Sunday, Bloody Sunday - My brother-in-law, Marcus, said it best - "It's a hard time to be a Giants fan". Aside from this last series with the Dodgers, overall, I'm feelin like there's definitely a sense of 'mediocrity' in the 2004 Giants (whew... I said it... I can't believe I said it. I take it back).

The Giants were swept by the Dodgers, in our homefield for goodness' sake, for the first time in four years. Un-freakin-believable. And, in a game where Bonds homers twice - sigh - his past few homers have been so crucial - either tying it up, closing the gap, or bringin us ahead. And for what. Absolutely painful. Tomko took a major beating today and I couldn't help but cower down in shame, on his behalf. Everyone kept sayin "this isn't the same Dodgers team" and that we should "watch out for them," but apparently, we were playin like they were the same ol' beatable Dodgers. They just played smart ball and they were hittin us like crazy. And Dave Roberts... and Beltre, Encarnacion and Bradley... and frickin Gagne (his last pitch to Grissom was a 70mph curveball for heaven's sake) - I just watched the last 3 innings in awe. I was absolutely dumbfounded. Bonds kept gettin us back in the race, with his two homers (followed by his initial at-bat, which scored our first run) and the rest of the team couldn't do anything about it. I know Bonds insists that he is not "carrying the team", but I'm sorry, numbers speak louder than words - I know it's early in the season, but the man currently has a .500 batting average with a .638 OBP.

We're 4 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West. What keeps me hopeful and faithful to my boys - the prospects for Dave Aardsma; Bonds seeing more pitches; Jason Schmidt, Neifi Perez and Pedro Feliz. Oh, and Grissom, Durham, Tucker, Hammonds and Pierzynski. Plus, how could I ever lose faith in J.T. Snow. Wait a minute - that's the whole starting lineup, isn't it! I just gotta believe...

Baseball Trivia: This is the fourth time that Bonds and Sosa have had a multi-HR game on the same day. The last time was in Sept. 2001.

On the homefront - Today was MDQ's Christening and reception. Great fun and as usual, Great Food! Miles looks straightup like his dad! Also, my cousin's wife, Virna, announced that she is currently 8 weeks pregnant with their fourth child due ca. November 19. Congratulations everyone!
-o