I love this game, and have been a San Francisco Giants fan since childhood. The steroid issue hanging over Bonds, though, makes me long for the days of my baseball heroes; Mays, McCovey and Marichal. My framed picture of Bonds is looking tarnished, though the jury's still out.

Today's prices for a Giants game makes it prohibitive, though. $28 for the 3rd deck seats last season. Outrageous for baseball. To get my baseball fix last season, when not in SF, I went to the crosstown Oakland A's, for a Tuesday night $2 seat in the 3rd deck. Not the same emotions for me as seeing the Giants, but it's baseball and it's enjoying the experience with friends. I'll probably do more A's games this year, as $28 per is just not a baseball price. One of the many attractions of going to MLB games is that it has always been one of the most reasonably priced sports tickets. It's frustrating to see that change so quickly in SF.

Seeing baseball live makes it one of the more sensory experiences in all of sports. No wonder so many writers wax eloquent about it; the aroma of mustard, peanuts, the sound of the bat hitting the ball, the sight of the green, not to mention al the nuances of the game that gives it tension, even when there's seemingly "nothing happening."Players, too, are affected by their sernsory experience of the game. Mays, in his autobiography, wrote of looking up at the clouds when he was in the ballpark as being one of his vivid memories.

I think one reason why baseball, unlike football, doesn't come over as well on television, is that television follows "the action," while viewing baseball live is a total experience. Instead of focusing on one part of the action, you're looking at much more of the field while a ball is in play.

Glad it's back? Yes!