Sunday, October 05, 2003

 

Cold Wind To Valhalla

They lost, my boys in orange black did. But oh, what a fight they did give. If a season must end in heart-rending manner, let it end with a mighty collision at home plate, with the son of a football player doing his damnedest to knock the ball out of the hands of a catcher named Pudge. Let it end in utter exhaustion, with J.T. lying face down upon home plate, knowing that in any other week, with a little more concentration, it would be he and his fellow Giants celebrating.

For analyzing this series, I think you can safely toss a lot of the statistics out the window, and just look at the Brain Fart Ratio:

* Marlins scored 20 runs in four games--only 15 were earned. On the other hand, the Giants scored 16 runs, and 15 were earned. That's a BFR of 5:1 for the Giants. Not good.

* Marlins stole two bases and were not caught once. Giants stole one base, and were caught once (hi, Marquis). That's a BFR of infinity:1 for the Giants. Not good.

* Marlins scored once when Torrealba wasn't paying attention where the ball was. Giants never scored on a mental error by Florida.

* Marlins picked people off first base once (maybe twice, I can't remember now). Giants never picked anyone off.

You see where this is going? The Marlins won because they were paying attention. The Marlins won because they executed every play on the field, and did not give the Giants any extra runs. The Marlins won because they were focused.

The Giants lost because, let's face it, they choked. Repeatedly. This is not a word I use lightly, but the evidence is there for all to see. And you know what? It happens. You hope it doesn't happen to your team, but sometimes it does. A bunch of the 8 teams in the playoffs have been guilty of similar dumb mistakes (see Yankees, game 1; Athletics, game 3; Braves, game 3; Red Sox, game 1). Only the Marlins have been immune, and that's why their series finished first.

Bah. It's a bitter taste indeed, but it's the result of the most basic test in human drama: put someone in a pressure situation, and see how they perform. In the Giants case, mostly badly.

We should take heart, though, those of us who are suffering from bad hangovers and the taste of ashes in our mouths. The Giants could have just folded completely yesterday. They didn't. They accepted the challenge, and they fought back valiantly. They went out with a bang, and a thud, and a cloud of dust, and with visions of glory in everyone's minds, even if it only lasted about three seconds. In the end, it wasn't enough.

But the tale of this game will be told to our children, and our children's children, of how these Giants could play so badly, with both hands wrapped around their throats, and how somehow, despite all their failures...they damn near won anyway.

Jefferson 9:38 AM

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Saturday, October 04, 2003

 

Out At The Plate

It's over.

Jefferson 1:35 PM

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The War of the Rookies

In a shocking last-minute twist, Felipe Alou will be starting Jerome Williams in today's crucial Game 4. He will face anointed Rookie of the Year favorite Dontrelle Willis. Additionally, Cruz is out, replaced by Hammonds, and Santiago will be replaced by...Alberto Castillo?? (ESPN has to be wrong; it has to be Torrealba.)

I'm fine with Williams starting. He has to notch a victory in one game this series for the Giants to win. History tells us that bringing back starters in the postseason on short rest often backfires, so saving Schmidt for tomorrow makes sense.

But talk about pressure. You're Jerome Williams. You didn't expect to pitch at the major-league level this season, let alone pitching in the postseason, let alone in an elimination game. Now you carry the hopes and fears of thousands of ulcerous Giants fan, many of whom are frankly ready to head for the clock towers with six-packs and sniper rifles after the disasters of Games 2 and 3. No, there's no pressure there. No pressure at all. You just have to forget that the Giants offense has stopped driving in runs, and that you probably have to throw a shutout today to overcome your teammates' suddenly pathetic defense. No, no pressure at all.

To me, no matter what Williams does today, the Giants won't lose the series because of him. Pretty much everyone except Bonds, Alfonzo, Schmidt, Rueter, and Worrell will have to look themselves in the mirror and yell, "God DAMN, I sucked this week." And I'm not too sure on Worrell, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt based on his solid Game 3 peformance and his warrior-like ferocity yesterday. It's not his fault Neifi and Jose made him throw an extra 25 pitches in the 10th and 11th innings.

And if I'm Felipe Alou, there's no way in hell that Neifi even sees the field today, let alone gets on it. Ditto Jose Cruz Jr. (I recommend duct tape and chloroform, Felipe--I'm sure Murph packs both for occasions like this.)

One hour to Ragnarok, my friends. If the Giants are to fall today, at least let them fall after battling with pride, skill and ferocity enough that they may all enter Valhalla with their heads held high.

Jefferson 8:58 AM

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Friday, October 03, 2003

 

Living on the Razor's Edge

You have to say this about the San Francisco Giants. When they decide to lose a playoff game, they find the most dramatic, heart-wrenching, stomach-rending, primal-scream-inducing ways in which to do it.

They even have them categorized. This one is from the same chapter as 2000 NLDS, Game 3--"Giants Raise Hopes In Extra Innings, Only To Collapse and Lose."

Their backs are to the wall now. Somehow, they have to rally and play a solid game tomorrow. Alou has to decide whether to start Schmidt on short rest, or to start Jerome Williams as scheduled. Problem is, even if Schmidt can shut down the Fish tomorrow, the Giants still need Jerome Williams to pitch and win one game in this series. But I'd rather have Jerome pitching at home, with a bit of momentum on his side, than not have a Game 5 at all.

More later, after I have a drink or two.

Jefferson 6:25 PM

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Wednesday, October 01, 2003

 

Ponson, Bullpen Serve Up Batting Practice; Giants Lose Game 2

That's the bad news. And now, over to me for the good news.

I got to leave work at 10am, pick up my girlfriend Dawn, and play hooky with official leave (which I guess makes it not hooky after all...oh well). We took BART out to the city, and as is our custom, had lunch at the Acme Chophouse before the game. I know it's a semi-tourist attraction, being situated within the walls of the stadium. I know it's a bit overpriced, perhaps. But damn, is the food ever good there. Oysters on the half shell as an appetizer, all from Tomales Bay just an hour's drive from the city. Those were terrific as always. Onion rings, sweet, thin, and lightly battered, almost like they were tempura. They didn't have ranch dressing to put them in, but they didn't need them. They weren't salted to death, or battered to death. A perfect balance of batter and onion, and just the perfect consistency. Finally, pulled pork sandwich. (Neither of us really know what they mean by "pulled" pork, but I always imagine some poor pig on the rack. You know, the rack with the cranks and the associated screaming?) I couldn't tell you what sauce they used, but it was spicy and moist. (Dawn says it probably had paprika in it.) They had some coleslaw in the sandwich, too; I'm told that's a sign of a Carolina recipe. Whatever--it was really fantastic.

Then we got to go inside, and they gave us all orange foam sticks to wave around and raise hell with. They're the perfect size for play fencing, if you don't mind having a slightly floppy rapier. We Errol Flynned our way to section 135, where my company has its season tickets. It was cloudy, but not cold and windy, and the sun was offering to come out later in the afternoon.

Then the game started, and the Giants did great, at least for the first four innings. Ponson had a shaky first inning, but gave up only one run. The Giants tied it up right away, thanks to Barry Bonds' RBI double. Then in the fourth, the Giants broke it open with three runs. The Fish walked Barry intentionally with Aurilia on first and nobody out. Alfonzo immediately made them pay by driving a double into Death Valley. Bonds practically ran over Aurilia as they raced to the plate. Alfonzo would later score on a Marquis Grissom grounder. It was 4-1 Giants, and life looked good.

I have to say a quick word about Bonds. He has another gear for the playoffs. He made an amazing sliding catch to end the second inning. I can't remember the last time I saw him slide or dive for a fly ball. On Alfonzo's double, he was running faster than I could recall ever seeing before. You know all that talk about conserving energy? This is what he's saving it for. After two games, he is 1-for-3 with 5 walks, a double, an RBI, 2 runs scored, and a stolen base. His OBP is .750. His slugging percentage is .666. Not bad at all.

Ponson went back to his shaky side in the fifth inning. He gave the lead right back, giving up about a hundred and fifty little singles. Felipe Alou could see Ponson was done, and started Herges warming up in the bullpen. Ponson finished the fifth with the score 4-4, but Alou smartly pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the fifth. Ponson was due to lead off, but Alou sent up Pedro Feliz. And wouldn't you know, Feliz crushed a ball into Triples Alley that bounded off the wall, over Pierre and Encarnacion, and back to the infield. A faster runner would have had an inside-the-park homer; Feliz settled for an easy stand-up triple. Snow would drive him in with a single to right field. At the end of five, the Giants led 5-4. Ponson was the pitcher of record, and reliable Joe Nathan was coming in from the bullpen.

Here endeth the good news.

Nathan pitched batting practice in the sixth inning. That's the only conclusion. Homer to Encarnacion, singles to Conine, Gonzalez, Hollandsworth, and you could see the Marlins dugout drooling all the way from our section. Before the feast got completely out of hand, Alou intervened and summoned Jason Christiansen. Oops, more BP. Then Herges. Nothing helped. Before the dust settled that inning, it was 7-5, and it wasn't over.

Rodriguez served up BP in the seventh, too. The Marlins drove the ball hard against time several times, but somehow only scored once. Brower came in and gave up a run in the eighth. It was 9-5, and the Giants had stopped hitting. Five runs should be enough to win, but that assumes your bullpen isn't going to give up five runs all by itself.

The Giants outfield didn't help by barfing up on two fly balls. Cruz overran a ball deep in the right field corner in the fifth, which ended up costing the Giants a run. Grissom simply dropped one that he had run down in the eighth, accounting for Brower's run. Grissom was not charged with an error. The sky today was pretty rough. Fast-moving patches of clouds played tag with the sunshine, changing literally every few seconds. Nonetheless, the Marlins outfield made their plays; the Giants didn't.

Well, in my preview a few days ago I indicated that Game 2 was the one I was most worried about. It looks like I was right. We're going to Miami even up, but now the Giants get to feast on left-handed pitching. They got a little appetizer today. Jack McKeon sent in Dontrelle Willis to pitch the eighth. Alfonzo and Santiago promptly got back-to-back singles. McKeon then yanked Willis and sent in a right-hander, and the Giants bats went back to sleep. But we will get a lot of innings of Redman and Willis starting Friday. I don't think the Marlins will survive that.

And hey, I got to go to a playoff game! How cool is that?

Jefferson 5:46 PM

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