Yeah, the Giants lost the season opener last night 6-1 as Jake Peavy shut the Black & Orange down, but that, of course, isn't what everyone is talking about. In something that should be par for the course this season, anything the Giants do will have two components to it-- how the Giants do and what happens to Barry. Barry lined the first pitch he saw for a double and scored the first Giants' run of the season (brought in by Lance Niekro, hopefully a good omen) but didn't do much else.

But that's not the big story, the big story is how the Padre fan's treated the Barry. And the answer is not well. He was booed mercilessly, one of those outfield knothole type things in Petco Park's outfield was closed to keep the crowd under control, and a needle-less syringe was thrown at Barry during the game. All this in San Diego, not a place known for it's vociferous and tough fans. One could only imagine what befalls Barry in places like New York or Philly. In something we're sure will become a recurring theme to the season, after the game, Giants players not named Barry Bonds became annoyed at all the questions asked about their reaction to the fans reaction to Barry. And all this captured on camera for Barry's reality show, which airs tonight on ESPN2 at five and for which we TOTALLY FORGOT TO SET TIVO FOR.

But as Jim Caple pointed out on ESPN, with all the harassment came all the usual shadings and grayness and hypocrisies in all this. Fans booed lustily, but stuck it out through the ninth inning to watch Barry bat one more time. Consider this the start of another season-long theme. Caple also mentions that he got a letter from a Giants fan saying how he wore a Bonds jersey to a game in San Diego only to be harassed by a Padres fan wearing a Ken Caminiti jersey. Caminiti, of course, famously admitted on the cover of S.I. that he took steroids. Pads fans also cheered Mike Piazza when he hit a home run and there's been rumors following Piazza that he took something in the ass different from what the usual rumors are. Oh, and the new Brewers closer is one of the few players to have tested positive steroids, way back in '03.

In a way, it's fitting Barry is doing the reality show because he's become the perfect reality TV show star, someone who everyone hates yet can't keep from paying attention to. Right now, he is to baseball what Omorosa was to the "Apprentice" and to what Veronica and Rachel was to the "Real World/Road Rules" challenges. Clap your hands and say "yeah!"