SAN FRANCISCO -- The Great Age Experiment -- extracting every last ounce of athleticism from aging stars -- was the Giants' game plan in 2006, but much to the team's dismay the strategy would prove flawed.

There were times when San Francisco sported three outfielders 40 and over -- a first in Major League Baseball, and possibly a last -- as left fielder Barry Bonds, center fielder Steve Finley and right fielder Moises Alou shared the pastural stage.

Yet these Gold Glove oldies would stutter-step their way through the year, Bonds not getting on track physically until after the All-Star break due to continuing physical ailments, Finley at 41 up to speed but not batting average and Alou playing only 98 games due to disabled list stints for a severely sprained ankle and lower back strain.

The Giants would hang around the National League West's leadership periphery and retain a glimmer of hope until a disasterous 1-8 September road trip doomed them to third place in the division for the second straight season with a 76-85 mark, 11 1/2 games back.

"That [using veterans] strategy didn't work," said general manager Brian Sabean, also alluding to other senior citizens like reliever Jeff Fassero and utility hitter Jose Vizcaino.

But key pitching injuries and sub-par performances also dotted the performance landscape, as closer Armando Benitez opened the season with left knee bursitis and closed it with aching arthritic knees, appearing in only 41 games while saving 17 -- a far cry from his 2004 total of 47.

Young left-handed starter Noah Lowry, coming off a promising 2005, incurred a slow-healing oblique (side) strain in his debut, and he would battle inconsistency the next five months.

"I still feel that oblique now," Lowry told trainer Stan Conte after the season's end.

Also feeling pain was 39-year-old reliever Tim Worrell, whose great opening two weeks dissolved quickly with a pinched nerve in his neck and eventual right shoulder surgery.

Ouch.

Even famed starter Jason Schmidt -- a Cy Young candidate in 2003 and 2004 with 35 victories in that span -- won only 11 games due to poor luck and an extended winless streak that included a 1-4 July and 4.97 ERA.

Veteran right-hander Matt Morris struggled as well, going 10-15, his ERA soaring to 4.96 and his September record a poor 0-4, 7.42. It seemed inexplicable, but it was later revealed Morris had a broken rib through the second half.

Another blow came when catcher Mike Matheny suffered a severe concussion in late May, forcing him out for the season.

Bright spots were still numerous, however. Veteran second baseman Ray Durham had a great season, hitting .293 with a career-high 26 homers and 93 RBIs; unheralded rookie backstop Eliezer Alfonzo filled in capabably and hit .300 for two months; outfielder Todd Linden grew up with a .273 average; pitcher Matt Cain rebounded from a 1-5 start to win 13 games; and Kevin Correia and Jonathan Sanchez would star in the bullpen.

January

Manager Felipe Alou and players visited with patients, signed autographs and played games with sick kids at Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento.

February

As a result of SBC's adoption of the AT&T brand, the Giants' downtown ballpark will sport a new name as of March 1: AT&T Park. Signs around the park are expected to be fully changed over to the new name by midseason.

Randy Winn, San Francisco's lone representative on the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic, said the Americans may not be so verbal about the tournament now, but just wait until they put on the red, white and blue uni, wait until the crowds show up and the competition starts.

Slugger Bonds was the only player missing from Giants Spring Training camp in Arizona's Valley of the Sun. That changed Feb. 22, when Bonds arrived at Scottsdale Stadium.

March

San Francisco scored five runs before Milwaukee recorded an out in the third inning, three of them coming on Durham's bases-clearing, go-ahead double, and Linden went 4-for-4, as the Giants beat the host Brewers, 10-5, in their Cactus League home opener.

Former Giants left-hander Kirk Rueter announced his retirement from baseball. The 35-year-old, who ranks among San Francisco leaders in numerous categories, will be honored later in the season.

April

Alou hit his milestone 300th career homer on the first pitch from Houston's Brandon Backe with one out in the second inning.

Felipe Alou faced a fine from Major League Baseball in the wake of Morris hitting two Colorado Rockies batters, one day after reliever Jose Mesa plunked SF shortstop Omar Vizquel on the upper back.

The Giants honored former closer Robb Nen by commemorating his 300th career save on Aug. 6, 2002, with a plaque on the portwalk behind the right-field wall at AT&T Park.

May

Outfielder Alou goes on the 15-day disabled list with a moderately sprained right ankle suffered in Florida.

The rookie Cain, who skipped a turn to revamp his mental game and mechanics, showed he's back to his electrifying self by vanquishing the Oakland A's, 6-0, at McAfee Coliseum, giving up only one hit in his first career shutout.

Bonds' long journey toward Major League Baseball's all-time home run mark became a race against one man, May 28, as he sailed past Babe Ruth into second on the all-time list with the 715th of his 21-year career.

June

Finley returned to his old Chase Field stomping grounds and added another, blasting his 300th career homer, while ace Schmidt threw a complete-game seven-hitter in a 2-1 topping of the Marlins in AT&T Park.

Durham smashed his fourth career grand slam in the third inning and Lowry scattered six hits as the Giants defeated the Texas Rangers, 5-1.

July

Alou, who began his Major League field boss duties way back in 1992 as a relative "youngster" of 57, reached the milestone of 1,000 big-league victories as San Francisco took a frenzied 9-6 win over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

After an intense selection process, the San Francisco Giants and president Peter Magowan won the bidding to host next season's All-Star Game at AT&T Park. This will be the first Midsummer Classic at the ballpark, and the third to be played in San Francisco.

The Giants bolstered their offense by acquiring two-time All-Star first baseman Shea Hillenbrand from the Toronto Blue Jays, but lost a potential closer in right-handed reliever Jeremy Accardo.

August

With symptoms from a concussion incurred May 31 still lingering, catcher Matheny won't play again this season. The Giants elected to shut down the Gold Glove backstop and send him home to rest in hopes he can resume his career next season.

Lowry was named co-National League Player of the Week for a pair of brilliant outings during the week ending Aug. 27. He shared the honor with Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera.

September

The old Morris was back, using speeds well and hitting locations, and despite not getting a decision in the Giants' dramatic 4-2 victory the 32-year-old pitcher felt a huge sense of relief.

Despite blasting his 26th homer of the season and his 734th lifetime, setting a National League all-time record, outfielder Bonds admitted he hasn't seen such a bizarre series of games for a long time.

There was a quiet celebration by two baseball men -- father and son -- when Alou blooped a double into right field in the second inning of San Francisco's 5-3 loss to Milwaukee at Miller Park on Sunday. It marked his 2,000th Major League hit.

October

Felipe Alou is now enjoying salt-water fishing into the Dominican Republic after he was not re-signed by the Giants after managing the club for four years.

After having surgery on his left elbow to remove bone chips and a bone spur, Bonds said he's feeling "great," and he is looking forward to being able to work out again.

Bruce Bochy, a two-time Manager of the Year who led the San Diego Padres to National League West titles in 2005 and 2006, becomes San Francisco's 15th manager since 1958 and only the third since 1993.

November

Harmon Burns, a senior general partner of the San Francisco Giants and one of the original members of the ownership group formed in 1992, passed away.

Kevin Frandsen has been the jewel of an assortment of Giants prospects playing fall ball, tearing up the AFL at the plate while also receiving the Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award for his hard work and leadership.

Pat Dobson, a special assistant to Sabean who was one of four pitchers to win 20 games for the 1971 Baltimore Orioles, died at 64.

December

The Giants agreed in principle to re-sign slugger Bonds for the 2007 season and also signed speedy outfielder Dave Roberts to a three-year contract worth $18 million.

Former San Francisco first baseman J.T. Snow retired and joins the Giants in a variety of capacities. There was sad news as well, for ex-big league shortstop Jose Uribe, who spent eight years with the Giants, died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic.