It was great playing last night back at AT&T, even though the wind was unbelievable. I felt really good at the plate. I saw the ball really well. Shows that practice pays off. And Timmy looked great, as usual. He’s ready to go.

I know these games don’t mean anything, but winning in our home park – hitting in our home park — against the A’s just gives us that added confidence. It means we’re going to be in a lot of games. We’re going to score more runs than people think.

Just being in the park, with the lights and the crowd, gives you a lot of energy. It’s such a different atmosphere from spring training in Arizona.

So we’re settled in the rental house. The girls have been with us but have to go back to Yuma on Sunday. They love the new place – with pool and game room and huge yard. It’s way bigger than our house in Yuma.

The best thing is my mother is here in San Francisco for the first time. She spent about a week with us in Arizona and now is here about 10 days before flying back to Puerto Rico on Thursday. She has to be home by the 11th because in our church, we have special prayers every month for six months on the day of somebody’s death. My father died on October 11.

It’s been so tough on my mother. She cries and says, “Oh, Benja, oh Benja.” That’s what she called my father, Benja. I realized she got teary every time she saw a photo of my father, so I put away the ones in my house and in my car. For me, it helps to look at my father and remember. For her, at least right now, it’s too painful.

But we’ve had fun, too, of course, while she’s here. On the way from the airport to Lafayette, she asked, “Where’s that big bridge?” We’ll take her to the Golden Gate before she leaves. I also want to take her to Alcatraz. We drove through the city the other day and I took her to my favorite Puerto Rican restaurant, Fruitlandia. She loved watching me at AT&T for the first time but she was freezing! She was so bundled up I could barely see her face.

I spent this afternoon at the Play Ball Luncheon at the Hilton in San Francisco, which is a fundraiser for the Giants Community Fund and Junior Giants Baseball. Every player on the team was there, plus all the coaches and broadcasters and even Mays and McCovey. Each player got to walk into the ballroom with one of the Junior Giants players. It was wonderful to talk to some of the kids and hear how much baseball – and their coaches – have helped them in their lives.

Another game against the A’s tonight. Looking forward to catching Randy Johnson one more time before Opening Day.

See you out there.