Ann Killion-Mercury News
The face of the new-era Giants rides to a commercial shoot in a reporter's car, amiably chatting the entire 45-minute drive. The face of the new-era Giants jokes around with the production crew during the shoot and doesn't complain about delays. The face of the new-era Giants turns to a public-relations staffer at the end of the long day and says, "That was a lot of fun."
Wow, it really is a new era. And the Giants would like Matt Cain, the youngest regular on the team, to be its symbol.
Cain is on the cover of the Giants' 2008 pocket schedule. Cain was present at the team's 50th anniversary news conference, and is in the new "What Would A Gamer Do?" ad campaign that will launch around opening day. And, most symbolic, Cain will move across the clubhouse and assume a locker stall in the area previously occupied by Barry Bonds.
Barry Zito asked his young friend to move into the neighborhood and Cain complied, though he wants to make sure it's clear he isn't taking the locker.
"That locker should probably never be used," he said.
Perhaps it could be glassed in as a reminder of the bizarre 15-year chapter in the franchise's history.
Although there are other fresh faces with the Giants - notably fellow pitcher Tim Lincecum - Cain seems to be the anointed one. The designated fumigator. The human face on what the Giants desperately want to convey: that this is a new, wholesome era with a scrappy young team that works hard, gets along and is genuinely likable.
Cain doesn't mind that role.
"I didn't get any official notice that that's who I am," he said. "But it's been kind of neat so far."
And like many of his teammates, he isn't shy about embracing the new, Bonds-free era.
"I feel like now some guys can kind of be themselves in the clubhouse," Cain said. "We acted different around him because he's a superstar. It's just a little bit different to interact with somebody like that. You worry about upsetting him."
Cain, 23, earned the right to be the new-era symbol because, although he didn't create the excitement Lincecum did last season, he is already a seasoned professional. Though he is four months younger than Lincecum, Cain paid his dues in the minor leagues and is entering his third full season with the team.
He also has survived and flourished in the madness that was the Giants clubhouse the past few years. Last season, Cain was given the "good guy" award by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America for his professionalism. After every start in a frustrating season - he went 7-16 despite a 3.65 ERA - Cain stood by his locker and rehashed his performance. Many players, including some on his own team, would have been curt, irritable or long gone.
"I just think that's something we're supposed to do," Cain said. "You guys have your job to do and we have ours. I just try to keep things on a professional level."
Cain, the favorite to be named the Giants' opening-day starter, was scouted almost by mistake when he was in high school. He had already signed a letter-of-intent with the University of Memphis, and was in the shadow of a higher-profile teammate whom the Giants were scouting. Instead, they found Cain and drafted him in the first round in 2002. By 2005, as another season started to slip away, there was a clamor for Cain to be elevated from Triple-A Fresno.
"I really didn't know about it," he said. "But I saw it last year with Tim. That was unbelievable."
When Cain was called up in late August 2005, he was not quite 21. He entered a clubhouse populated by aging, prickly veterans, one that revolved around a surly superstar and was managed by the aloof Felipe Alou.
"It was definitely intimidating," Cain said. "I didn't know what I could or couldn't do. I just leaned on a couple of the guys I knew from Fresno."
Cain also tried to rely on the presence he had honed on the mound: act cool and never let the other side know what you're thinking or if you're worried.
"I tried to play it cool," he said. "But I really didn't know what was going on."
One of the prickly veterans, pitcher Matt Morris, took Cain under his wing, took him out to dinner, told him when to catch the bus and answered all his dumb questions. Last year, Cain established a close relationship with Zito. Zito has taught Cain guitar, taught him politics and likes nothing better than dumb questions. "It doesn't matter what the question is, he wants to answer it," Cain said. "We have a lot of fun."
Zito is encouraging Cain to move to Marin County, where he lives. Cain, who bought a house in his hometown of Memphis last year, is interested. He spent the past two years living near the ballpark but found the urban lifestyle wasn't a good match for a country boy. "It just wasn't me," said Cain, who spends much of the off-season in a duck blind. "I never felt like I could get away."
He plans to live with his girlfriend, Chelsea, who recently graduated from Arizona State, and their dogs: cocker spaniel Tater and yellow lab Cali. He needs a yard and a place to chill out from his duty as face of the new era.
Cain is excited about the upcoming season. He thinks the Giants have a foundation to build upon. He believes his team will be hard working and scrappy. He loves the new advertising campaign - he's a featured subject - that focuses on the concept of being a "gamer," a player willing to make sacrifices for his team.
"I love that," he said. "That's huge. I don't know if baseball got away from that, or maybe just our team."
The Giants are trying to rediscover that side. It's a new era. And Cain is its face.
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