Considering that the Giants are missing their two biggest bats and have suffered through a couple of ugly bullpen metltdowns in the last few games, they've got to be pretty pleased with their 4-2 record at the end of the first week of the season. A disappointing performance in the Dodgers series--their impressive opening day victory was swallowed whole by two monstrous losses--was followed up by a three game sweep of the Rockies. Now the Giants go on the road to do it all again: they've got two games in LA tomorrow and Wednesday and then a three game set in snowy Colorado Thursday through Sunday. (SFist, who'll be visiting the girlfriend's family just outside of Denver, will be there for one of the games; got any obnoxious Todd Helton chants for us?) A week from today, the Giants travel to San Diego, where they'll finally see a new opponent, the Padres.

2005 started in earnest for the Barry Bonds-less Giants on Tuesday afternoon with a nice victory over the Dodgers. Things took a turn for the worse Wednesday night, though, when their new slugger Moises Alou went down with a bum leg (for two weeks) and the bullpen fell apart to the tune of eight runs over two innnings, leading to a 10-4 loss. Things didn't improve the next night; the Giants lost the last game of the opening series with the Dodgers 6-0, showing the effects of the absence of Bonds and Alou in the heart of the lineup.