Productivity will screech to a halt today across San Francisco today, as your San Francisco Giants play their home opener this afternoon at AT&T Park (first pitch at 1:35 p.m.). Whether you're attending in person, KNBR-ing it, or just obsessively staring at the MLB.com Gameday site, we’ve got your fandom covered with this handy reference listicle for today’s “Pagan holiday” proceedings.
1. It’s Not Going To Be As Hot Today
Per Accuweather, today’s high will be but a mere 66 degrees compared to yesterday’s scorcher of 87 degrees. So bikinis and tank tops are not necessarily called for, but we won’t judge if you decide to go the bare-arm route.
2. It’s Not Streaming On The Internet
That is, unless you have an MLB.tv subscription. Otherwise, stuck-at-work types will not be able to stream the KNBR audio of this game online. You will need an actual old-school radio box to play the game on KNBR 680, or an actual cable account for the Comcast SportsNet Bay Area broadcast.
3. It’s Time To Meet The New Guys
Free agent acquisition Denard Span may have made the biggest first impression of this year’s new Giants, hitting the first of the three consecutive home runs (Span! Panik! Posey!) on Monday’s Opening Day victory. Other notable additions to the roster include starting pitchers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija. Tell ‘em “Large Samardz” sent ya!
4. It’s Really Expensive to Get a Ticket
According to a SeatGeek report this week, the Giants have the second most expensive Opening Day tickets in Major League Baseball (though the price has dipped since that report was published). Nonetheless, you can pretty much count on tickets being pricey all year. Broke-Ass Stuart has a nice write-up of tips on getting Giants tickets relatively cheap.
5. It’s A Peavy Game Today
Jake Peavy wasn’t all that bad last year! Faint praise, of course, for the right-handed 34-year-old who threw the fewest strikeouts in his career last season.
6. It’s A Dodgers Game Today
The damn-ass Dodgers are in first place in the NL West standings (for a couple more hours, presumably), and have a new manager in Dave Roberts after firing Don Mattingly. Dave Roberts used to be a Giant, remember?
7. It’s a Powerful Hitting Line-Up For The 2016 Giants
Span! Panik! Posey! The Giants are also thrilled to have Angel Pagan, Hunter Pence and Brandon Crawford back healthy after injuries ravaged the line-up last season.
8. It’s Not Legal To Chew Tobacco At AT&T Park Anymore
California lawmakers outlawed smokeless tobacco at all of the state’s ballparks last autumn, a development that surely rubs some MLB players the wrong way.
9. It’s An Even-Numbered Year
And you know exactly what that means. This is not mere mathematical coincidence. Bochy and the Giants front office seem to be onto a formula here, where they develop talent in their oft-injury-riddled odd-numbered years and add solid free agents to bolster the homegrown guys for the even-numbered years. The San Francisco Giants are still a dynasty, albeit one without consecutive championships. Do consider them a contender this season, and don’t stop believin’.