

Carol Channing performed during the stretch, singing an altered version of "Hello Dolly," "Hello Giants." Remember when I called the torch thing weird? I take it back.

Bonds had a chance to pass Mays in the seventh, but hit a towering popup to short left instead. The Brewers were playing the shift with the third baseman playing shortstop, and Wes Helms really didn't stand a chance. Out of position and facing swirling winds, Helms did everything but cover his head before letting it drop for a Bonds double and an eventual run.

Herges came in to close the ninth, so the big question when he came in from the bullpen was "What will be his theme song?" This time it was Rush's "Tom Sawyer," which really doesn't get the crowd jumping. Maybe "Hello Giants"?

Comments

[Erik]

Interesting tidbit on Newsom being drafted as a baseball player... I saw a photo of him throwing out the 1st pitch, and remarked to myself that his toss looked remarkably non-mayoral (i.e., seemed like he had thrown a baseball before!). Photo at http://sfgate.com/chronicle/pictures/2004/04/13/sp_newsomgiants.jpg

[Marty]

Yep. He played baseball at Santa Clara. He pitched. If I run into a boxscore, I'll post it.

[Emily]

Rush's "Tom Sawyer" seems like it has been a lot of people's theme music.