The Giants and Dodgers played 24 games this season. The Giants won 12, the Dodgers won 12. The only one that mattered was the last one, and the Giants fell short. The Dodgers rallied in the 9th against Camilo Doval and pushed across the go-ahead run. Late-inning LaMonte looked like--for a moment--he might hit the game-winner in the bottom half, but it wasn't to be. The Giants won 109 games but their season is over. The Dodgers advance to the LCS.
Logan Webb was brilliant again. He gave up a run in the 6th but was otherwise dominating, yielding only four hits and a walk against seven whiffs in seven frames. The Giants tied it on a booming homer by Darin Ruf off Julio Urias, but that was all the lineup could muster. Ultimately the series came down to the Giants inability to score runs. They had chances early against opener Corey Knebel and his relief man Brusdar Graterol, the two righties inserted by Dave Roberts to foil Gabe Kapler's match-up schemes, but did not convert. Urias, other than the homer, was never threatened, and he was followed by Blake Treinen, Kenley Jansen, and Max Scherzer. The Giants scored ten runs in the five games. It wasn't enough.
I'll have plenty to say about the 2021 season. But right now I'm too sad to go on. I'm not angry or disappointed. Just sad. Such a great season, such a crappy ending.
I'm pouring myself an extra measure of bourbon. Dwight Yoakam says "even whiskey cannot ease you're hurting me" and he's probably right. I'm about to find out.
Take care, my friends. Thanks for being on the journey with me.
--M.C.
13 comments:
One thing for sure-- Flores should have seen one more pitch, at least. What a crap way to end-- on a check swing that wasn't a swing.
Obviously, the pain of last night is still raw. I was privileged to be among the only group of Fans (New York & San Francisco eras) to see the Dodgers celebrate any kind of series win on our own Home Field. It was a sickening moment.
As far as last night goes, watching Webb pitch his guts out was both wildly impressive, & frustrating as hell. We owed him way more. What a line, for his 2 Games in the Series. I know, I know - his pitching style differs from Matt Cain. But, so many other things about his Game presence do. And, he got f-ing Cained in the biggest Game of the rivalry to-date. Big pitches, defensive moments, & Ruf's massive HR were definite highlights to savor. Doval's mortality came along at the wrong moment, but thinking about him pitching for us for years is pleasant. The BRUTAL final pitch call on Flores should be an impetus for MLB to finally put some definition on what, exactly, a checked swing is. It seems like a checked swing is exactly what Flores did. To end a Team's historic 109-win Season on a not-even-marginal checked swing call is cruel. What a dick. Flores may have ended up whiffing honorably, or he may have weakly tapped to the mound, or he may have kept things going w/ a BB or a 1B or a 2B, or he may have HR'd to end the Series. But, that asshole denied us the opportunity to know.
As far as the Series goes, here's the pitiful defining statistic:
- The Giants scored only 10 Runs in the 5-Game Series.
- 6 of them scored on HR's, one of which was a 2-run HR in the very first Inning.
- 3 of them scored on 'productive Outs' (1 SF & 2 grounders).
- 1 single Run scored on a run-producing Hit w/ RISP ... & there was even an Out made on that play, too. Let's see if you all can recall which Hit.
The above wasn't just an NLDS problem - it was a Giants' problem for the last few weeks of the Regular Season, too. Getting big hits w/ 'ducks on the pond' disappeared from our repertoire, as multiple Hitters went into massive slumps.
As far as the Season goes, establishing a Franchise Record for wins in a year during which a .500 record seemed like a decent goal, & during which we didn't have one single everyday OF or 2B was incredible. We also didn't have an everyday 1B for much of the year, or for the NLDS. Kapler, as a Person, is a bit of a mixed bag. Kapler, as a Manager, deserves Manager-of-the-Year for cobbling together win-after-win - talk about making Lemonade out of Lemons. I'm still not sure how this happened, but the Record Book says that it did. Once the Playoffs started, & Belt was gone, that Post-Season collective experience wasn't there. Basically, that did us in. The other Dugout was brimming w/ that. Ours wasn't.
Personally, I have an AWFUL record in that Stadium (admittedly, a pretty small sample size, since I didn't live here for most of the lifespan of the Stadium) - not just this Season, but all-time. In the greatest Giants' Season ever, I was 1-5, & the only Win was in the first Game that I attended. (So, I will be requesting compensation from the Giants not to attend Games next Season.) All-told, & in a much larger sample size, my Candlestick record was far superior, even though many of the Teams that I watched really sucked. Something has to change, but I'm getting depressed about attending Games now, & that's a shitty feeling.
My entire Post was apparently too long - here's the last paragraph:
We have a lot to look forward to in 2022, but we still don't have an everyday OF. We have big decisions to make on Free Agents - I don't expect the Giants to splash a lot of cash, which probably means bye-bye to Bryant. He's a very good Player, & was a fine Post-Season performer again. But, do you see these Giants paying a Boras-represented Player >$100M for a multi-year deal? I don't think so. In other words, we're probably headed for another Season of squeezing the most that we can out of an unaccomplished, but gritty group. And, w/ Logan Webb & Camilo Doval leading the way. We should be very good again, so that's a promising note to end this.
One more item:
It was my thought at the time, & remains my belief, that the one mistake that the Giants' made in defining their Post-Season Roster was excluding Estrada, so that they could include Dickerson. Dickerson has been in a slump for, like, half a year. Estrada is an exciting, versatile, Giants-like Player. Even the 'Dickerson has pop' theory is BS. Estrada hit 2 HR's off of Kershaw, so he has performed on the 'big occasion'. During the Regular Season, he had a higher HR Percentage, Slugging Percentage, & OPS. Especially w/ La Stella being banged up (which they knew ahead of time), Estrada could have really helped.
With the Dodgers heavy on RH relief (Jansen, Treinen, Kelly, Bickford, etc.) they wanted a lefty hitter. With BCraw playing every inning and Solano healthy Estrada wasn't going to get many chances in the five games. If the Giants had won I suspect Estrada would have been put on the LCS squad.
I like Estrada a lot and I think he'll be a big part of the mix next year.
Dickerson in the NLDS - 0-for-4 w/ 3 Strikeouts, all as a PH - that's a pretty low bar, & I think that Estrada could have exceeded that - at least, he would have put the ball in play.
I understand your reasoning, but Dickerson has been horrible for months.
I don't think they put him on the roster with the expectation that he would go 0-for-4!!
Dickerson is arb-eligible in 2022 and a FA in 2023. His poor season will probably cost him (he made $2.1 M in 2021).
At the time, Krukow said it was a correct call. From the replays, I have a difficult time agreeing. But even if, EVEN IF the call was correct, it is still a damn shitty way to end the only compelling series MLB had going. KNBR.com has an interview with the vampire that "explains" (to use the word facetiously) the call.
The bottom line, however, is that a team that relies on Logan Webb throwing a shutout to win is going to have a tough time. Those 10 runs in 5 games? That's 6 in the last 4, 4 in the last 3.
What I heard is that Krukow said that it was a correct call from his vantage point, before he saw the view from the the first-base side. When he saw that, he said that it was a shit call. It wasn't even borderline - it was garbage. Post-Game Meal on his mind? Or, is he just an LA fan? Cruel.
Before his last AB, Flores was like 0 for 17 against Scherzer. Then it was 0-2 real quick. As soon as the ump called the check swing, I turned off the game. Can’t risk seeing the celebration. No sir. Wilmer looked so overmatched I just assumed he took a hack, I had no idea any one was pissed until this morning…
It saddens me that the rest of the world doesn’t get to see the Giants thrill ride in action. But the dogger’s pitchers were just too good. Unfortunately I bet they win the rest rather easily I’m not watching, just in case
It was a crappy way to end the game. It didn't cost the Giants the game, of course, it just made the final nail in the coffin that much more painful.
I think everyone noticed that the Giants only scored 10 runs in the 5 games! That really decided it: Giants didn't hit Dodgers pitching.
The "check swing" is one of baseball's stupidest things as there is no actual rule governing the event. It is entirely a judgment call by the ump. The Giants got a break on a bad check-swing call in LA during the regular season. Remember? Dave Roberts even threw his cap! (Darin Ruf should have been out and instead he walked and the Giants went on to win the game.) Things like that have a way of evening out over the long haul, but it looks bad when big games end with a whimper. And with all the technology and slo-mo and replay and etc. it becomes increasingly absurd to have things like that happen at all.
Personally, I would be a super hard-ass about check-swings. If any part of the bat or the batter's hands/arms enters the strike zone it's a swing. One of the silliest things is when the batter turns his whole body into the swing with his hips fully rotated forward and his elbows in front of him and yet gets a call in his favor because he held the bat back. That's clearly a swing! I'd call a strike. (I hate check swings, as you might have guessed. GO FOR IT! Or, keep the bat on your shoulder. One or the other!)
Dickerson it seems to me is not entirely healthy. A few points. I hate to see the fantastic season for the giants and a game between two baseball goliaths end on a terrible call. But it seems fitting. A few at bats decided not so much by the players but by the umps had effects on the game. In an AB with Crawford on first (made it to second on a wild pitch or passed ball) one out and Bryant At bat. the first 5 pitches, all taken were all balls. None of the pitches were close. Yet the relatively hot hitting Bryant found himself not at first base with Crawford at second and one out, but he found himself in a 3-2 count. Then an excellent pitch got Bryant on a 3-2 swing. I had been relatively happy about Bryant's approach in the post season. The last few weeks of the regular season found Bryant with seemingly no clue about pitch recognition as he was swinging at bad pitches and taking good pitches. However, he seemed to correct this for the post season and that was a big plus for the giants offense.
Next: I thought that the giants did not do a good enough job of holding Betts on first base, and it cost them. He should never have had such an easy steal of second. Although it happens to the best, I thought they could have done better.
I also thought that Posey became a bit too predictable by calling so many sliders for Doval. I was yelling at the TV but from 3100 miles away I guess Buster could not hear me. I don't know what he was thinking but It did not work, and it was predictable.
With all that being said, I think the giants were fortunate to have Buster and Webb, and also Casali. Posey and Casali seem to be two of the top few game callers in baseball. I suspect that Buster was overthinking it with Doval on the mound.
Overall it was a great season and the wrong team is moving on. The giants number of wins per dollar spent on the players has to be almost double the number seen by the dodgers. Nevertheless, congratulations to the Dodgers, as the second best team in baseball has moved on and I hope they represent the N.L. West as being the best division in baseball.
The Ruf check swing in the middle of the season. If folks remember that AB he should have already walked. He had a pitch in that AB about 6 inches off the plate called a strike. I am not so sure that that check swing, (which according to definitions brought forward by Kruk and Kuip all season) it was in the 50/50 zone. But he should have walked without that pitch and the umpire may have indeed been giving him a makeup call as the check was borderline. Flores check was not borderline. It was not in the 50/50 zone. It was what we would classically define as an obvious check swing. Over the season the giants have been victims more times than not on check swings on both offense and defense. I can think of a few pitches this year that were both over the plate and the batter went around that were called balls for giants pitchers. For me the Ruf situation earlier in the season does not explain, make up, or have anything to do with this season ending horrific call. The giants may have lost on the next pitch legitimately, or later in the AB, or Flores may have reached, moving the runner up, or doubled and tied the game, or hit a walk off homer as the giants had done several times this year with two outs and two strikes in the ninth. Okay some of those two strike two out homers were game tying and not winning but To watch 162 games, and then the playoffs, and to see the entire season end on a blown call, is just bad for baseball.
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