OAKLAND - The changing of the guard will not happen here this weekend during the Oakland-San Francisco interleague series, but it's darn sure a guaranteed preview.
After all, Barry Bonds remains the best baseball player in the Bay Area. A future Hall of Famer. A 35-year-old man producing right now like a virile twenty-something, second only to Mark McGwire in the National League home run race.
But Bonds best not look back, or even across the field this weekend. Something might be gaining on him in the Bay Area baseball Q-ratings - namely a burly first baseman who plays for the A's, hair slicked back, goatee trimmed to devilish style, stinging line drives around the yard with his quick, compact swing.
Yes, the Bay Area has been Bonds' romping place for much of the past decade. But the next decade just might belong to Jason Giambi, 29, who is third in the American League in home runs (17) and second in RBIs (52) and first in the All-Star balloting at his position, ahead of such luminaries as Mo Vaughn, Jim Thome, Rafael Palmeiro and Frank Thomas.
For Giambi, who is simply getting better every year, his old standby line of ''just tricking ''em'' may not be enough to explain his ascension. Confronted with the thought of becoming an All-Star starter, he can only grin.
''Man, I must be tricking ''em good,'' Giambi said, then quickly crediting the freakish vote total to a campaign headed by a national radio sports host who is pimping Giambi's cause.
But the thought of stealing Bonds' crown as the Bay Area's best player is beyond trickery. In fact, Giambi thinks it's just plain beyond reason.
''Barry is one of the greatest players in the game,'' Giambi said. ''To even be mentioned near him is an honor. I mean, if I can take that over in the Bay Area, then I'd have really accomplished something. If I do, that's really something.
''But I'll take second to Barry in the Bay Area any day.''
There are other reasons why Giambi believes his excellence will stay in shadowy obscurity for the time being, and he cites the A's status as second-class media citizens as one of them.
''I don't know if (passing Bonds in popularity) will ever happen, because I think the Giants get more pub than we do,'' Giambi said. ''Until we really start winning, I don't think that will happen. If we start winning, there will be recognition. Like last year.''
Giambi finished eighth in the AL MVP voting a year ago, a surprisingly high nod of appreciation for a man who toils in Coliseum-shaded irrelevance. That Bonds has won three NL MVPs is a reminder of how many mountains the Giants' left fielder has climbed in his day, but the possibility exists for Giambi to attain celebrity status in this fickle sports area.
Now, nobody's saying he'll win three MVP awards, or run the bases the way Bonds has and still does. But Giambi has the magnetic personality Bonds lacks, and can send reporters away from his locker, notebooks filled with colorful quotes. These factors come into play when headlines are written, and when the public forms its perception.
Besides as the players say, the guy can flat-out rake. Had he not fallen into a seven-game, 31-atbat RBI drought - broken Wednesday night in New York with an RBI single - the lefthanded hitter would be the talk of the league right now. When he ripped a grand slam on May 21 against Minnesota, he had 17 bombs and 51 RBIs after just 45 games, a pace so comical that even the ''cartoon character'' McGwire himself - to use Giambi's words - called Giambi up to warn him of his productive rate.
''He was telling me: 'Dude, you better watch out or the media's going to be all over you, talking about being on pace to break my record, and on pace to tear up Hack Wilson's (RBI) record,''' Giambi said.
Instead, Giambi heads into the weekend content to be in the top two in the AL in homers and RBIs, to be leading his own team in walks, runs and on-base percentage. His teammates observe, and take note of the fact that Giambi's average, homer and RBI totals have improved every year he's been in the bigs.
''Just since I got traded here in ''97, it's been night and day for him,'' reliever T.J. Mathews said. ''He's a completely different player. Defensively, he's head and shoulders above what he used to be. He's a lot more mature. He's a leader.
''He was thrown into leading when Mark was traded, and now I think he likes it. That's what makes him a better player. Guys look up to him, and I think he likes it.''
Giambi, meanwhile, still looks up to Bonds. For now.
''Barry helps me with my hitting any time we talk,'' Giambi said. ''I love Barry.''
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.