Kershaw dominates, Giants stay close (seriously?)

I watched the entire excruciating three-game series because that's just how I roll. If indeed the Giants did lose all three games by only one run each in reality, the games were never that close from my vantage point. The games were never as close as the scoreboard indicated.



At no point during last nights debacle did I ever expect the Giants were going to score enough runs to win that game, Kershaw was that much in control,

from Yahoo Sports:
Clayton Kershaw's 132-pitch masterpiece closes out Dodgers' sweep of Giants - Yahoo Sports:

Don Mattingly had dodged questions all week about these Los Angeles Dodgers against those San Francisco Giants, about the long (and possibly naïve) view of burying the Giants and winning a division a full month before the season would end, and then Wednesday night happened. He went to the mound in the ninth inning to see Clayton Kershaw, to see if 127 pitches in a one-run game weren't quite enough for his ace, what with two Giants on the bases and one out still undone. "How am I doing. I'm good. That was about it," Kershaw recalled of a meeting he had little use for.

'via Blog this'

I must truly love torture to have sat through all of that. I must be the Dick Cheney of baseball fan-dom to have sat through all of that.  The Giants only chance was when Mattingly came out and decided to exercise his managerial discretion. It looked like the entire infield would have wrestled him into submission if he extended his hand and tried to take the ball from Kershaw. Once they talked some sense into him, it was GAME OVER!!

If people want to hang their hat on the fact that the last four games are against these same Dodgers in AT&T Park and therefore the Giants only need to stay within four games of the Dodgers to have some hope, well they can hang it up. Ain't going to happen. That just means that the Giants could theoretically finish eight games behind the Dodgers this season.

Maybe there is something to this even year thing. Sheesh!! Free Clayton Blackburn!!!

Giants baseball - fun and frustrating

It is fun to be a Giant and a Giant fan. Fun, but frustrating as well, as this story alludes to. Who would have thought we would have been cheering .500 so soon after hoisting the pennant? But that's what it means to be a Giants fan.

from Giants Extra:
Dominant Bumgarner takes no-hitter into the seventh as Giants blank Padres - Giants Extra:

“I mean, it’s just fun to be a Giant,” Romo said. “It’s just really fun to be a Giant.” 

Especially now. It’s not easy to stand at .500 after 26 games when you’ve mixed in an eight-game losing streak. Having a legitimate ace certainly helps – especially one that already has come out on the winning side twice against the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw. 

“Conviction, brute force, pitching finesse – he can kind of do it all and it’s impressive,” Romo said. “Now he’s finding his stride. I think that’s what’s going on with us as a team in general. We’re all finding our ways to contribute and it’s fun right now.” 

Casey McGehee remains on the other side of the glass, though. The third baseman committed a throwing error to start the game, he stunted two rallies with disastrous at-bats and the murmurs of dissatisfaction from the sellout crowd have bloomed into throaty boos."

'via Blog this'

It's fun because you get to watch excellence on a nightly basis in the form of Bumgarner dominating opponents and making it seem routine. It's fun watching Brandon Crawford perform magic with his glove every night and make it look routine. It's fun watching Buster Posey grow from rookie to regular to star and perhaps eventually to legend. It's fun watching the uniquely talented Hunter Pence perform at an all-star caliber level and do it in a manner that is certain not no to make any past or future Tom Emansky video tapes. It's fun watching Romo throw slider after slider by batters who know it's coming and still can't hit it.

At the same time, it's fun watching Lincecum transition from power to finesse and frustrating to watch him struggle with it at times, sometimes from one start to the next, careening from excellence to frustration like a drunk driving home at 3 AM.

It is frustrating watching McGehee melt down on a nightly basis and last night was a microcosm of his brief stint with the Giants. The first inning error was on Belt, who seems to waver in and out of his own private morass with the bat and more recently, with the glove as well. Both look lost at times on the field. McGehee looks almost as if he's playing scared or tight. Gripping the bat too tight and the ball too tight is a sure recipe for disaster. If anyone was a candidate for a slump-buster it's Casey McGehee.

But that is Giants baseball. Fun and Frustrating. Many times, on the same night.

Vogelsong's two big mistakes blow up on Giants

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong hands the ball to manager Bruce Bochy (15) during the fifth inning of a MLB baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, April 7, 2015, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Vogie nails it with his post-game quote. Giving up one three-run bomb in a game will normally get you killed, he gave up two and that was too much to overcome.

from Yahoo Sports:
Diamondbacks edge Giants 7-6 behind HRs from Peralta, Lamb - Yahoo Sports:

"It's just hard because basically I wasted a good offensive night from our team,'' Vogelsong said. ''Any time we can go out and score six runs we should get a win. Those guys deserve a win for that.''

'via Blog this'

It's only the second game of the season (small sample size alert) so no time to panic yet, but the script for the Giants has been to hold other teams offense down with superior pitching, defense and bullpen and allow a somewhat pedestrian offense to score four or more runs. I don't have the exact numbers, but the Giants have won somewhere on the order of 75% of their games where they scored four or more runs in the past. So far this season the ledger stands at 1-1.

The concern is you previously felt more confident in the pitching staffs ability to hold teams under 4 runs consistently and fretted about the offenses ability to clear the magic number 4. Now the script seems to have flipped.

I know it's early but, being a Giants fan, I have become somewhat of a natural born fretter.

Are Giants drifting back to torture? Game 2 sure was....

This was a tough loss, Gregor Blanco's opinion notwithstanding. Both teams seemed like they wanted to give the game away at times. The Giants normally reliable bullpen was in a particularly charitable mood last night giving up HR balls like they were Halloween candy.

from Yahoo Sports:
Wong homers in 9th, Cards edge Giants to tie NLCS - Yahoo Sports:

The Giants made it 4-all when pinch-runner Matt Duffy dashed home from second base on a two-out wild pitch in the ninth. San Francisco wound up losing for just the second time in its last 14 postseason games. ''It's not a tough loss at all. I feel it was a great loss,'' said Gregor Blanco, who had a tiebreaking hit in the seventh. ''We battled to the last out, so I think it was a great win.''

'via Blog this'

Machi, Strickland and finally Romo were all tagged. Strickland now is at risk of being over-exposed by the staff. It's becoming a smaller list of guys you can trust coming out of the bullpen and this groups of starters is simply not built to give you seven full innings. Guys are going to get exposed. Three situations where if you simply keep the ball in the yard, the Cardinals run out of bats and BOOM! the ball leaves the yard. Can't happen. Can't keep happening.

Unfortunately, this is the kind of loss you get when two teams, that are virtual mirror images of each other in so many ways, get together for a series. Tough losses. Games you felt you should have won, but did not. And maybe Gregor is engaging in some form of whistling past the graveyard with his analysis, or simply being  a good team guy, but these type of games just can't happen and they certainly cannot keep happening for long.

They eventually lead to a slow, painful death by a thousand cuts ie: TORTURE!!.

Tim Lincecum looks for boost in 1st Seattle start....WHAAAAATTT???

from sfgate.com:
Tim Lincecum looks for boost in 1st Seattle start: "I haven't pitched in front of people in Seattle for a long time," Lincecum said. "For it to be now, in this kind of stage at this time of the season, for me, I need to make my stand. I need to do something. I need to show people that I'm still worth keeping in the rotation."

'via Blog this'

Gee, you think Timmy?
Now...at this time of the season....you need to take a stand?

Are you serious?

It's only mid-June...
You are (maybe were) the ace of the staff...
And there's talk of moving you to the bullpen...

And it's JUST OCCURRED TO YOU that NOW may be a good time to make a stand?

How about like ten starts ago?

Gee whiz. Giants Baseball. It used to be torture, now it's turning into madness.

The Giants are like a box of chocolate, but don't worry, be happy

OK, so Timmy says not to worry, no need to panic. But Cody Ross seems to be sensing what is in Giants fans hearts and minds -- a season slipping away. In a sense, Timmy is right. When the Giants RHP go to the bump -- I don't worry, I be happy. When the LHP's are on the hill -- life's like a box of chocolates, you don't know what you're going to get.

San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

"By The Numbers:

1.67—Tim Lincecum's ERA in his last 10 starts, since mid-June, the second lowest in the majors in that span. He'll start for the Giants Saturday.

Quote To Note:
'Same old song and dance. We've got to do something, and we've got to do it fast. It's getting out of control.'
—Cody Ross, on the Giants' ongoing struggles."

----

BTW: I see that Carlos Zambrano had a meltdown last night for the Cubs. He basically quit on his team, according to Quade. Well, he did it openly and publicly. Most of the other Cubs players, if they are being honest with themselves, had mailed in this season -- and large parts of the last couple of seasons -- a long time ago. So, Carlos became the poster boy for the issue, but it goes back to manager / coach dilemma, it's easier to fire a manager or a hitting / pitching coach, than it is to fire 23-24 players, especially when many of them have horrible contracts.

Yes, looking squarely at GM Jim Hendry on this one. Because, seriously folks -- A Carlos Zambrano meltdown -- who did NOT see that one coming?

So Carlos should likely be the first one out of town, but Hendry and perhaps Quade should follow. This team fooled management into thinking they would play for Quade late last year. That may have been an illusion. It's always a dicey proposition to put your eggs in a basket of players who have demonstrated an ability to shut down their effort for whatever reason. If they did it once, they will do it again, for whatever silly reasons they may come up with. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. I'm not sure where the Cubs go with this fool me greater than two times philosophy, but the players don't seem to take management very seriously at this point, and in reality have not going back to late in the Piniella regime.

Find players whose character is strong enough that they don't do that or a manager strong enough to not tolerate it. Maybe Ryne Sandberg is still available and wouldn't mind playing sloppy second choice to come in to clean up this mess.

Giants baseball may be torture, but Cubs baseball is just sickening to watch at times.

Game 4: Giants - Rangers or "A Night with a Tortured Giants Fan"

Today, I'll just write my thoughts as the game progresses. That should be entertaining. I'll try to filter the language for the young people. But hey, NO GUARANTEES.

Fox Pre-Game nonsense:

We can't even get to the first pitch before I'm ready to turn the sound off on these guys.

First, in pre-game Eric Karros makes me reach for something to throw at him by saying, 'Whoever wins this game, is going to win the series'. Maybe Mr. Karros doesn't read my blog, but it's Game Five that becomes the pivotal game and that's IF the Rangers win Game Four. Sheesh, and this guy played in the bigs, he should understand momentum.

Then Buck and McCarver do the pre-game happy talk and Buck says that Bochy doesn't want to go to Game Five versus Cliff Lee even up at two games apiece. Certainly not the preference, but correct me if I'm wrong here Bucky-beaver:
a) the Giants beat Cliff Lee and
b) the Giants will have Tim Lincecum on the mound, a guy who does a lot to inspire confidence in a manager.

My wife says they are just trying to build drama and interest for the casual fan, who if we believe the initial rating returns (second lowest rated WS game), are not watching anyway. But by doing that, they lose credibility in the eyes of the knowledgeable, hard-core baseball fans who certainly are viewing these early games. A delicate balancing act, I suppose.

I put the remote outside of my immediate reach, since I won't be flipping tonight, and these guys are under my skin already.

Burrell and Sandoval are on the pine, replaced by Nate Schierholz and Travis Ishakawa. Right now, the right thing to do. Burrell has been a windmill for most of the playoffs. Sandoval has been one for most of the season. All about the approach. Both are hot / cold, 'all or nothing' type hitters as a result. Burrell is more patient at times, so his recent demise is more surprising. Plus he has been in the World Series before. Kudos to Bochy for utilizing the bench when he needs it.

1st inning: I don't know what Posey is looking for up there, he seems to be taking some hittable pitches lately and putting himself into bad counts.

Both pitchers searching for the whereabouts of the strike zone. Can't say that either pitcher is at fault. Blue seems to be a little tight today. Maybe they're getting paid by the hour tonight.

2nd inning: Giants catch a break on the Ishakawa DP, not called on the 1B side. Out by a quarter stride, that call has to be made at this level.

Hamilton makes a great catch to save a run in CF. Both pitchers are struggling with the umpires tight strike zone so neither one may go more than six innings. Hopefully, that favors the good guys innings 7-9. Keep it close guys and steal it in the end.

Umpire opens it up (a little) in the second, he must be hearing it from both sides. He's not calling pitches on 'the black' or on the border of Foxies Pitch Tracker service. Nobody will bitch if you call that one. And you don't get graded as a miss, within the margin of error.

Bumgarner still pitching behind too much. That's going to come back to bite him. We'll see who gets an easy inning or two first. Top of the order in the third for the Gigantes, gotta make something happen.

3rd inning: Torres leads off with a double and I finally agree with the announcers, 'why is Sanchez bunting?' This isn't Lee - Lincecum dealing aces where one run is precious. Swing away, Boche!!

The Rangers scouting report on the Giants must be littered with 'sliders away'. And that would make it a decent report. Sanchez battling. Usually good things happen for hitters when you see > 5 pitches in an AB. Nope. He doesn't move the runner, pulls it to 3B and grounds out. Bad AB.

HUFF JOINS THE PARTY THE WAY WE LIKE!!! ALBEIT SANS THONG. CRUSH DADDY!!! GIANTS 2-0.

Posey looks at borderline strike three. Pitch Tracker confirms, outside by quite a bit. That's what happens when your approach is confused up there. You lose the benefit of the doubt. Not much doubt about that one though. I thought catchers usually get the benefit of the doubt. Maybe not in the bigs. Or maybe Buster's not smelling so nice back there today. ;) I wouldn't want to see Bumgarner and Posey get crossed up. Somebody could get hurt back there. Nah, stakes are too high to screw around here.

That's a Ball / Strike miss and a Bases miss so far. One in favor, one opposed. They even out long term, but short term - still BRUTAL.

Fox shows the classic Nolan Ryan - Robin Vetura bout which Ryan won by TKO. CLASSIC!! There are some things that never get old.

Bumgarner settling in. A breezy third inning.

4th Inning: Uribe just missed one. He didn't think so, he struck the pose before he left the batters box, but the wind may have knocked it down. Now Hudson breezing, a rocket grounder to the 2B, two quick outs. Rangers bullpen busy already. Can't take any chances tonight.

Renteria hits a long single, nice play by Cruz to hold him there. Had double written on it. Cruz got out his eraser. Could be a big play, that doesn't show up in the score book.

Schierholz down quick two strikes. Now 2-2, not bad, making him work. Lazy fly ball ends the Giants half.

Young busts the no-no, not by much, great effort. Another great effort by Sanchez to get one on the tag of Young. Hamilton hit a rocket that Bumgarner deflects to Sanchez. One on, one out.
Vladdie tries to tie it with one swing. Bumgarner makes him chase. Good pitch. The change-up is so very underrated.

POSEY THROWS A SEED TO SECOND TO NAIL HAMILTON TRYING TO STEAL!!! NICE CATCH / TAG BY SANCHEZ.

If he's not the Rookie of the Year, a crime has been committed. I know the ballots must have been cast before all this happens, but how dumb do you have to feel now if you didn't vote for this kid and you see what he's doing in this environment. He didn't get demonstrably better overnight, right?

5th Inning: Ogando the new pitcher for Texas. Giants looking for a tack on or two. Torres hits a lazy fly. Sanchez up. Hey how many times do you see a guy make a great play in the field and bat second in the next half of the inning? OH, SHUT UP SLAVIK!!! No, I won't!!! Mathematically and in real-life it happens about as expected: about 11.1% or 1/9th of the time. In other words, it's a relatively random occurrence when the guys leads off, we just attach more weight or notice it more when it does happen, giving the impression that it happens more frequently than it actually does.

While I was typing that Stat 101 / human behavior / mind tricks primer, Huff struck out meekly, making Ogando look like an All-Star. Weak half inning offensively. TORTURE RETURNS!!

Speaking of which, I'm a bit torn here. I hope that isn't the only hit Bumgarner gives up but I don't want to see him get hit any further. Ross screws me up further with a great defensive play to rob Ian Kinsler. Way to screw me up further Cody!!! I love 'The Cody Ross Experience' And I kind of hate Kinsler. Maybe it's the hair. Or his demeanor. I'd like him if he played for us though, so don't go pissy on me Ranger fans.

Bungarner finishes the fifth economically. That helps. If he give six, all good, Seven and I might go all Chris Matthews and get a tingle up my leg. I'm sorry, that's just not something a man should say about another man. Don't remind me about some of my Buster Posey posts or things I've said in the past about Phil Simms, that's different. Simms won a Super Bowl, dude. So it's all good.

6th Inning: Speaking of Posey, weak grounder to third. They have a good report on him so far. Or kryptonite. Ross goes for the downs, on a ball in the dirt. These guys are starting to piss me off. Slider ends Ross. Good advance scouts these Rangers must have. Uribe hacks. Ogando throws a slider to Odessa. So wild he strained an oblique. Dude, a run of the mill slider usually sits Uribe. Just don't hang the sucker. Ogando leaves with a tummy ache. Hockey players worldwide ROTFLAO!!!! Me too. I just consulted my copy of the Rangers advance scouting report on Uribe and it says "pick a slider, any slider, even the cement mixer spinner - anywhere close, he'll hack". Rangers advance scouts worldwide Rolling On The Floor Puking. Not sure if ROTFP is a universally recognized acronym for that, but I have some time to kill while the Rangers reliever relieves himself, or warms up or whatever.

McCarver has a spider over his head, which a) I hope is real and poisonous and b) poised to strike if he says anything stupid, which he is due for. Darren Oliver in relief. Bad stuff happening, we're not capitalizing as Uribe skies weakly to Molina. Baseball gods will not be happy, are poised to strike Giants. You can just feel it. Bumgarner the only thing standing in the way.

Mitch Moreland has another great AB for a single. The Giants should tape his AB's and make their hitters watch it until their eyes bleed. Never mind the 'Tom Emansky: Teaching the Fundamentals of the Major League Swing'. Parts I or II. Just dial into the Moreland approach and good things will follow. Are you listening Hensley?

Another DP, looks like he may have beat that out, though. LOVE THE DP. Umpires best friend. No replay, must not have been as close as it looked. Oh no, here we go. OOPS, BLUE ANOTHER ONE!!! Dude is having a tough night over at first. Maybe that angle is not working out for him.....But,........he's the major league umpire and I'm not. Not to go all teenage girl on you but, 'Life is so not fair'. I wonder how Jacklyn is doing?

7th Inning:
Ishakawa 打席に弱い ( phonetically: Daseki ni yowai ) weak at bat in Japanese. Giants offense is as boring as it is torturous, so I was using some advanced Google features....oh look, Renteria gets another hit. Next game, he bats all times in the order. Schierholtz looks over a slider away, for a backwards-K. What a surprise, that these guys would pound sliders away against the Giants. What are they thinking? Ewwwwweeeee, Torres shoots the gap, double to knock in Renteria. Giants 3-0. And Sanchez taps back to Oliver to end the inning.

Nice rendition of God Bless America for the seventh inning stretch. Texas does patriotism right, we're really going to miss them if things gets worse in this country and they exercise their rights to secede. But I digress. As I often do.

O'Day warming up. He's the kind of pitcher that you love to see coming in and then he shuts you down. Bumgarner K's Michael Young, He's dealing. He got a break on one that Young didn't like, but Bumgarner is getting the benefit of the doubt. Young still had a chance to hit and Bumgarner threw one past him.

Hamilton gets sawed off and Uribe is so distressed, he boots it. That freaking hurt from here. E-Uribe. Bumgarner has to get tough here. He has Guerrero down 1-2.

Tries to make him fish again. No bite. 2-2. Big AB. Misses 3-2. Still just one pitch away.

GOT HIM WITH THE CHANGE!!! HAT TRICK VLADDIE!!!

Don't let up here. Cruz can hurt you. Base hit. Nice piece of hitting by Cruz. Shot it right up the middle

Kinsler brings the tying run to the plate. Strike One. Good pitch. Kinsler not happy. Lazy liner to Cosy Ross ends it. Now, Kinsler has a good reason to be not happy.

BUMGARNER, TOUGH AS NAILS!!!

Casilla warming up in the bullpen. Bummgarner starts the inning for me, somebody has to get on first. Maybe score a run. They may never get to Bummer. We'll see how Bochy handles it.

Eight Inning:
Oliver still in for Texas, Huff grounds weakly to 1B.

The Darren O'Day - Buster Posey match up Part II. Gosh, I hope Buster reads my blog. If he did, he would know exactly what to do.

I outlined it here:
http://slavieboy.blogspot.com/2010/10/moreland-explains-his-game-winning-hr.html

Buster Posey also had a disappointing key AB versus Darren O' Day. As soon as Washington brought him in I said I like the matchup, but it was clear O'day wanted to get him on the sidearm curve to the outside corner or darting off the black. Posey made no visible adjustment to his stance or position in the batters box to accommodate that pitch. The guy doesn't throw hard enough to break a pane of glass (easy for me to say, I know) so you crowd the plate more, dare him to fit one through a mail slot to hit the inside corner, at the same time Posey would be in better position to punish the outside corner. Not second guessing, I told my wife before the pitch, when Molina went out to talk, if he throws the curve to the outside corner, he'll get him, he's got to go the other way. And sure enough, he went there, and worse it seems as if Posey tried to pull it instead of going the other way (he may have been out front). Generally, if you try to pull an outside pitch, weak grounders to the pull side or popups ensue. Bad AB.

We shall see if he learned something. If he didn't, I'm going to be REALLY MAD!!! Not so much that he pissed away another AB, but that he doesn't read my blog. THAT WOULD REALLY PISS ME OFF, BUSTER!!!

1-2 pretty quick. No discernible change in approach so I can feel my pulse quicken. Fouls one off.

HOME RUN TO DEAD CENTER FOR BUSTER POSEY!!!!! OMG, MAYBE HE DOES READ MY BLOG!!!!

Or maybe he's just a major league hitter and I'm just a fan writing a blog. But who cares now, right? Giants up 4-0.

Cody Ross goes down, Uribe up. We got the tack on run we've been looking for. Uribe doesn't leave anything on the table with his swing. EVER!!! Have to take the good with the bad, I guess.

Uribe fouls to 1B to end it. Four up with six out left. I like our chances here.

Francoeur leads off against Bumgarner. 2-1 to start. Francoeur just misses leaving the yard to left. One out.

Bengie Molina up. Bumgarner dealing at 91. 1-1 to start. Misses outside 2-1. Still throwing hard. Molina hits an 'at 'em ball ' laser beam liner right at Cody Ross in LF for the second out.

Lopez and Wilson warming up in the bullpen. Bumgarner at 102 pitches. Moreland up for the Rangers. Good AB expected here. 1-2 count to start him. Moreland has him right where he wants him. MadBum misses 2-2 count. Misses in the dirt 3-2. I like this Moreland kids hitting approach a lot. Got him looking.

BUMGARNER IS NAILS!!!!

WE GO TO THE NINTH INNING - GIANTS 4, RANGERS 0!!!

9th Inning: Derek Holland in for the Rangers. Let's see if he can throw a strike. Starts 2-0. Maybe not.He throws a strike and the Rangers fans cheer. I'm detecting sarcasm. He walks Ishakawa. Now I sense building anger and disgust.

Strike one to Renteria. Throws one under his hands strike two swinging. Strike Three looking to Renteria. Looked good. Renteria didn't offer. No argument.

Schierholz up. Painted the black outside to Nate. He stays there he'll get him, lefty / lefty. Schierholz skies to center, two outs.

Torres from the right side. Torres even at 2-2. Fouls a 95 MPH heater off. Looking for a gapper here. Nope, grounds out third to second.

Here we go, onto the ninth, top of the order due up for the Rangers. I think Bumgarner starts the inning. This may be the last game he has to pitch this season. He's a little high in the pitch count, but with the adrenaline flowing, I think I let a batter tell me that he's done for the night, then go to Brian Wilson for the close. That's the Nolan Ryan approach to developing pitchers. Old School. I think I like it here for us too.

Nope. Brian Wilson opens the ninth. Great effort by Bumgarner. Beard don't fail us now.

Elvis Andrus lines to Schierholz in RF for the first out.

Michael Young. Strike One. Misses for a ball. Misses again. Strike Two. Got him with a half swing. Two outs.

Josh Hamilton steps in. Close the deal, Brian. Strike One. Swings at a slider inside, strike two. I think he has him. Got him on a half swing.

WILSON CLOSES!!! BUMGARNER GETS HIS DUE TONIGHT!!!

Giants are up 3-1 and look to close it out tomorrow.

We've been here before and closer actually.

So hopefully the boys take nothing for granted and close the deal.

Giants torture Rangers and Cliff Lee

How great can life be when the day after your ace goes to the hill in Game 1 of the World Series, Giants fans are more thrilled with the performance of the offense than that of "The Freak". That's the situation we find ourselves in this morning.

Don't get me wrong. Old two-time Cy Young Award Timmy battled and won against another teams high profile ace. And the Giants are sitting very pretty, with a favorable pitching match-up on tap tonight, with Cain vs. Wilson.

Timmy and the boys have been making a habit of taking on some hot aces - and prevailing - on this magical run.

As noted in Yahoo Sports:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-worldseriesnotebook

Six of the last seven teams to win Game 1 went on to win the World Series. … The Giants handed Cliff Lee his first postseason loss in eight decisions. They also gave Roy Oswalt and Roy Halladay their first career postseason losses in the past two weeks. Halladay had thrown a no-hitter in his only postseason start before losing to the Giants in Game 1 of the NLCS. Oswalt was 5-0 in the postseason before losing in relief in Game 4 that series.

Timmy overcomes an early "brain fart" to steady the ship and allow the offense to do it's thing.

Even without his best stuff, Lincecum lasted longer than Lee. The hard-throwing righty allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings with three strikeouts and two walks in a 93-pitch performance as the Giants were victorious kicking off their first World Series since a runner-up finish in 2002 to the Angels.

“When you get here and you get to the playoffs, you start to realize it’s not so much about your stats or if you get a hit here,” Lincecum said. “It’s just who comes out on top at the end of the day.”

Uribe continues to hit out of his mind, delivering clutch daggers almost nightly.
Posey continues to play beyond his years.
How cool is the continuing Cody Ross story?
And 'The Beard' makes an appearance, when it appeared as if he might get the night off.
Sanchez joins the party last night with his bat.

All against the seemingly invincible Cliff Lee.

This offense may be poised for a breakout. And it couldn't come at a better time. If Huff and Sandoval can join the party, who knows? Maybe Renteria rekindles some of that old Marlins playoff magic? I would never mention the contract again. Rowand too, if given the opportunity.

This is a chance to write a new chapter in Giants baseball history. Something that many past legends have tried - valiantly at times - but failed to do.

Lincecum, the new face of the franchise since Bonds’ departure after he broke Hank Aaron’s home run record in 2007, will try to lead the Giants to their first championship since the franchise moved West in 1958.

That’s something Bonds couldn’t do. Or Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. Mays was ill and missed the game, but McCovey and Cepeda were among those recognized on the field before the start.

This crew would instantly elevate to a higher celebrity status than many current Hall of Famers in San Francisco enjoy. An opportunity like that does not come along very often.

It was nice to see Barry back in the yard - back in the House that Barry built - and it would be really nice to see Willie back tonight.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-worldseries-maysmccovey

Willie Mays was sick and missed throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the World Series opener.

Mays was announced earlier Wednesday on a list of six Hall of Famers to throw out first pitches before Wednesday night’s game against the Texas Rangers.

With Mays absent, Orlando Cepeda, Monte Irvin, Juan Marichal, Willie McCovey and Gaylord Perry went on without the Say Hey Kid.

All that baseball talent and history, all but Monte Irvin a part of San Francisco Giants history, and not one Bay Area World Series title. There's just something not right about that. Maybe something the baseball gods are looking to rectify

Cain. At home, where he is generally a very, very lights out kind of individual.

Two to nothing heading to Texas would be ideal. In spite of the euphoria from last night, if the Rangers win tonight, they have done their job.

However, if the Giants do go up 2-0, I like our chances moving forward.

GO GIANTS!! Bring it home.

You-Ree-Bay does it again!!!.....Torture never felt so sweet!!!

Juan Uribe comes through for the Giagntes again. And in doing so he gives the network and the nation what could be billed as the 'Futility World Series'. Both franchises have long recent histories of NOT finalizing the dream. Of NOT getting this far. There are no Yankees or Red Sox here. Just a battle of the two League Championship underdogs. The Giants and the Rangers. HOW SWEET IT IS...

These are opportunities that do not come around very often in the life of a franchise. I understand the time-worn cliche that gets tossed around after a team's season has ended "Wait 'til next year". It's what you're supposed to say in that situation. The reality is, on this level, the wait tends to be measured in decades. We may just as well be saying "Wait 'til next decade".

Don't believe me? Since 1969 when the divisional format was put in place -- a total of 42 seasons -- The Giants have appeared in the Championship Series with an opportunity to play in the World Series a total of six times. A rate of once every seven years.

In 1971, they lost to the Pirates 3-1. As a twelve-year old fan, I listened to many of the games on the radio in school and then ran home to see the end of the game still in progress.

In 1987, the next appearance, sixteen years later, losing to the Cardinals 4-3.

In 1989, we beat the Cubs 4-1 to advance to the World Series.

In the 1990's, no appearances at all. Maybe to make up for the two appearance in the 1980's.

In 2002, the Giants beat the Cardinals 4-2 to advance to the World Series.

And now, 2010 they subdue the Phillies 4-2, to advance to the World Series once again. Perhaps the third time will be the charm.

But once every seven years, just to play for the opportunity to get to the World Series. Six chances in 42 seasons. Three World Series appearances now in the last 42 seasons. Oh-for-two so far. Again, perhaps the third time will be the charm.

GIANTS WORLD SERIES APPEARANCES

1962 vs. New York Yankees
1989 vs. Oakland A's
2002 vs. Anaheim Angels
2010 vs. Texas Rangers

I was just a little Bambino Giants fan in 1962 ( three years old ), so I have no real recollection of that series. However, it was within my lifetime. And my dad related how close the Giants came to winning that series, only to fall short. So just as I feel the spine tingling joy and elation whenever I see the immortal "Shot Heard 'Round the World", I feel the pain of that series in my heart.

So close. "Next year, we'll do it". Each year that our team is finally eliminated from contention, those words are the salve we rub on the wound to our heart. The wound just gets greater each year. And becomes harder to heal. The cumulative build up of pain and trauma from each passing year or decade of failure.

Yahoo Sports Steve Henson reviews the Giants painful World Series futility as follows:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=sh-nlcsgamesix102310

Uribe draws strength from late cousin

The Giants have yet to win a World Series since moving to San Francisco from New York in 1958. They lost in seven games to the Yankees in 1962 when Willie McCovey’s line drive with two outs in the ninth inning of the finale found a glove instead of a gap. They lost in seven games in 2002 to the Angels, memorable for the Giants’ Game 6 collapse and manager Dusty Baker’s 3-year-old son getting whisked away from home plate by J.T. Snow(notes).

And they were swept by the Oakland Athletics in 1989, a World Series remembered mostly for the 7.1 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake that shook Candlestick Park moments before Game 3 was to begin. Jose Uribe was there, a singles hitter and slick fielder, a fan favorite and a lively presence in the clubhouse. A 10-year-old Juan Uribe watched on television.

What he also touched upon here and elaborated on further earlier in the story was the link between Juan Uribe and former Giants SS Jose Uribe, who died in 2006. I was not aware of the link between the two, although I wondered about it many times.

The great thing about the World Series is some of these rich, beautiful stories are allowed to come forward and flourish. On the national stage.

Uribe described his emotions throughout the game and the Series and it may in part answer the question as to how he is able to be such a clutch performer for these Giants.

(Jose) Uribe was the shortstop on the Giants’ 1989 World Series team and a cousin of current Giants infielder Juan Uribe before he died in a car crash in the family’s Dominican Republic hometown of Juan Baron in 2006. He taught Juan how to play baseball, taught Juan to love the Giants, and when Juan circled the bases Saturday night after hitting the eighth-inning home run that sent the Giants to another World Series, Jose was in his heart.

“God helped me a lot, and my (cousin) helped me a lot,” Juan Uribe said softly in a quiet corner of a raucous visiting locker room at Citizens Bank Park, his eyes red from emotion, his body soaked with bubbly. “I love him. He taught me everything. He’s with me today.

So there you go, Uribe flies into Giants lore on the wings of his cousin. I always knew he was clutch, now I know the rest of the story. (apologies to the late Paul Harvey)

Uribe produced the winning run twice in the National League Championship Series, and his opposite-field blast on a changeup by Ryan Madson(notes) took out the two-time defending NL champion Philadelphia Phillies once and for all, by a 3-2 score in Game 6. It was as close to a legendary “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” moment this star-crossed franchise has had since Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard Around the World in 1951.

So baseball fans nationally will not get the Yankees. They will not get the Phillies. And if perhaps they turn the channel away from this series en masse -- in anger over this being a seemingly less than marquee match-up -- they may miss one of the more competitive, evenly matched World Series in recent history. And one that will have some rather compelling story lines.

"We had such a diversity of contributions from everybody," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Not bad for a bunch of castoffs and misfits."

The Rangers clearly seem to have a more potent offense. The Giants will counter with their strengths, starting pitching and bullpen depth. Both teams fight hard and compete extremely well. The Rangers did not walk past the Rays and Yankees in succession without good reason. The fact is, they seemingly buzz-sawed right through both teams. Teams that I thought were pretty much 1-2 going into the playoffs.

So the Giants may be underdogs in this match-up as well. That's OK.

"We fought, we scratched and clawed," said Giants left fielder Pat Burrell, who won a championship ring with the Phillies in 2008. "I don't know how we did it but we did it."

Clearly, I think that's the situation they are most comfortable being in.

“Right now it’s heaven, but it was torture for that final strike,” Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff said.

From torture to heaven in one pitch. HOW ABOUT THAT?? That's baseball.

The San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers - 2010 World Series.
Now that's sweet.
PLAY BALL!!!