Quotes and Observations From Opening Day

Jeff Kent hitting a home run off Barry Zito in the first inning of the first game of the season is one of the worst omens you could think of.

"People are looking for any kind of negative about this ballclub. We're going to do our best to focus on the job at hand. We're going to find ways to win. Obviously, today didn't go as planned. Now, we've got to focus on tomorrow." -Dave Roberts

"We made a couple of mental mistakes. Throwing to the wrong base, getting picked off when we're five runs down ... those are the things we've got to learn from. Every day we've got to learn something and get better." -Bruce Bochy

"The bottom line is, we need to do a better job getting hits." -Aaron Rowand

"The number of hits wasn't as disturbing as the authority behind them. The Dodgers made great contact, getting nothing on the cheap. The radar gun offered another bad verdict. For the most part, Zito didn't throw harder than 84 mph all day. He knows his fastball has lost velocity, and doesn't quite understand why." -Gween Knapp on Barry Zito.

"Right now, it's 84-85 at the high end, which obviously is frustrating for me. You've got a look at, usually when things like this happen, it's either an injury, which it is not, or it's something mechanical. So, you know, I'm always learning and trying to get better, and those things and obviously looking at old tapes and things like that and want to get that 88-89 back, and I'm sure it's just a small tweak away." -Barry Zito

"I have been getting a lot of emails asking what I’ve been up to this past off-season. This winter has been the first time in my career that I’ve had the chance to take time for myself and really enjoy the time off. While at home with my family I have been able to work out of my office concentrating on my various companies, attending meetings as well as making a few business trips." -Barry Bonds