Welcome to Saturday Scorecard. With so many readers recovering from the Brewers' home opener, we'll keep the items short and recommend aspirin, Gatorade and greasy eggs and / or cheeseburgers to help ease the pain.

On to the notes...

In the swing: Brewers third baseman Bill Hall, who didn't hit a home run during spring training, belted two and drove in a career-high six runs in a 13-4 victory over San Francisco in the home opener Friday afternoon at Miller Park.

"I wasn't worried about not hitting home runs in spring training and exhibition games," Hall said. "I've never seen those stats on the back of anybody's baseball card."

Uniform matter: The Brewers did not wear their "throwback" uniforms on Friday, opting for the standard issue duds for the opener. They are scheduled to wear the pinstripes for Friday home games during the remainder of the year, even though many players aren't fond of them. "We had nothing but bad luck in those things," one player said.

Just wondering... Who gets hired first -- the Bucks GM or Marquette's basketball coach? My money is on the Golden Eagles. They need a coach ASAP and you have to expect them to make a hire by this time next week.

Poker face: After watching Brewers starter Carlos Villanueva work, we couldn't help wondering -- where are Leo Estrella and Wayne Franklin these days?

"I don't know," Villanueva said. "I saw Wayne pitch with the Giants and the Yankees. I don't know where Leo is. I never really talked to him. He's Dominican, too. I've seen him pitch in the Winter League, but I've never talked to him."

At the end of spring training in 2004, the Brewers traded Estrella and Franklin to the Giants for Villanueva, who was in rookie ball, and Glenn Woolard.

"I was in rookie ball," said Villanueva, who said he doesn't carry a chip on his shoulder. "I was 19 years old. It was a 50-50 chance. He may make it; maybe not."

Villanueva wasn't especially sharp Friday (5 1/3 innings, two runs, eight hits, two walks), but he tied a personal record with six strikeouts. It was a solid performance by a young pitcher in a pressure-packed situation.

"He's got a pretty good poker face," pitching coach Mike Maddux said of Villanueva's calm demeanor. "He hides it pretty well."

Said Villanueva: "I used to get so emotional before. I don't get like that. Some games I do. Last year, when I went into Atlanta, for some reason I felt anxious that day. But, I don't.

"I'm not a guy that will sit down and stay focused and nobody can talk to me. I feel prepared."

Welcome back: I'm pretty sure that Miller Park public address announcer Robb Edwards referred to Brewers outfielder Gabe Kapler as "Kaplan." It's an easy mistake to make, especially if you loved "Welcome Back, Kotter."

Kapler has been starting against left-handed pitchers, but could get more time because of Tony Gwynn, Jr.'s hamstring injury. Gwynn received treatment Friday and didn't seem overly optimistic about a quick recovery.

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