I'm sure most Giants fans have pinched themselves, but this is no dream: these Giants, a self-described "cast of misfits" are your 2010 NL Champions.
Obviously, I'm quite the homer, but I, along with most Giants fans, did not see this team coming even close to winning a pennant. I thought they'd make the playoffs, and then falter against superior competition. As Damon Bruce said, "This team can't hit a lick, but they're in the World Series?!" Remember, this team's two marquee free agent signings last offseason were an injured Mark DeRosa, and Aubrey Huff, a player that no team wanted. How did this team knock off the two-time defending NL Champions and shock not only the city of Philadelphia, but baseball spectators across the globe?
As they've done all year, they won with their pitching. The Phillies have an intimidating lineup, but the Giants' starters and relievers shut down Philadelphia's big hitters. In the NLCS, Chase Utley hit .182, Shane Victorino hit .125, Raul Ibanez hit .211, and Jayson Werth hit .222. Ryan Howard, despite hitting .318, did not have an RBI. The Phillies batted .167 with runners in scoring position. The starters, aside from Matt Cain, didn't dominate the Phillies, but they kept the Phillies' hitters off-balance all series. What more can you say about the bullpen? Javier Lopez was so lethal against lefties that he forced Charlie Manuel to change his lineup, and Brian Wilson, although he took 5 years off of all Giants fans' lives, saved 3 games and earned a victory in Game 4.
Just like it's been since September, there were different heroes every game on the offensive side. It was Cody Ross in Games 1 and 3, Buster Posey and Juan Uribe in Game 4, and Aubrey Huff and Uribe again in Game 6.
Game 6 of the NLCS will live forever in Giants lore. It was a prime example of what the 2010 Giants are: a team with no superstars (well, maybe except Lincecum) and much more than the sum of its parts. Jonathan Sanchez didn't have anything, and usually, the Giants would lose that game. But nearly every person on that 25-man roster saved Sanchez and contributed to the clinching win. Aubrey Huff smartly ran the bases in the 3rd inning, driving in a run and scoring the tying run on Placido Polanco's throwing error. Jeremy Affeldt, who had become somewhat of a forgotten man in that bullpen, saved the game for the Giants by shutting down Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, and Shane Victorino with runners on base after Sanchez's implosion. 21-year old Madison Bumgarner pitched two scoreless frames while leaving the bases loaded and Raul Ibanez at 3rd base. Javier Lopez made Utley and Howard look foolish in the 7th. Juan Uribe hit a band-box homerun that will haunt Philly fans for years. Tim Lincecum struck out Jayson Werth for a huge out in the 8th inning, and Brian Wilson gutted a 5-out save. If that isn't a great example of unselfish team work, I don't know what is.
Brian Murphy on KNBR spoke about how this Giants team weathered some ghosts from the past, and why it may bode well for the Giants as they enter the World Series. The Giants, until last Saturday, had a horrific history of going on the road with a 3-2 series lead. In 1987, the prime of Roger Craig's Humm-Baby era, the Giants took a 3-2 lead into St. Louis, but gaffes by Candy Maldonado and Atlee Hammaker cost that team a pennant. In 2002, the Giants were five outs away from winning the....why am I writing about 2002? It's just going to depress me; we all know what happened.
It was looking like deja vu after Jonathan Sanchez couldn't throw a strike to save his life, the Phillies took a 2-0 lead, and Citizens Bank Park was going nuts. But this team didn't give up, and didn't let the past haunt them. They said, "We're not going down tonight. Not us." The fighting spirit of this team has been unbelievable to watch throughout the season.
As a Philadelphia resident, there was nothing sweeter than wearing my orange and black in celebration and seeing the looks of shock and disbelief on the faces of Philly fans. These fans thought the NLCS was over before it even started, and they were getting ready for another Phillies/Yankees World Series. Even though the Giants were up 3-2, when the series shifted back to Philly, they thought the Giants had no chance. I'm sure that most Philly fans are still thinking, "How the $*@! did that happen?"
Bruce Bochy deserves a statue to honor how well he managed this series. He pushed all of the right buttons: switching Cain and Sanchez in the rotation, starting Renteria and Rowand in Game 3, starting Uribe at 3B in Game 6, removing Jonathan Sanchez early in Game 6, and his overall managing of the bullpen. Quite a masterpiece by Bochy, and I hope that the rest of the country found out that the quiet, unassuming, and sometimes boring Bruce Bochy is terrific at what he does.
The Rangers are a great team, and they will be tough to beat. They have Cliff Lee and an offense that features a lethal combination of speed and power. The Giants are underdogs again, but I think they'd prefer nothing else. They'll torture the Rangers and use everything they've got to scratch some runs across. Why should it be any different? Maybe I'm delusional, but I really believe that this team is special, and that they'll find some inexplicable way to bring San Francisco it's first World Series Championship. We'll probably age ten years through the process, but it'll be worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment