Game 1 Observations

Torture.  Anti-torture.  Game 1 was anti-torture.  Torture is when everything comes down to the ninth inning in a one-run game and Wilson lets several runners on before striking the last batter out on a full count.  NLCS torture.

Anti-torture is when all of that happens at the beginning of the game.  Like when Tim Lincecum has a brain fart and doesn't throw the ball in a run-down.  Like when Freddy Sanchez gets doubled off second on a blooper that Bad Vlad simply can't catch.  Like when Benjie Molina tries to score on a sac fly, and he's out by ten feet, except that the throw is half way up the first base line.  And like when the Giants beat the best playoff pitcher ever to be born by racking up seven runs on him before the fifth inning is over, making sure that there won't be a one-run game.  Scary.

What can you say about 18 runs, 25 hits, 6 errors, a double by an AL pitcher setting up Molina scoring on a sac fly, the Giants bullpen giving up 3 runs in the ninth inning in a game started by Lee and Lincecum?  This was as bizarre a game as I can remember.  Check out this summary by McCovey Chronicles.  Giants up 1-0 over the Rangers.  Holding my breath, turning purple.

Final - San Francisco 11, Texas 7
San Francisco takes a 1-0 Series lead

Steroids and The Hall of Fame

Grant at McCovey Chronicles pens his opinion on the way the steroids issue has affected how we view the Hall of Fame. His opinion is that using players shouldn't be banned, but the steroid issue, which is complex, should be taken into consideration.

As a side note, the picture he uses is the one I mentioned in my last post showing Barry Bonds, of all players.

On Booing Your Own Player

In a commentary about the booing of Benjie Molina, Grant at McCovey Chronicles explains what it means for fans to boo their own players:

At the risk of repeating myself, one of the most important things that fans and players alike can remember is this:

When fans boo players or curse them out, it is almost always an editorial comment on the decision by the front office or manager to put the player in the position he’s in.
There are exceptions, of course. Armando Benitez was just an unlikable tub of goo. There are players who don’t try their hardest, don’t run out groundballs, or who curse the fans out. Those players earn their boos. Most of the time, though, a player is getting razzed because he shouldn’t be out there. When Marvin Benard would break in, back, up, and then back again to run after a fly ball, the boos didn’t translate to "Marvin Benard is a bad human being, and I object to his presence on this planet", it translated to "Jeez, guys, can’t you scrounge up a better centerfielder?"

I tend to agree with this assessment. Does this apply to fans in Philadelphia?

An ERA Made of Wingdings

Grant at McCovey Chronicles suggests that the Giants weak lineup could torch a pitcher with an ERA made of the font Wingdings. I laughed hard and long. Read the short post here.