The Giants kicked some serious ass tonight. I've had too many jars at the bar to give you a proper accounting of things, but that is why god invented ESPN. Go there, fer chrissakes, and read the damn summary and look at the beautiful fookin' box score. Despair was the story after last night's frustrating loss, but tonight the Giants rallied and served notice that they are a force to be reckoned with. Ryan Vogelsong looked like an absolute beast in the first two innings, but it all fell apart in the 3rd after a blown play at first base. Hey, give the Royals credit. They are a great club and if you give them a millimeter they will drive a damn Mack truck through that opening. Sound familiar? It should--the Giants worked that same magic on the Nats and the Cards. So, me buckos, if you aren't prepared for a 15-round heavyweight donnybrook then go the fuck home and drink some fecking herbal tea. This is the goddamn Series, it's serious business, and we have to be prepared for some hardcore counter-punching.
We arrived in Chi-town after 50 hours on the Amtrak and the goddamn Best Western--which advertised a bar and restaurant--feebed out big time and offered a pissant goddamn snack bar instead. Well, fuck those corporate penny-pinching arseholes! We wandered the 'hood an stumbled into Kitty O'Shea's, an Irish pub, just around the corner. Being a second-generation American of full-blooded Hibernian ancestry I knew it was home away from home. Irony of ironies, it was part of the damn Hilton. Maybe I should stop cheaping out and go for the four-star and higher when on the road. Ah well, that's another story for another time. We had some fun with the staff and drank pints of local brews and some superb Irish whiskey. We gabbed with a Royals fan, too. His mother was from KC and that meant a lot to me as my own mother is responsible for my love of baseball. Listen up: baseball fans are beautiful people. I would rather knock back brews with a proper Dodgers fan than some gobshite from San Francisco who'd rather watch football. Trust me on this. Cultivate a love of the game, man.
The Giants will travel to Kansas City for Game Six. This team is marvelous. They have been up and they have been down but one thing they have is heart. They battle until the end and fight with all their might. After the agonizing, schizophrenic 2014 season, I had no idea what to expect for the post-season. When they blasted the Pirates in Pittsburgh in the Wild Card game I told my truelove that everything else was a bonus. Then they blew through the playoffs and found themselves in the Series for the third time in five seasons. Did we ever expect a Giants team to have that kind of run in our lifetimes?
I'm greedy. I want to balance the cosmic ledger (three wins versus three losses for the SF club in the finals). I want Bochy to join the pantheon (only nine managers in the history of the game have three rings). But it's not going to be easy. It's going to be the toughest challenge yet. So gird those loins, lads.
Madison Bumgarner tomorrow night.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
8 comments:
Great post, totally agree, especially about how the Royals are very similar to us.
Luckily we have one thing they don't: Bumgarner, a true ace.
Oh, and two, Petit.
And I think it will be three before the end: Lincecum. I still believe! F' Yeah!
And I'm with you 100% on the final paragraph, I'm greedy too, heck, even greedier: I want the Giants to be the leader in the Bay Area in World Series championships!
But first, they need to win two more: Go Giants!
Petit has been amazing. Short outing for Vogie means he could be used again. I thought we'd see Timmy at the end last night. So far everyone who has seen our Giants gear asks "where's Lincecum?"
Go MadBum!
TWO MORE WINS TO GO!
I love the drunken edge to the post. I can see why so many great writers end up with drinking problems. No herbal tea for a few more days!
The amazing moment of magic for me was Pablo's first big hit (which probably locked up a big juicy contract for the Panda). His last AB was easily the worst strikeout in the entire post season. From the right side he looked horrible. I was actually wishing Juan Perez was due up. Then on the first pitch he laced it. Amazing.
The saddest moment clearly involved Vogie. He looked SO GOOD then the stupid chopper that he never should have done anything but cover first on came and it ALL ENDED. That was a tough chance but it seemed like it crushed his spirit. I was really surprised to see him fold so quickly. Where was the veteran toughness? When he was in the dugout it looked like he was close to tears. I know I was. I admit that I was terrified we couldn't come back ( you know how much faith I have in our offense).
The undying faith I have in our bullpen was once again completely justified. Sure KC has a fine pen but it clearly could NEVER be asked to deal with 6+ innings. Actually who could? You know that answer: WE CAN! I am so glad that we have recaptured the media gabfest and perhaps we won't hear so much about 3 guys when we have an ENTIRE STAFF that is about to take to the prize.
Amazing that Tim generates so much love. I personally think there has never been any real intent in using Tim. He is there for some weird team psychology thing that only Bochy understands. The "Tim" window opens and closes so fast during these games it is absurd. He is basically our second Petit, and since Petit is once again is in hero mode, that makes Tim useless. He didn't even let Tim finish, is it more important to get Strickland back in the mix for next year? Or is it possible Strickland will get used again this post season in an important situation?
M.C. you should drunk-blog every time. Yer hilarious!
What amazes me is how many fantastic moments there are in every game. I know great plays are made all year, but now it seems like almost every inning something mind-blowing occurs.
The played that fucked up Vogelsong was a good case in point. The ball went to exactly the wrong place, where Vogie, Belt and Panik all had to react to it, therefore no one was well-positioned to get to the bag at first. Also, I think Vogie's ensuing implosion was not entirely mental. He was probably physically tweaked after that awkward step he took.
Hats off to Arias, Duffy and Perez for their contributions.
Posey continues to do the little things over and over. Unfortunately he's doing nothing but little things. That will change.
Just a grand post for a grand night.
JC Parsons, Raising Matt Cain, 10/24/2014:
"Unless it is a game we win, of course. Like tomorrow."
Good call, Jon.
Vogie pitched damn well. I was furious at the time when he was pulled to think that the last pitch he threw as a Giant would end in a World Series loss thanks to a poor defense. It wasn't just Vogie's slip on the wet grass attempting to field the bunt, it was Belt's 50 foot throw that Crawford had to leap for to avoid putting men on second and third. But the Giants made up for it.
I get wanting to save your 7, 8 and 9 guys for when you are ahead, but that reduces your bullpen options by three people when you are behind. I don't know why Yost left Finnegan and Collins out there long after they were toast. It just seemed cruel.
Buster Posey is hitting .188 for the post season. But is there anyone whom you would rather see at the plate in a crucial situation? Really, there is not.
This is how my Game 4 experience went. At 2 PM yesterday, we lost power in a huge windstorm. It is still not back on, even though neighbors 2 houses away now have power. There is an exploded transformer on a pole across the street. Incredibly, the power company still hasn't even taken a look. Since there were numerous trees & cables down, & it became dark, it was not safe to go anywhere. I listened on the radio, obviously pretty steamed ... well, furious. I know that there those in the world with bigger problems, so I should just be happy we won. But, why couldn't I have missed one of the shitty games?
Tonight, I will go to my Mother-in-Law's apartment to watch (she is in Mexico right now). I hope to actually see the game.
Go Giants!!!!!
A "true ace" indeed!
ONE MORE WIN!!!!!!
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