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		Giants open season up right By Charlie O. Mellonee April 6, 2005
	As San Francisco Giants catcher Mike Matheny waits for the ball, Los Angeles Dodgers Olmedo Saenz (8) scores on a double by teammate Jason Phllips off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Kirk Rueter in the second inning of their MLB game at SBC Park in San Francisco, April 6, 2005. REUTERS/Lou Dematteis Reuters
	SAN FRANCISCO - In order to see themselves as a team without Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants will have to see themselves without having that monster home run that'll go out into McCovey cove. So it was a great start for San Francisco to the 2005 season after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 Tuesday afternoon at SBC Park. Jason Schmidt picked up the win to start off, allowing two runs in eight innings, and Armando Benitez earned the save. Getting the first home victory right out of the gate is a bonus. Most of the time when you come back from a road trip, one or two games here and there don't make the difference, but the way things have been the last several years, you never know. Just to get that home victory over the Dodgers is good. The rivalry is bigger here than it is in L.A. For the faithful to see the Giants come back against LA and take the season opener, I think it sets the right tone, especially for playing at home and without Barry Bonds. For Felipe Alou there are a lot of reasons you could be angry at the Giants, but there is no reason for being angry at them for keeping Felipe at the helm. This guy keeps on being a fine manager a great baseball mind. Alou exemplifies what you hope professional baseball players would be like. Charlie O is getting his feet wet and will be on Sportstalk, heard on his favorite two radio stations 1110 KLIB Sacramento and KVVN 1430 San Jose. Charlie O hosts "Sports Fanatics" Friday nights from 10 p.m. to 12 midnight on "The all new talk city" 1240 KSAC Sacramento. He will be featured in this space each week.