Black (and orange) Friday Radio Replay

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when all things business start early.  Well, the Giants' flagship station, KNBR, decided to have their own Black (and orange) Friday.  Starting at 6am, they played all four Giants clinching games in their entirety - including celebrations, interviews and post game shows - in consecutive order.  The game 162 clincher against the San Diego Padres, the game 4 clincher against the Atlanta Braves, the game 6 clincher against the Philadelphia Phillies and the game 5 clincher against the Texas Rangers.  It all ended at about 11:30pm.

What a day of baseball on the radio.  All the best games for all the best reasons.  I managed to tape half of the NLCS clincher and all of the WS clincher.  These should be great for rainy days.

Tim Lincecum and the List of Giant Victims

This post-season, Tim Lincecum emerged as the dominant pitcher in baseball.  Or did he?  He was 4-1 with a 2.43 ERA, walked 9 and struck out 43.  He went head-to-head with and beat three pitchers who were supposed to beat him a total of four times.  Derek Lowe in the NLDS, Roy Halladay (the "best" pitcher in baseball the last three years) and Cliff Lee twice (the unbeatable post-season pitcher).  If you could have any pitcher on the mound to clinch the World Series, who would it be?  Well, I certainly wouldn't pick Lowe, Halladay or Lee.  Lincecum won game 1 of each post-season series, plus the clincher in the World Series.  What more could you ask for?

But before I brush this off, I want to look at the rest of the Giants staff.  Matt Cain started three games, went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 21.1 innings, putting him in the category with all-time elites.  Madison Bumgarner went 2-0 in three starts and a relief appearance with a 2.18 ERA.  He pitched the NLDS clincher and a key shutout of the Rangers in the WS.  And although Johnathan Sanchez went 0-2 in the post-season, he had a 4.05 ERA.  He tossed a shutout in the Giants' game 162 clincher over the Padres, and started the game 6 NLCS clincher against the Phils.   Javier Lopez was an unsung hero out of the pen, and Brian Wilson was on the mound in all four Giants clinchers, game 162 vs. the Padres, game 4 clincher vs. the Braves, game 6 clincher vs. the Phillies and the game 5 World Series clincher against the Rangers.

Overall, the list of Giants victims is amazingly impressive.  Mat Latos (the ace of the best pitching staff for most of the year), Derek Lowe, Derek Lowe again, Roy Halladay, Cole Hammels, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee, CJ Wilson, Tommy Hunter and Cliff Lee again.  Now that's domination.

Did The Giants Have A Curse?

Of the teams that had the longest World Series droughts, a group I've called "the long suffering five" (Cubs, White Sox, Red Sox, Indians, Giants), each of them seems to have a curse noted by fans over the years.  The most famous was the Red Sox's "Curse of the Bambino" for selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees after the Sox won their last World Series.  The Yankees went on to win 26 before the Red Sox ended their curse in 2004.

The Cubs have the "Curse of the Billy Goat," which legend has it that a fan brought a goat to a World Series game in 1945, and was told to leave because the smell was bothering other fans.  He placed a curse on the Cubs after leaving.  The White Sox had the "Curse of the Black Sox," which was directly due to the gambling scandal where eight White Sox players allegedly took part in throwing the 1919 World Series.  The Indians have a much less known curse, the "Curse of Rocky Colavito," preventing the Tribe from winning due to the team trading Colavito for Harvey Kuenn.

The Giants had maybe the lesser known "curse" of them all - the "Curse of Coogan's Bluff."  Coogan's Bluff was the place in Harlem where the Polo Grounds were located, and NY fans supposedly cursed the Giants for moving to San Francisco.

So did they have a curse?  I'm not sure, and I'm not a big fan of curses, but they do make for good conversation.  If they did have a curse, it's over.

Post-Season Records and Trends

Here are the post season records of the eight 2010 playoff teams:

0-3  Minnesota Twins
0-3  Cincinnati Reds
1-3  Atlanta Braves
2-3  Tampa Bay Rays
5-4  New York Yankees
5-4  Philadelphia Phillies
8-8  Texas Rangers
11-4  San Francisco Giants

A playoff trend being set by the Philadelphia Phillies:

2008 - Won the World Series
2009 - Lost the World Series
2010 - Lost the NLCS

A post-season trend set by the San Francisco Giants:

27 years - between the 1962 and 1989 pennants
13 years - between the 1989 and 2002 pennants
8 years - between the 2002 and 2010 pennants
9 days - between the 2010 pennant and 2010 World Championship

Cliff Lee as Giants no. 5 Starter?

Hey, Giants:  We all know we have a number five spot problem in the rotation.  How about going after Cliff Lee to fill the number 5 spot?  Too much money for a number five guy?  Hmmm.

Congratulations Buster Posey

Giants Buster Posey is the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year.  It sounds like the voting wasn't as close as I thought, as I even expected Heyward to win.  Oh, well.  What a great season.  Buster batted cleanup in the World Champs' lineup, and put down the fingers for the best pitching staff in baseball.  Mrs. Scott and I checked right after hearing the announcement to see if we (or our five year old son) had Buster's rookie baseball card.  Yes, we do.  It's in mint condition.  We'll hold on to it.  Congrats, Buster!

I Still Can't Believe It

It's been 12 days since the Giants clinched the World Series with a Brian Wilson fastball whiffing Nelson Cruz.  I still can't believe it.  The Giants won it all.  That's never happened in my lifetime, and not in San Francisco either.  The Giants simply don't win championships.  I've been taught so by history.  So why did they decide to win one this year? 

It's not like it's really difficult for a team to win.  It happens every year.  All the other teams never seemed to have a problem.  Every year the Series has been won by Somebody Else.  It's not like the Lottery where it can fail to have a winner, and it rolls over into the next week, and it can have many weeks in a row without a winner.  No.  Baseball has a World Series champion every year.  Somebody has to win it.  Why not the Giants?  That's a good question.  Why not?  Experience has taught me that the Giants snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  Some last minute catastrophe, sometimes the largest and latest ever, always seem to materialize at the wrong moment.  They lead baseball history in heartbreak.

To be fair, the Giants have had some of the most miraculous comebacks, last minute victories and great stories of all time.  But all of those have ended the same way.  With Somebody Else winning the World Series.  Until now.  Is this the same team of my youth?  Is this the same team of my 20's?  And 30's?  And most of my 40's?  Were the 49ers the only team allowed to roll down Market Street?

This wasn't the same team I knew.  It was somebody else.  Somebody Else in Giants uniforms.  But, I'll take it.

Post-Season Droughts

Here's a post-season drought list.  Like the other lists I've done recently, if a franchise moved cities in the middle of a current drought, I'll include both the franchise drought and the city drought in this list.  Every MLB franchise has made the post-season, but one team hasn't.  The Washington Nationals moved to DC from Montreal in 2005 and haven't made it.  Also, the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies, although they have won pennants or World Series, have never won a division title.

**Team that hasn't been since a franchise move. Year indicates year of move.

1981....29 years - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
1985....25 years - Kansas City Royals
1992....18 years - Pittsburgh Pirates
1993....17 years - Toronto Blue Jays
1997....13 years - Baltimore Orioles
2001.....9 years - Seattle Mariners
2003.....7 years - Florida Marlins
2005**...6 years - Washington Nationals
2005.....5 years - Houston Astros
2006.....4 years - San Diego Padres
2006.....4 years - Oakland A's
2006.....4 years - New York Mets
2006.....4 years - Detroit Tigers
2007.....3 years - Arizona Diamondbacks
2007.....3 years - Cleveland Indians
2008.....2 years - Chicago Cubs
2008.....2 years - Chicago White Sox
2008.....2 years - Milwaukee Brewers
2009.....1 year - St. Louis Cardinals
2009.....1 year - Boston Red Sox
2009.....1 year - Colorado Rockies
2009.....1 year - Los Angeles Dodgers
2009.....1 year - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2010.....0 years - Minnesota Twins
2010.....0 years - Cincinnati Reds
2010.....0 years - Tampa Bay Rays
2010.....0 years - Atlanta Braves
2010.....0 years - New York Yankees
2010.....0 years - Philadelphia Phillies
2010.....0 years - Texas Rangers
2010.....0 years - San Francisco Giants

The Reason The Giants Out-Hit Their Post Season Opponents

The Giants came into the post-season with arguably the weakest lineup.  Yet, they out-hit their opponents on the way to a World Championship.  This surprised many experts, as well as many Giants fans.  But there's a very simple reason they out hit their opponents.  It's one of those things in life that is so blatantly obvious that everybody completely misses it.  I missed it.  Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

They out-hit their opponents because they're the one lineup that never had to face the Giants pitching staff.

LCS Drought List

I've done a World Series and Pennant drought list, now here's an LCS appearance drought list.  Like the WS list, if a franchise moved cities in the middle of a current drought, I'll include both the franchise drought and the city drought in this list. This year, the Texas Rangers appeared in their first LCS, becoming the last of the 30 teams to do so.  They also became the last ML team to win a post-season series.

**Team that hasn't been since a franchise move. Year indicates year of move.

1981....29 years - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
1982....28 years - Milwaukee Brewers
1985....25 years - Kansas City Royals
1992....18 years - Pittsburgh Pirates
1993....17 years - Toronto Blue Jays
1995....15 years - Cincinnati Reds
1997....13 years - Baltimore Orioles
1998....12 years - San Diego Padres
2001.....9 years - Seattle Mariners
2001.....9 years - Atlanta Braves
2002.....8 years - Minnesota Twins
2003.....7 years - Chicago Cubs
2003.....7 years - Florida Marlins
2005**...6 years - Washington Nationals
2005.....5 years - Houston Astros
2005.....5 years - Chicago White Sox
2006.....4 years - Oakland A's
2006.....4 years - New York Mets
2006.....4 years - Detroit Tigers
2006.....4 years - St. Louis Cardinals
2007.....3 years - Arizona Diamondbacks
2007.....3 years - Cleveland Indians
2007.....3 years - Colorado Rockies
2008.....2 years - Boston Red Sox
2008.....2 years - Tampa Bay Rays
2009.....1 year - Los Angeles Dodgers
2009.....1 year - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2010.....0 years - New York Yankees
2010.....0 years - Philadelphia Phillies
2010.....0 years - Texas Rangers
2010.....0 years - San Francisco Giants

Pennant Drought List

I've done a list of World Series droughts.  Now, here's a similar list of droughts for winning a pennant and merely playing in a World Series.  Like the WS list, if a franchise moved cities in the middle of a current drought, I'll include both the franchise drought and the city drought in this list. I'll also call out teams that have never won due to being an expansion team, and note that as well.  Maybe I'll do a Post-season drought list next.

* Expansion team that has never won. Year indicates year of expansion.
**Team that hasn't won since a franchise move. Year indicates year of move.

1945....65 years - Chicago Cubs
1969*...42 years - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
1977*...34 years - Seattle Mariners
1979....31 years - Pittsburgh Pirates
1982....28 years - Milwaukee Brewers
1983....27 years - Baltimore Orioles
1985....25 years - Kansas City Royals
1988....22 years - Los Angeles Dodgers
1990....20 years - Oakland A's
1990....20 years - Cincinnati Reds
1991....19 years - Minnesota Twins
1993....17 years - Toronto Blue Jays
1997....13 years - Cleveland Indians
1998....12 years - San Diego Padres
1999....11 years - Atlanta Braves
2000....10 years - New York Mets
2001.....9 years - Arizona Diamondbacks
2002.....8 years - Anaheim Angels
2003.....7 years - Florida Marlins
2005**...6 years - Washington Nationals
2005.....5 years - Houston Astros
2005.....5 years - Chicago White Sox
2006.....4 years - Detroit Tigers
2006.....4 years - St. Louis Cardinals
2007.....3 years - Colorado Rockies
2007.....3 years - Boston Red Sox
2008.....2 years - Tampa Bay Rays
2009.....1 year  - Philadelphia Phillies
2009.....1 year  - New York Yankees
2010.....0 years - Texas Rangers
2010.....0 years - San Francisco Giants

Updated World Series Drought List

Since last time I posted a list like this, a dramatic change took place.  The Giants are no longer near the top, either the New York variety or the San Fran brand.  So, here's a new list of teams in order of longest drought in number of seasons not winning a World Series.  If a franchise moved cities in the middle of a current drought, I'll include both the franchise drought and the city drought in this list.  I'll also call out teams that have never won due to being an expansion team, and note that as well.

* Expansion team that has never won.  Year indicates year of expansion.
**Team that hasn't won since a franchise move.  Year indicates year of move.

1908..102 years - Chicago Cubs
1948....62 years - Cleveland Indians
1961*...50 years - Washington Senators/Texas Rangers
1962*...49 years - Houston Astros
1969*...42 years - San Diego Padres
1969*...42 years - Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers
1969*...42 years - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
1970**..41 years - Milwaukee Brewers
1972**..39 years - Texas Rangers
1977*...34 years - Seattle Mariners
1979....31 years - Pittsburgh Pirates
1983....27 years - Baltimore Orioles
1984....26 years - Detroit Tigers
1985....25 years - Kansas City Royals
1986....24 years - New York Mets
1988....22 years - Los Angeles Dodgers
1989....21 years - Oakland A's
1990....20 years - Cincinnati Reds
1991....19 years - Minnesota Twins
1993*...18 years - Colorado Rockies
1993....17 years - Toronto Blue Jays
1995....15 years - Atlanta Braves
1998*...13 years - Tampa Bay Rays
2001.....9 years - Arizona Diamondbacks
2002.....8 years - Anaheim Angels
2003.....7 years - Florida Marlins
2005**...6 years - Washington Nationals
2005.....5 years - Chicago White Sox
2006.....4 years - St. Louis Cardinals
2007.....3 years - Boston Red Sox
2008.....2 years - Philadelphia Phillies
2009.....1 year  - New York Yankees
2010.....0 years - San Francisco Giants

Giants Victory Parade

Before this last Wednesday, the largest crowd I had ever been in was a Giants road game I saw in Denver in 1993, the Rockies' expansion year, in Mile High Stadium.  This was before Coors Field was built.  The attendance that day was 72,431.  I can't remember any other big events I attended with a crowd that large.

But Wednesday was a special day.  At the last minute, early in the morning, we decided to go to the San Francisco Giants World Series victory parade.  About 1 million fans showed up.  Driving into The City was out of the question, so we had to take public transportation, on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train.  We picked the furthest station in our town because the parking situation is always much better.  We drove by the closest station on our way there, and there were hundreds of people walking down the sidewalks of every street we could see, all dressed in orange and black.  Wow.  On to our destination station.  It was packed, and a line for train tickets was about a hundred yards long.  Ouch.  On to the last station on the line, in Pittsburg.  Same story.  The line was through the station, over the freeway, and about 50 yards out into the parking lot.  I used to live a block away, so I knew where to park.  As we entered the station lot, some fans turned us around and told us to go to the Safeway grocery store on the corner, as they sold BART tickets at a discount.  That line was five minutes long.  Thank you, whoever you are!

We proceeded into the station and to the furthest extent of the station to catch the last car.  We saw a friend, Sean, who works in the City, and had to go back home because none of the vanpool vehicles he took to work every day were picking anybody up.  The train completely filled up two stations later, and everybody else along the line was out of luck.  It was a wall of orange inside the train.  The train stations were so filled with people eager to get on the trains, the operator couldn't close the doors.  It took a while to even get to San Francisco.

We exited at the Civic Center station, the closest station to the parade end destination.  Once out, we entered a sea of people semi-jockying for position.  We didn't arrive until after the parade had started at the other end, and it would be a while before it got to us.  I had a radio, so I was able to tell when they were going to turn the corner onto the final street on the way to city hall.  The kids couldn't see, as they were too small, and even I couldn't see because we were too far away.  We could hear the crowd gain in volume around the corner as the parade approached, and when it hit our area, a huge roar erupted.  The caravan angled away from us, and I think I saw announcers Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow, and Lincecum's hair.  That was it.  The kids were tired, and I was satisfied.  A much needed ice cream cart passed by as we were leaving, so that bought us maybe a half hour more in a celebratory atmosphere.

We missed the speeches and all, but saw them later on TV.  As the kids were eating ice cream on a low planter wall, a few people down was a lady that sits behind me in my Wednesday night class.  How cool.  She wore her colors all semester, and I would see her later that evening.  She recorded a bunch of stuff on her Flip.  Anyway, the kids finished their ice cream and we headed back toward BART.  But one problem: there were thousands of people heading out to the plaza.  As many people as were leaving, many times more were just arriving.  The station was a zoo, and one exit was completely shut down due to heavy foot traffic.  We got a seat on the train home, trying to beat what commute there would be, and made it home without a problem.  It was exciting just to say we went, and I'm sure I'll look back on the parade with a sense of completion.  What a season.

Overall World Series Observations

There's something completely different about having your own team play in the World Series.  When you're just a fan of a team who has already been eliminated, or a TV exec, or an advertiser, you want a great, seven game series, with lots of pivotal moments and lifelong highlights.  When your team is in it, you want a four-game, double digit, four-shutout sweep.  For me, it is difficult to cast myself into the position of neutral observer for a few more reasons.

When I'm used to my team collapsing time afte time for half a century, each pitch of the Series was grinding.  There was simply no time to relax.  None.  The last pitch of the World Series - Wilson striking out Cruz - could easily have gone differently.  It could have been ball four, with the next batter hitting a home run to tie.  The Rangers win in extras, and their bats come alive in SF for games 6 and 7.  So to me, the Giants were one pitch away from losing the Series at the same time they were one pitch away from winning it, despite the 3 games to 1 lead and 3 to 1 score.  Pivotal moments come at times just like that one, Mr. Stanley.  Just when you think it, Mr. Moore.  Cruising, Mr. Bartman.  Easy out, Mr. Buckner.  Game ball, Mr. Baker.

But when one looks at it simply, the Giants were really one pitch (a lone Johnathan Sanchez mistake) away from a sweep.  Twenty runs in the first two games was a no-brainer.  The pitching staff completely dominated.  Who could have guessed two shutouts against such an offensive giant?  Well, me.  That's what great pitching staffs do.  Not that I thought they were going win easily, but after they knocked off the Phils, it was easy to see them winning in five, because the Phillies were a better team than the Rangers.  The last two games, the Rangers got a combined six hits, with only one player even reaching third base.  Game on, game over.

Game 5 Observations

The Rangers' Cliff Lee and the Giants' Tim Lincecum dueled in an amazing game of pitching, and lived up to everything both games 1 and 5 were supposed to be.  Both had a commanding performance over the other team's lineup, and took a scoreless game into the late innings.  Wonderful!

But as the innings unfolded it became clear that the Giants were taking better swings when they made outs than the Rangers were.  And as each scoreless inning moved into the late innings, I became more sure that the Giants were going to win.  A scoreless game late was unfamiliar territory to the Rangers, while it was home sweet home to the Giants.  It was only a matter of time before the Giants bats broke through.  Lincecum was simply lights out all game.

When they got two hits in the seventh, and Huff bunted the runners over (the first sacrifice of his career), I could taste it.  Although Pat "the Bat" Burrell whiffed, when Renteria came up, Giants radio announcer Dave Flemming called it.  "Can Edgar Renteria be the Giants hero yet again?"  I have never been so ecstatic over a baseball play in my life as I was for his three run homer.  And Flemming's voice cracked like a thirteen year old when he came to the word "gone!" in his call.

After that, Cruz made it interesting with a homer off Timmy Jim, but order was restored the next at bat.  I was a bit surprised when Lincecum took the mound for the 8th, but Wilson's appearance in the 9th, no matter how well Timmy was pitching, was the right choice.  This time, Wilson made it easy.  One, two, three.  As has happened so many times before, Wilson faced the 3, 4, 5 batters to close it out.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  Neither would Wilson.

Final - San Francisco 3, Texas 1
San Francisco wins the World Series 4 games to 1

THE GIANTS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!

IT'S OVER!  THE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS HAVE WON THE WORLD SERIES!  WE WIN!  NOW IT'S TIME TO PARTY!