When the San Francisco Giants break home ground on the 2010 season, there will be several compelling reasons to scale the walls at 24 Willie Mays Plaza.
The home opener is always a momentous occasion for any franchise, and Friday at AT&T Park will be no different. Granted, the bigger parties will be over the weekend when two Bay Area favorites get the spotlight.
On Saturday, the baby face of the franchise, Tim Lincecum, gets his hardware for a second consecutive National League Cy Young Award. Ho-hum, show me something new Timmy...
On Sunday, San Francisco will celebrate the 2000 squad that won the NL West pennant, christening the yard more affectionately known as Pac Bell (which is sort of sad if you think about it) in the process.
Rumor has it that Jeff Kent and Barry Lamar Bonds will darken the stadium's door. Neither was absolutely beloved by the faithful due to rather prickly demeanors, but both were adored within the foul lines.
Of course, you cannot say the all-timers adored each other.
Their 2002 dugout scuffle has become infamous, yet its imprint can't be considered outsized. The large fuss over a tiny "brawl" becomes appropriate when you consider the incident represented a larger and often contentious (from most accounts) relationship between two future residents of Cooperstown.
Time heals and mellows, so there's about a 95 percent chance the two will make or have made nice and will honor the spirit of the moment.
But that five percent wild card adds a dash of mystery to an already spectacle-filled weekend.
Regardless, the first game on the home slate still will be a party. Especially because of the second-most prominent storyline: The 2010 Giants are coming off a three-game sweep of the Astros in Houston.
A broom-job is no minor miracle in the big leagues, but one on the road against any caliber of competition is reason to shake off the rust on your fanaticism. As is the first substantial test of the year.
Based on the earliest of early returns, the degree of difficulty attached to the Atlanta Braves signifies a considerably more intimidating challenge than that of the 'Stros.
All the more so because, on paper, the starting pitching for the three-game series favors the Bravos. Even with the Freak taking his second turn of 2010 in the finale.
That means Jonathan Sanchez must pitch through the adrenaline of San Francisco's maiden voyage by the Bay, Todd Wellemeyer will have to make good on his spring promise, and/or the offense needs to keep raking like it did in Minute Maid Park.
This latter point bears further emphasis because, even if the arms continue to dazzle, it's safe to assume Los Gigantes will need as many or more runs than they scored in Houston. The Senior Circuit's tribe has a wee bit more thump that the Astros.
Chipper Jones looks better, Brian McCann is a stud, Martin Prado might burst into flame at any moment, Troy Glaus has begun to stir, Yunel Escobar is dangerous, and even Melky Cabrera/Nate McLouth can hurt you.
As can that new kid, what's his name again? I think it's Justin something...
The San Francisco crowd will have the distinction of being the first to welcome Jason Heyward to the hostile world of road baseball in the bigs. He's become a household name in the span of one month, and not even a month that sees real baseball.
That's pretty incredible.
March is exhibition territory, but launching big flies that do property damage will get the hype-ball rolling in most situations. So will doing it for your hometown organization—the 20-year-old phenom was born in Jersey, but grew up near Hotlanta and played high school ball down there.
The Disney flourish to Heyward's major league tale came when he yanked a Carlos Zambrano offering DEEP into right field for a home run in his first at-bat in The Show. I had the good fortune of tuning in right as Big Z let go of the pitch, so I saw lift-off.
It was a beautiful thing to every baseball fan except those wearing Chicago Cubs gear. Probably a few them, too.
However, I was more impressed by his first AB against the Cubbies on Thursday.
Over 100 pros have hit taters in their first trip to the plate, and more pitchers have done it than Hall of Famers (and one of those is in Canton, not Cooperstown). Crazy things happen in baseball, so running into one during your first trip to the batter's box is cute, but it's hardly the mark of excellence.
On the other hand, a nine-pitch at-bat in which the youngster fouled off three bullets and took a fourth for a ball after two empty swings? Now we're talkin'.
Sure, Randy Wells induced a weak fielder's choice with the ninth pitch of the confrontation. Nevertheless, I'd call that a draw since Wells was dealing all afternoon.
As John Smoltz remarked during the MLB Network telecast, Heyward still has some blatant vulnerabilities such as being overaggressive. Like many green superstars-to-be, the top prospect in all of baseball tends to attack early and often.
Against Chicago's lethal-but-erratic closer Carlos Marmol, the approach earned Jason a three-pitch whiff without the courtesy of a single offering in the strike zone.
Additionally, the left-handed-hitting right fielder is 0-for-3 against southpaws with two strikeouts. That's an absurdly small sample size from which to draw even a hint of a conclusion, but it bears mentioning with Sanchez starting the first of three.
With Lincecum penciled in for Sunday afternoon and a bullpen stocked with live arms (Jeremy Affeldt and Dan Runzler are both lefties), the San Francisco Giants should be equipped to baptize Jason Heyward by fire.
And, if not, at least there's only water beyond right field.
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