Impressions from opening day
So Monday was opening day, both for the Giants and for Comcast Sportsnet, the partially-owned-by-the-Giants network formerly known as Fox Sports Net. The network's performance was decent. As for the team's performance, well, uh, I guess you could say they lived up to expectations.
Problem is, expectations are that the 2008 Giants will celebrate 50 years in San Francisco by being the worst, least-potent 25-man group the organization has ever assembled. (Related side note: the late FSN Bay Area's recent promo ad asserting that the Giants were "primed for a run at the title" is possibly the most laughable thing I've ever heard. No clue how the guy they paid to say that for the spot got through the sentence without bursting out into uncontrollable laughter.)
So that I don't send you all into deep depression right off the bat, let's not talk about the game right away, and talk about the network. A name change brings along with it other changes, most notably to the on-screen graphics. In general, I thought CSNBA's graphics were pretty decent, but as a graphics-obsessed guy, I found a few things to nit-pick about. FSN's graphics could be coordinated with team colors. CSN's are just red, blue, and gray, so it feels more generic. And when out-of-town scores pop up, the text is extremely and unnecessarily narrow (I say unnecessary because there's a ton of dead space to the right of the scores). I've noticed that on-screen graphics are more and more geared toward only those who have HDTV, and they're often barely readable on standard-def screens.
The thing that bugged me the most was the replay fade graphic (the one that they play when shifting between live-action and replays) shows the team logo in a stadium — with snow coming down like the stadium's in a snow globe. What the heck is that all about?
The production itself seems to be just as good, probably because it's all the same people, just getting paychecks with a different name in the corner. And as always, there was Kruk and Kuip, with the ever-optimistic Mike Krukow noting that several Giants starters that had good career numbers against Dodgers ace Brad Penny.
Which brings us to the game. You know that book, All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten? Well, all you really need to know about Monday's opener happened in the first inning. Dave Roberts singled to lead off the top half — that might be the high point of the season folks — and was quickly erased trying to steal second on a failed hit-and-run. Rich Aurilia, who'd swung at an impossible pitch because the hit-and-run was on, proceeded to ground out weakly to short. Randy Winn was also retired, and the Giants came away with zero runs, a trend that would continue for the next eight innings.
Contrast that with what the Dodgers did. Rafael Furcal led off with a double that kicked up the chalk on the left field line. (Like the Dodgers — or anyone else, for that matter — need little breaks like that against the Giants this year.) One out later, Mark Kemp knocked him in with a single to center. Kemp took second when center fielder Aaron Rowand foolishly tried to throw out Furcal.
Note to Rowand and the Giants: Given the extreme ineptitude of your lineup this season, you need to be basically flawless in the field. That includes hitting the cutoff man.
It didn't end up mattering in this instance though. When the next guy up hits a home run, you score whether or not you're in scoring position. And that's just what happened. And to add insult to injury, it was our ol' buddy Jeff Kent. After one inning, Dodgers 3, Giants 0.
The final numbers read like this: Dodgers 5, Giants 0, Barry Zito's ERA 7.20 (he's 0-4 on opening day), Giants 2-3-4-5 hitters 1-for-15.
Sigh.