2010 MLB Season

[Matthew]

[WorldB3]

For my dad who took a sick day in high school to drive up to see game 7 in 62, this is for you pops, your not here to see it but the Giants did it! After 87, 89, 93, 97, 2000 and 02, this team? you kidding me? I can't believe it!

[Big Al]

Congratulations, hats off, and MAJOR props to the World Champion San Fransisco Giants. Been a long time coming and you guys completely outplayed, outhit, and certainly outpitched my Rangers! I've got no complaints, other than wishing for a different outcome of course. Gad, I thought we might catch a break after Bungarner's gem last night; who knew that Lincecum would top THAT??? Certainly not the Rangers, who looked completely baffled from the very first pitch. Which is not a knock against the Rangers, mind you: Lincecum was simply that GOOD!

A highly-deserved storybook ending for one team; for the other team, an exclamated TO BE CONTINUED!!!

Enjoy the party, Giants fans! See y'all next year!

Edited November 2, 2010 by Big Al

[Big Al]

For my dad who took a sick day in high school to drive up to see game 7 in 62, this is for you pops, your not here to see it but the Giants did it! After 87, 89, 93, 97, 2000 and 02, this team? you kidding me? I can't believe it!

That was beautiful!

[JSngry]

No complaints, no excuses, nothing but fullest baseball love for the Giants & their fans (many of whom were in attendance this evening! Charlie got some shots of a large group celebrating post-game, & if I can figure out how to do it, I'll upload them here for the SF fans. Very nice, civil people, and it was easy to feel their joy & be glad for them, really. Quite unlike many other teams' fans (yeah, I'm talking to you, obnoxious Cowboys fans, a.o.).

People here be talking about how unfortunate it was that the Rangers bats went cold, but when your hits go right at the fielders as often as ours did (when we made contact, that is), you know you're simply facing dominating pitching, period. And dominating these guys on as consistent a basis as the Giants did isn't luck - it skill, artistry even. Charlie commented in the 9th how clean everybody's unis still were, and I told him, hell, they really haven't had to do too much, ya' know, either team, that's what a good pircher's duel is all about! Any lover of the game has got to appreciate that, even if it's against your guys. Maybe even especially if it's against your guys, because you know that you had the privilege of facing/witnessing true greatness. There's so much mediocrity in this world that getting to witness greatness is,,,,well, just be thankful, that's all. Learn from it, and hope that you get so blessed some more in this life (and that it gets to be your turn some day).

No complaints, no excuses, and no regrets either. When the New 2000 Year Old Man comes out of nowhere to be Babe Ruth/Series MVP, you know that those baseball gods that Tim keeps talking about simply decided to point their fingers the other way this time, so there's really nothing else to do except sit back, enjoy the show, and realize what a kick it is that you finally got to be a part of it. Walking out of the ballpark this evening was really interesting - there was no real sadness or disappointment, just a sense of thankfulness of finally getting to be a part of the true greatest show on earth, and a sense of hope - finally - that there will be more to come. Optimism is a powerful medicine!

Optimism & joy in the face of a pretty...unambiguous defeat...like the man said, that's the way baseball go. Hard to argue with that.

[papsrus]

Series goes down as a pretty one-sided affair -- in favor of the pre-series underdog, too, I guess.

I certainly thought Lee was a good bet to get Texas two wins.

Nope.

Nice to see Renteria go out on top, if this is his last hurrah.

Congrats to both the World Champion Giants and AL Champion Rangers. Wasn't the sort of series I'd hoped for, but it had its moments.

Spring training's just a few months away!

[Jim R]

Well, I have to admit I was too superstitious to post a word here until this whole thing was over. I went to my first Giants game in '62 (Marichal no-hitter against the Astros at Candlestick), so I've been waiting a few years for this. This really eases the pain left over from 2002, when we really thought we finally had it in game 6 against the Angels. This team, however, was a lot more fun to watch, and a more likeable bunch of guys. A TEAM, in the truest sense of the word, with different guys providing clutch plays from game to game. Some of them are newcomers to the organization, and some are too young to realize what they just did, or what it means to many of us long-suffering fans, but I'm very happy for them as a group. They're a special bunch, and Bochy really knew how to get the most out of them.

I knew it was going to be a real battle between Lee and Lincecum this time around. Lee was outstanding, and it's unfortunate that somebody had to lose in a duel like that. In fact, after the season Texas had, and the wait that franchise has also endured, it's unfortunate that somebody had to lose this series. Congrats to the Rangers for a great season, and pushing the Giants to be at their very best. I was kind of hoping for this series go 7, because I was enjoying it that much.

Willie Mays was interviewed on radio tonight, and he really sounded excited. He was very impressed, of course, with the pitching staff, but he also praised Buster Posey as a kid with a very bright future. Willie is apparently under the weather, but everybody is hoping he'll be well enough to attend the parade on Wednesday.

[JSngry]

I went to my first Giants game in '62 (Marichal no-hitter against the Astros at Candlestick),

The kid who in went to the Astrodome the first year it opened (1965)) and sat out in center field for 50 cents(!) feels compelled to jog your memory to remind you that in 1962, the no-hitter would have been pitched against the:

Texas baseball means never being able to forget the dark past, no matter how hard you try...

[thelbc]

Baseball...San Francisco..who really cares?

The Giants in NY sucked..and totally crippled Mays in San Fran...

The Dodgers made you guys look like jokers for 55 years!!

I mean really, are all of you over 65?

[PHILLYQ]

Congrats to the Giants and their long-suffering fans, The Freak was superfreaky last night. Great pitchers duel, great game. Texas fans, y'all got a real good team and they may be back with a different result.

[Brad]

Baseball...San Francisco..who really cares?

The Giants in NY sucked..and totally crippled Mays in San Fran...

The Dodgers made you guys look like jokers for 55 years!!

I mean really, are all of you over 65?

Ahh, a closet Dodger fan, maybe that s.o.b. O'Malley returned from the grave.

Giants won more in NY than Dodgers did and now they both have some number of pennants and WS titles.

Anything else? No, didn't think so.

[Big Al]

A TEAM, in the truest sense of the word,

No better example of this came after hard-luck Pat Burrell struck out for like the 12th time this series and his teammates rallied around him, supported him, and even Edgar Renteria giving him a big hug after his HR as if to say, "We got your back, man. You helped get us here, we're all in this together."

Now THAT'S class.

[Matthew]

A TEAM, in the truest sense of the word,

No better example of this came after hard-luck Pat Burrell struck out for like the 12th time this series and his teammates rallied around him, supported him, and even Edgar Renteria giving him a big hug after his HR as if to say, "We got your back, man. You helped get us here, we're all in this together."

Now THAT'S class.

Burrell flat-out stunk in the World Series, but still, I can't crack on him too hard, he carried the Giants for two weeks in September, so the Giants wouldn't even have been in the playoffs without him.

Rangers fans can take heart, it looks like you're in a long run for the playoffs, I don't see anyone in the West challenging them next year, that's for sure. It will be interesting to see how they handle success.

[Chalupa]

I went to my first Giants game in '62 (Marichal no-hitter against the Astros at Candlestick),

The kid who in went to the Astrodome the first year it opened (1965)) and sat out in center field for 50 cents(!) feels compelled to jog your memory to remind you that in 1962, the no-hitter would have been pitched against the:

Texas baseball means never being able to forget the dark past, no matter how hard you try...

Was Harry Kalas calling the games then?

[JSngry]

No, iirc Harry didn't come onboard until '65, the year the Colts became the Astros. His signature home run line back in those days was "and THAT ball is an ASTRO ORBIT!"

[BERIGAN]

Congrats to Goodspeak, Jim R, WorldB3 , and all the other Giants fans!

And to all the Rangers fans, you have been beyond classy this post season, give yourselves a pat on the back! Your team will be back in the playoffs for years to come.

And Goodspeak, no more badmouthing David Righetti, the Beard, or J.Sanchez! They are all very good!

You can keep on bashing Zito though!

[JSngry]

Yeah, I'm optimistic about there being playoff baseball in Arlington for some years to come, but another World Series? You want to think so, but realistically, that is one of the great unknowns, which is why savoring this one to the fullest, even in a loss, is a "must do" afaic.

You wanna talk about torture...torture is watching Renteria hit that ball, it's got good air but the distance is not immediately discernible, at least from our seats...I'm watching Murphy & Hamilton both get heading towards it, looking for some kind of sign one way or the other as to whether or not either one of them have a play on it, jeez, somebody line up for either a catch or a leap, PLEASE and...they never do.

The ball clears the fence but doesn't make the seats...a near-perfect metaphor for how this series was just that much - but definitely that much - out of reach for us. And then Cruz answers back, and we're thinking this is the inning when we find a crack, ok...maybe...but then not. Feliz comes in for two and SMOKES, and we got the top of the order in the 8th & 9th, they get one more chance, miracles do happen, but not that often, that's why they're considered miracles, and...no miracles tonight...

But it sinks in pretty quickly that just being there was a miracle of sorts, how this franchise & this team this season has in one season, less than half a season, really, fundamentally changed the meaning of the words "Texas Rangers baseball" for, hopefully, a good long time to come. With Jerry World right next door, an inescapably mammoth monument to hubristic fraud of the highest/lowest order, and with the memory of Mark Cuban, a guy I used to dig big time, but now revealed as a fanboy first and a serious team owner second (or third...or fourth...), coming this close to owning the team, the realization that those words - "Texas Rangers baseball" might soon come to represent the apex of DFW sports in terms of performance and integrity, well... yeah, miracles do happen, even in losing a World Series.

[Big Al]

Amen to that, Jim! I'm happy you and your son were able to see that last night.

[JSngry]

Not to get too maudlin or anything, but the weather here has been just a little better than average up until this morning, when it finally tuned cooler and nasty-rainy-damp.

First real "season change" weather we've had this fall, and that it signals the end of this particular baseball season as well seems...just right.

[ghost of miles]

I heard a recap of last night's game on NPR this morning--they ran tape of Brian Wilson in a postgame interview saying, "I feel like getting a little weird." Getting, as the NPR announcer asked afterwards rather incredulously? Really happy for Giants fans today. Kind of ironic that one of the two World Series champ "drought" teams left is the Cleveland Indians, considering that their record-setting 1954 team was knocked off in the Series that year by--the Giants!

[Big Al]

Not to get too maudlin or anything, but the weather here has been just a little better than average up until this morning, when it finally tuned cooler and nasty-rainy-damp.

First real "season change" weather we've had this fall, and that it signals the end of this particular baseball season as well seems...just right.

Maybe it's because God is sad that the Rangers lost, or maybe He's sad that baseball season is over,.....

...or maybe He's sad because now the local sports media will go back to doing what they do best: over-analyze every aspect of why the Cows stink again this year!

Edited November 2, 2010 by Big Al

[JSngry]

Not to get too maudlin or anything, but the weather here has been just a little better than average up until this morning, when it finally tuned cooler and nasty-rainy-damp.

First real "season change" weather we've had this fall, and that it signals the end of this particular baseball season as well seems...just right.

Maybe it's because God is sad that the Rangers lost, or maybe He's sad that baseball season is over,.....

...or maybe He's sad because now the local sports media will go back to doing what they do best: over-analyze every aspect of why the Cows stink again this year!

Knowing God (and the local sports media, who usually think that that's who they are) like I do, I'm absolutely certain it's that last one.

[Jim R]

I went to my first Giants game in '62 (Marichal no-hitter against the Astros at Candlestick),

The kid who in went to the Astrodome the first year it opened (1965)) and sat out in center field for 50 cents(!) feels compelled to jog your memory to remind you that in 1962, the no-hitter would have been pitched against the:

Texas baseball means never being able to forget the dark past, no matter how hard you try...

Thank you, and please know that I practically expect to have my memory jogged every time I post. I was wrong about the year, too. I may have gone to a Giants game in '62, but the Marichal no-hitter we witnessed was actually in June of '63.

[Tim McG]

Thanks for all the congratulatory words, Guys. Been a long time comin'.

Let me also congratulate the Texas Rangers for an AL pennant and their first trip to the WS/playoffs in the team's history. Well played, Gents!

The good news is Benji Molina gets a much deserved WS ring anyway.

Congrats to Goodspeak, Jim R, WorldB3 , and all the other Giants fans!

And to all the Rangers fans, you have been beyond classy this post season, give yourselves a pat on the back! Your team will be back in the playoffs for years to come.

And Goodspeak, no more badmouthing David Righetti, the Beard, or J.Sanchez! They are all very good!

You can keep on bashing Zito though!

Tell you what...I won't say a word for at least five months, OK?

Edited November 2, 2010 by GoodSpeak

[Tim McG]

Well, I have to admit I was too superstitious to post a word here until this whole thing was over. I went to my first Giants game in '62 (Marichal no-hitter against the Astros at Candlestick), so I've been waiting a few years for this. This really eases the pain left over from 2002, when we really thought we finally had it in game 6 against the Angels. This team, however, was a lot more fun to watch, and a more likeable bunch of guys. A TEAM, in the truest sense of the word, with different guys providing clutch plays from game to game. Some of them are newcomers to the organization, and some are too young to realize what they just did, or what it means to many of us long-suffering fans, but I'm very happy for them as a group. They're a special bunch, and Bochy really knew how to get the most out of them.

I knew it was going to be a real battle between Lee and Lincecum this time around. Lee was outstanding, and it's unfortunate that somebody had to lose in a duel like that. In fact, after the season Texas had, and the wait that franchise has also endured, it's unfortunate that somebody had to lose this series. Congrats to the Rangers for a great season, and pushing the Giants to be at their very best. I was kind of hoping for this series go 7, because I was enjoying it that much.

Willie Mays was interviewed on radio tonight, and he really sounded excited. He was very impressed, of course, with the pitching staff, but he also praised Buster Posey as a kid with a very bright future. Willie is apparently under the weather, but everybody is hoping he'll be well enough to attend the parade on Wednesday.

Jim,

I saw my first game [a shut-out] at the 'Stick in 1966; Gaylord Perry vs. Don Drysdale. Giants won by a score of 1-0.

I have been fortunate enough to see many of the Giants greatest players over the past 40+ years: Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, all the Alou Brothers [Felipe, Jesus and Matty], Jim Davenport, Kevin Mitchell, Bob Brenly, Will Clark, Rod Beck, Matt Williams, Kirk Rueter, Jeff Kent, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Benito Santiago, JT Snow, Mike Matheny, Jason Schmidt...I could go on!

Man, that some was cold wind blowing in from Hunter's Point. Remember those big green doors below the upper deck which just flapped when the wind blew? Back in those days you could bring your own cooler full of beer and soda. Sit in the shade [even after they enclosed the stadium] and you needed a down parka; sit in the sun and you fried.

I remember in the early 80s when the Giants couldn't even buy a win, you could get a cheap ticket in the nose bleed section and after an inning or two walk down to the boxes and watch the game.

Fun times

Edited November 2, 2010 by GoodSpeak