The Daily News

1  "And thaaaaaaat, my friends, was your home 

opener." 

 ---Me, when I first sat down to write this yesterday. 

The game was already on, but the Giants were losing 4 to 0. I apologize to A's fans, but it was all I could do to even attempt covering the Giants' opener, and they're my own team. 

Listen: For all of us Bay Area sorts, yesterday was the official first day of baseball. It's on. Baseball is here, and here for a while. Thank the Lawd!

2  As with many baseball games each season, I missed much of yesterday's game b/c of your basic, everyday stuff. I listened to it driving back up to Sac yesterday, so this was being written mid-game. At the time,the Giants were getting crushed 4-0. Were. 

3  That's why they call it a pastime. What's a pastime? Why, something other than work that passes the time in an enjoyable way. For those new to the term, baseball is considered by many to be the National Pastime. Teach that to your children.

Here is the definition of pastime, according to the Oxford American Dictionary:

pastime  |ˈpasˌtīm|

noun

an activity that someone does regularly for enjoyment rather than work; a hobby: his favorite pastimes were shooting and golf.

4  Tough to write about the Giants' home opener because I began writing this somewhere around the fifth inning. Once again, the Giants were down 4 to 0. Amy Gutierrez had just hopped on in the bottom of the sixth to point out how the ground crew had made an almost invisible, mystical SF in the middle of the field, and reported that it wouldn't be here "after today." I liked it because if the Giants go on to win the whole thing in October, it might have a bit of meaning. That's why you follow the game. You share those little things, even if the Giants wind up losing 4-0. 

5  Well! Amy G. reported this in the bottom of the sixth. That was the inning that changed the face of the game. The Giants spent the entire sixth inning at the plate throwing pies into the Dodgers' faces. Insanity happened.

6  I don't tweet. I'm not a bird man. But if I DID tweet, it would have looked like this yesterday:

7  

twitter bird

0r

how my tweets would have looked 

if I were a twitterer

The Giants playing small ball, way entertaining. It was like Amy G. began talking about invisible SF symbols when the Giants materialized, and then bullied the Dodgers in the bottom of the sixth. 

Pagan's dramatic shot to right to score two runs and put the Giants ahead 5-4, clearly the turning point. It is no coincidence it came right after Amy G. talked about something reasonably insignificant. 

 In a poetic sort of way, it may have worked. The Giants were down, and practically out of the game when Amy came in with the SF lawn feature. 

Within seconds the game thrilled. It electrified. It curled Amy's straight hair, making her look a bit like all five Jackson's. 

8  Very cool. Once in a while, Amy, I gotta tellya. How did you make that happen?

I'm Amy G., B!tc#!

9  All of which followed with the Dodgers stumbling and bumbling. Fly balls and a high balls. Opening Day. Here comes another couple Tweets:

Listen to these two:

Some guy named Steve Hogan playing God Bless America on the organ. About two percent of the crowd knows the words. The rest just sort of mumbled along. 

Sort of like going to a Catholic mass. 

10  

11

12  And yes, that was designed for coffee to have flipped through your nose. I was lying in the weeds. 

13  Oh, my. I hope this organ guy Hogan was hired just for the Opener. It was a real popcorn version. Really horrid, but classic, in a sense. It used to be an acquired taste. Now it is at best nostalgic, and at worst, God Bless America.

14  Ballgames went through a period where many teams had organists playing stuff all during the game. 

15  The Giants used to have a Jazz Band and a Dixieland Band walk through the seats and entertain. 

16  Now they have a little of everything, which I guess I don't mind.  

21  God.

22  Baseball.

23  Want some of my notes and random thunks that I jotted down as the game moved to the end? Good, because I wrote them as they occurred. Here is how all that played. These aren't tweets, but thoughts and short notes, and are footed in cement as they happened yesterday. Here go:

24  Trying to write about a baseball game while bringing in luggage is like trying to write about the View while doing housework. 

25  And if you do either more than once in a lifetime, you need to get looked at. 

26  So. The game turned around dramatically in the bottom of the sixth, and we are now enjoying the bottom of the seventh. 

27  Here is what the Dodgers did in between:

28

29

30

and then...

31  Holy Sh1%t! When did Romo learn to throw Amish cream-puffs to Peterson?

32  I guess there ain't no easy. Here is what one could arguably call inningus interruptus, or more precisely, my interrupted notes on the Giants home opener, as it happened: 

33  Bottom 8. I was writing an email and missed a Giants' run. I cop to sideways watching, but it was while responding to a friend's email. It happens.

Suddenly the Giants had runners all over the place, and the small ball continued. What a fun team. 

34  And NO outs.

35  Buster goes down swinging annnnnnnd...

36  PENCE!!!!!!!

37  <runs around living room even though nobody's home>

38  Love it. I didn't really run around the living room. I anticipated the grand slam and had pulled down a picture of Hunter off the internet so I could post it to Facebook when it happened. Truth. Nailed it within a minute on two separate Facebook pages. 

39  No way the Giants lose this. No way. 

40  Top 9. 2 out. Puig. It doesn't get any better than this.

41  And...game over.

42  Anti-climactic. Pence threw light on the season, and on to the faces of all Giants' fans. Small ball, and then a monster hit. All I needed. All we needed as fans.

43  Anybody have a ciggie?

44  Nah. Just kidding. I don't generally smoke unless I have had an overdose of cocktail olives. 

45  Anyway.

46  That's my piece on the Giants' home opener. I absolutely loved every moment. 

47  I'd bring in the Warriors, but the clock is moving me to get up and do some exercise. I fell off my walking the past few days just because I was out of town and off my game. I want it back. 

48  Stay healthy.

49  And there is so much sports news going on right now I promise you one thing:

50  I'm not going to make ANY promises.

51  I REALLY gottago though.

52  Have a GREAT weekend. Thanks baseball. Welcome back. 

53  Peace.

~H~   

 

fin.