Victory Outfit

And that's why the Giants are World Champs.  What a form-fitting game.  Cain tosses seven innings of one-run ball (unearned) and the bullpen mops up.  Wilson heard every four letter heckle there was in the 'pen.  Yet another low scoring one-run game, 2-1.  Yet another Philly frustration.  Their fans probably think it's because their lineup wasn't hitting well.  But we know better.

Expanded Playoffs With More Teams?

There's a proposal for expanding the playoffs for 2012.  Each league would have an additional wild card team.  Normally I would be opposed to such a thing, as I think there are more than enough teams in the post season as it is.  I don't like the wild card either.  Eight out of 30 teams make it (more than 25%), and that's too many.  But depending on how the format works, I might just be for it.

What would work for me is to add an additional wild card team for each league, but the two wild card teams in each league could have a one game play-in the day after the regular season is over to determine who plays in the regular format.  That way, no wild card team could feel safe with a late season surge to gain the wild card that carries over into post season and ends up winning the World Series just because they're the hottest the latest.  But an additional series between those two teams that allow all other teams an extended time off?  No way.

Busted Posey

It's been quite a while - blog time speaking - since Buster Posey was injured at the plate by Scott Cousins.  One thing I did was listen to every side possible and come to a conclusion after that.  I didn't see the play live, but heard the radio account, then listened to the post-game show, interviews with various baseball people, and lots of talk radio.  I didn't see a replay immediately and wasn't able to view one for about three days.  So I heard others' opinions of the play before I saw it.

Many were saying that Giants players resigned to the idea that it was a legit taking out of the catcher who was blocking the plate.  So I was expecting to see a Rose/Fosse type of play, or a Snow/Pudge type of play or a Schierholtz/Chinese catcher type of play.  But when I saw it, I was shocked to see Posey not even close to blocking the plate, and Cousins veering completely out of his way (not even trying to score), crossing the foul line and throwing his entire body across the inside of the plate in order to take Posey out.  The video matched essentially nothing that I heard about it on the radio.

The "old school" types flexed their egos and said this is the way baseball has always been played.  Really?  Going out of your way to take somebody out?  I understand old school toughness of taking out the catcher...IF he's blocking the plate.  But all the other "comparative" plays that were mentioned had one thing in common with each other that wasn't present in the Cousins/Posey play.  In all the other plays, the catcher was blocking the plate.

Now I'm not advocating what GM Sabean said, either, that it would be fine with the Giants organization if Cousins never played again at the major league level, being the 25th man on the Fish roster.  Yes, it was an act of backing up his guy, but is just as much a part of baseball as the collision.  I'm wondering what will happen in Florida later in the season if Cousins is still on the roster.  Chin music is part of baseball, too.  But one thing is clear.  You don't run on Schierholtz.

Giants Record Projection Through May 31

May 16 through May 31: (note: projected record in orange)

L 22-18 .550, 89-73; L 22-19 .537, 87-75; W 23-19 .548, 89-73; W 24-19 .558, 90-72; W 25-19 .568, 92-70; W 26-19 .578, 94-68; W 27-19 .587, 95-67; L 27-20 .574, 93-69; L 27-21 .563, 91-71; L 27-22 .551, 89-73; W 28-22 .560, 90-72; L 28-13 .549, 89-73; L 28-24 .538, 87-75; W 29-24 .547, 89-73; L 29-25 .537, 87-75.

Giants Record Projection Through May 15

May 1 through May 15: (note: projected record in orange)

L 13-14 .481, 78-84; L 13-15 .464, 75-87; W 14-15 .483, 78-84; W 15-15 .500, 81-81; L 15-16 .484, 78-84; W 16-16 .500, 81-81; W 17-16 .515, 83-79; W 18-16 .529, 86-76; W 19-16 .543, 88-74; W 20-16 .556, 90-72; W 21-16 .568, 92-70; L 21-17 .553, 90-72; W 22-17 .564, 91-71; ppd 22-17 .564, 91-71.

A Month?

It's been about a month since I've blogged here.  I could never have imagined such a thing.  I need to get on it and post.  It shouldn't be too much longer.  Lots to talk about, except those things are now distant history, social networkingly speaking.

Giants Record Projection Through April 30

April 16 through April 30, 2011 (Note: projected record in orange)

W 8-6 .571, 93-69; L 8-7 .533, 86-76; W 9-7 .563, 91-71; W 10-7 .588, 95-67; L 10-8 .556, 90-72; L 10-9 .526, 85-77; L 10-10 .500, 81-81; L 10-11 .476, 77-85; W 11-11 .500, 81-81; L 11-12 .478, 77-85; W 12-12 .500, 81-81; L 12-13 .480, 78-84; W 13-13 .500, 81-81.

Trouble In Tinseltown

So the owners of the Dodgers are in deep financial trouble.  Bud Selig is having MLB take over the team in an attempt to rescue them from disaster.  This reminds one of the Montreal Expos woes prior to their moving to Washington.  But that was the Montreal Expos.  This is the...the...the...Dodgers.  And it's so bad that last I heard the ownership might not be able to make it's payroll for employees for the month of May.

Guess my resume won't be going there.  First, winning the World Series, now the Dodgers in almost ruin?  Interesting time to be a Giants fan.

Over .500

As of yesterday, judging by the major league standings, only 10 of the 30 teams have records above .500.  I figure this to change a bit over the season, but one never knows.  I wonder what percentage of teams have winning records each year throughout history.  I could figure that one out, but I'm not so without a life as to try.

Giants Record Projection Through April 15

March 31 through April 15, 2011:  (Note: projected record in orange)

L 0-1 .000, 0-162; L 0-2 .000, 0-162; W 1-2 .333, 54-108; L 1-3 .250, 41-121; L 1-4 .200, 32-130; W 2-4 .333, 54-108; W 3-4 .429, 69-93; W 4-4 .500, 81-81; L 4-5 .444, 72-90; L 4-6 .400, 65-97; W 5-6 .455, 74-88; W 6-6 .500, 81-81; W 7-6 .538, 87-75.

2011 Giants Record Projection

For the last three seasons I've done a game-by-game projection for either how many wins or losses the Giants are projected to have at the end of the season keeping the same win-loss percentage.  I started this in 2008 mainly because I knew the Giants really stank, and I wanted to see how bad the year would go.  So I projected the number of losses.  I continued it in 2009, but to my surprise they had a winning season, so the loss projection didn't help as much.  So I switched to a win projection in 2010, and decided I would do the following seasons win or loss projection based on whether they had a winning season or losing season the year before.

This year I've decided to change all this to a record projection, showing both wins and losses.  Like in years past, I think I'll update this running projection on the 15th and last days of each month.  There should be 12 such projections.  So, starting with next Friday's game, I should have the first couple of weeks projected out.

Opening Day For The World Champs

Today is the home opener for the San Francisco Giants.  They get to raise the championship banner.  Tomorrow night, they'll be handing out the World Series rings.  Things are in a frenzy here baseball wise.  And today, with the raising of the banner, the Barry Bonds trial - just several blocks away - goes to the jury for deliberation.  Any Giants fans on the jury?

This will be the second Opening Day I've missed in as many years.  I'm sure it will be on TV somewhere, and it will always be on the radio.  They got off to a less than desirable 2-4 start on the road in LA and SD.  Maybe once the hoopla is over they can get back to winning Torture style.

Opening Day on the Schedule

For some reason baseball started one series earlier this year.  Normally, the season would have started this coming Monday.  But due to the early start this last Thursday, it is realized that the NCAA basketball final won't be interfering with Opening Day this year.  Usually the NCAA final is the night of Opening Day, and media feel some kind of obligation to cover it, cutting into the Opening Day coverage.  So, maybe this is a good thing this year.  I'll have to see how it goes having the season ending on a Wednesday.  Sounds totally strange.  But maybe baseball is trying to capitalize on putting any last-series pennant races on weekdays that usually have lower attendance.  Who knows.

Opening Day

Okay, Opening Day was yesterday.  As of this writing, two games have been played by most teams.  I missed writing about it a few days ago as I had some pressing projects.  But baseball is back again.  Spring training is one thing, but Opening Day is something completely different.  Each team has an opening day, and so does baseball overall.

It means that every game now means something.  Even if it doesn't mean anything, it still means something.  And it will continue for about 180 games including the post season.  So, here's to enjoying another season of memories.

Texas Cainsaw Massacre

If you take the "h" out of "chain" in the famous event "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" then you end up with "Texas Cainsaw Massacre."  Apparently, that's the nickname given to Matt Cain's 9-0 mowing down of the Texas Rangers in Game 2 of the 2010 World Series.  I heard this on the radio today from a caller, and it seemed somebody also has a Facebook page by that name commemorating the event.  Not only is this true - I checked it out myself - but there's a t-shirt and a poster to go along.  And the original sign was made up the day before the event and brought to game 2.  Now that's cool.

Six Year Old Knows His Stuff

Our six year old son is a nuclear powered baseball nut.  Mrs. Scott and I are fans, but we decided before having kids that we wouldn't force sports (i.e. baseball...i.e. the Giants) on our kids.  But, one day when he was 18 months old, a Giants game was on TV, and he became instantly engulfed.  He learns all the players, collects cards, pastes newspaper clippings all over his room.  On and on it goes.  He's been playing pee-wee ball since he was four and even tried out while he was still three.

Two pee-wee teams he has played for have been the Red Sox and Cardinals.  So, on top of being a Giants fan, he's taken some interest in whatever pee-wee team he's on.  He just got drafted this winter on to the A's.  Anyway, when with the Cardinals, he was handed uniform #5, which is Albert Pujols.

Today, there was a spring training game on TV between the visiting Cards and the home Sox.  He knows all the channel numbers, too, so I walked into the room with the telecast already on.  As they gave the starting lineups, he noted all the players he knew from just having an interest in those teams.  As the last infield warmup throw went to first base, the camera zoomed in on the Red Sox first baseman as he tossed the warmup ball to the dugout.  He asked, "Dad, didn't that guy play for the Padres last year?"  Simply amazing.

Division Alignment Problems

I'm no fan of the current division alignment in major league baseball.  Each league has a different number of teams, and there are three sizes of divisions.  When MLB went to the current three-division alignment in 1994, each league had 14 teams arranged in divisions, one with four teams and two with five.  With the 1998 expansion, each league added a team and the Brewers moved from the AL to the NL.  The AL now has 14 teams and the NL 16.  The AL has division sizes of 4, 5 and 5, while the NL has sizes of 5, 6 and 5.

This poses a bit of a problem for the post season picture.  It is easier to win a division with fewer teams in that division, in terms of straight odds.  And it is also easier to finish second in that division and have a shot at the wildcard.  Now for some geeky math.  The odds of a team winning its division are 1/x, where x is the number of teams in that division.  That's obvious.  But the odds of finishing in second place is also 1/x.  Since there are three divisions, the odds of making the playoffs by finishing second (wildcard) are 1/3 of 1/x, or 1/3x.  The odds of a team making the playoffs are the odds of winning the division plus the odds of winning the wildcard.  So, that would equal 1/x + 1/3x, or 3/3x + 1/3x = 4/3x, with x being the number of teams in that division.  For teams in a four-team division, the odds are 4/3(4) = 1/3, or 0.333.  For teams in a five-team division they are 4/3(5) = 4/15, or 0.267.  For teams in a six-team division they are 4/3(6) = 4/18, or 2/9, or 0.222.

Making the playoffs gives each team (roughly) the same odds of winning the World Series.  So, for teams in a four-team division, the simple random odds of winning the WS are 50% greater than those teams in a six-team division.  Is this what baseball wants?  I think it better to balance the number of teams in each division, even if it means screwing up interleague play, than to create artificial favorites.

No Beer In The Bleachers

I was just reminded of something by a slip of the tongue.  Somebody on TV made reference to the bleachers at Dodger Stadium.  Then, I recalled that my entire life has been lived without beer being sold in the bleachers in Dodger Stadium.  Bleachers?  Well, Excuuuuse me!  La-ti-da!  There are no bleachers in Dodger Stadium.  That section behind the outfield fence is called the Pavilion.  No beer in the Pavilion.  I took a picture of such a sign once.  I should try to find it.

It goes without saying that of all the times I've been to Dodger Stadium, I've never sat in the "Pavilion."

Baseball Detectives

Douglas Dinsmoor at his Open Stance blog writes a piece about being a baseball detective.  It seems a movie was filmed in Boston with a Red Sox game figuring into the equation.  Using all sorts of clues from the movie, a Baseball-Reference.com reader was able to pinpoint which Red Sox game was being filmed, the inning, who was on base, etc.  Douglas applied that to his foul ball and home run baseball collection.  He pieces info together from the ball, his memory, ticket stubs and so forth to figure out which game he snagged a particular ball.

I've done the same thing, and it's really fun.  I just remembered as I started typing this that I used to tag each ball - including batting practice balls - with a piece of masking tape that had all the info on it.  Date, inning, who hit it, all of that.  I kept them all in a big box.  Over the years, the masking tape lost its stickiness, and many of the tape pieces fell off.  So I've had to do some pretty detailed detective work to get the proper labels back to their rightful owners.  Some of the clues are whether it's an AL ball, NL ball or the newer MLB balls.  Who's signature appears on the ball and when was he the league president?  Was umpire's mud rubbed into the ball?  This may help distinguish the ball as a game ball or batting practice ball.

Dinsmoor's is the first baseball blog I ever read and his was an inspiration, both in layout and content.  We have quite a lot in common, baseball wise, and some things not.

New Hat

It was my birthday this week, and my oldest son got me a new Giants hat.  The Sunday hat with the orange bill.  I haven't had one of those since 1982 when they had a similar hat.  That one was a cheap hat for a promotional hat day, and it wasn't constructed very well.  But this one is the official hat.  Thanks, son!

Baseball Is On The Radio!

It's that time of year again!  The first radio broadcast of a spring training game.  The familiar voice of the long time announcers are music to the ears.  I'm glad that this will last all the way through October.  Sonic therapy.

Cliff Lee #31

Cliff Lee is #31.  No, not his uniform number.  He is ranked as the 31st best baseball player right now according to the MLB Network's show about the 100 best players right now.  It's interesting that with all the Cliff Lee hype during the post-season and off-season that he wouldn't have been ranked in the top 10 or top 5.  The rankings were done by several panels of experts, so the list went through many hands.  I guess the consensus of people in the know is a bit different than the consensus of what the media portrays.

During all the free agent hype, I wanted to ask some of the media types if there were any rumors around that had the Giants jumping into the Lee circus to sign him as their #5 starter.

New Yellow A's Uniforms

The Oakland A's will be adding a twist of lemon, so to speak, to their look in 2011.  One of their alternate jerseys is yellow with green piping.  Click here to view it.  This is a slightly different take on their Sunday uniforms of the early 80's with the green piping on a white jersey (the jersey I'm talking about is the second from the left on the 1981 and '82 plates and the lead uni on the '83).  I heard about the new yellow threads, but hadn't checked them out until now.  I'm actually a bit more excited about them once I saw them.  I was anticipating more of a lemony type of yellow, one that looked closer to their tops from that earlier era.  Marketing plays into this decision, I'm sure.  So, shine Athletics.  Color seems to be back a bit more in baseball lately.

Pitchers and Catchers Report

Okay, it's old news by now, but that's what I blog about when I get busy.  For the other 29 teams, pitchers and catchers reported this last week.  Not for my team.  No.  World Series Champion pitchers and catchers reported.  A huge banner reminding them of this was hung in Scottsdale, AZ.  Of course, this means beards, shoe polish, peach fuzz 'staches and pony tails.  Go Giants!

Grabbing Some Pine

Back in the late 80's, the left field bleachers at the Oakland Coliseum were old school.  Wooden benches with something resembling seat numbers stamped into them.  Bench edges and corners were worn.  Those benches were installed in the late 60's after all.  The lower half of the bleacher sections not next to the foul poles were portable and rectangular.  The bleachers formed the curve of the outfield fence, meaning that the sections could come together in a straight line across the outfield parallel to a football sideline.

The benches were for the most part made of hard wood.  No duh, but at that time, there were no alternatives like aluminum, or form-fitted plastic molded seat bottoms arranged in benches.  None of that.  Just wood.  Wood that split, wood that cracked, wood that, well, did whatever wood did.  One piece of wood out there, wood that formed our front row bleacher bench, had a knot in it.  And the wood around that knot deteriorated over time, causing a large split in the bench.  Soon, fans with pens and other objects started digging and gouging around that knot, making a small dent each homestand.  One day, the digging broke daylight through to the bottom of the bench.  And it continued over time so that not much was left holding that bench together.  Maybe the knot was the glue that kept the bench intact.

One fateful day, the Royals were in town, and we were there during batting practice.  Bo Jackson hit a big fly that eluded the faithful shaggers, and lo and behold, the ball hit that knot in the bench square...or as square as a falling fly can be square.  In the same action as the ball hitting the knot, the knot popped through and the piece of wood that was hanging by a single strand of wood fell to the bleacher floor.  It was about six inches wide by about 24 inches long.  Nevermind the Bo Jackson souvenir, I pounced upon the fragment of booty support I came to love all those years.  Yes, a hunk of wood was as good a souvenir as any ball.  The underside was kind of gross, and some kid I'm guessing was the one who stashed his wad of gum underneath it as if he were avoiding the wrath of ruler bearing school teachers.  I really need to post a photo of this hunk of history.

Foul Weather Fan

I am a self-described foul weather fan.  Not a fair weather fan, mind you, but a foul weather one.  I'm as much a fan of winning a World Series as anybody else, and I wouldn't trade this one for anything else in baseball.  But there's a big cost of being a fan of a winning team.  Take the recent trophy tour.  The Giants WS trophy was taken on a city to city tour.  Thousands of fans waited in line for hours just to get a glimpse of the trophy.  FanFest yesterday saw tens of thousands in attendance, and the line from the ballpark extended down The Embarcadero all the way to the Bay Bridge - just to get in.  I'll have to wait for the dust to settle and view the hardware sometime during next season when it's (hopefully) on display somewhere within the stadium.

When your team stinks, and attendance is almost lacking altogether, there's an ease to baseball.  Show up anytime and get a box seat close to the field.  The concession lines are very short, as are the restroom lines, if there are any at all.  You almost get your own personal vendor in the stands.  Arriving and leaving is easy, and foul balls (and fair!) rattle around in empty sections of the ballpark, ripe for picking.  Since the crowds are so small, you can yell loudly and heckle players and everybody can hear you.  I remember once sitting in the left field bleachers and yelling at a beer vendor behind the first base dugout.  He heard me and came all the way out to the bleachers to sell to me.  Autographs are easier to get, and souvenir stands never run out of anything.  The fans that are there are more likely to be knowledgeable about baseball and less likely to ask, "Who's number 48?"

Yes, winning it all in 2010 will result in paying for it in 2011 and beyond.  But it's a trade off that needs to be done.

It's Almost February

February means pitchers and catchers reporting.  It's a short winter when you win the World Series.  So I'm not itching to get the 2011 season going.  I'm fine to remember over and over what the Giants did last year.  The title of "reigning world champs" can be allowed to hold still for a longer period of time for all I'm concerned.  Still, time will march on.  Before we know it, it will be 20 years from now and I will look back on now as something grand.

Twenty years ago I used to wonder what it would be like 20 years from then.  Now I know, but, what will it be like 20 years from now knowing the Giants won 20 years ago?  I hope there are many more trophies between now and then.  A dynasty would be most welcome.  It's about time for one.

Welcome To The New From the Bleachers Site

Welcome to the new From the Bleachers blog.  I have created a new site with a new address.  Actually, it's the same old blog, with the same old posts and comments and categories, but at a new address.  The old address is http://bleacherbumming.blogspot.com/  A blogspot address I always wanted - fromthebleachers - which mirrored the title of this blog, had been taken for years, but has recently become available.  So I snatched it and updated the format of the blog to bring it up to current technology.  The new address is http://fromthebleachers.blogspot.com/

I can now do more things and have more power over how I organize and how I link to things.  I hope you enjoy the new format with the photo background.  The background is a photo I had personally taken at a Giants game at AT&T Park.  The blog design editor allows me to "tile" the photo.  I cropped it in such a way as to minimize the obviousness of the tile seams, so it looks kind of like one huge, infinitely extending crowd shot.  I'm not done with the design of the blog page, and hope to add a small number of visual upgrades as time goes on.

I look forward to posting at this new address and hope you enjoy reading it.  Feel free to comment any time.

All 30 Major League Teams Totally Stink

All thirty teams in baseball are completely lame.  Why do I say that?  Well, when I take the opinions of the fans of those teams into account, that is simply an easy conclusion.  Starting with the obvious cases, the Pirates were going to the World Series, and one pitch to a nobody named Francisco Cabrera took the Series away from them, Barry Bonds became a free agent, and the team plunged immediately into a record 18 consecutive losing season streak.  The Nationals suck, too.

Now, there are some other teams that are obvious, but then there are the teams that actually had some promise.  The Mariners come to mind.  Division contenders flailed, losing over 100 games.  The Tigers had the greatest team to do nothing at all.  The Mets have the worst payroll-to-performance ratio in baseball.  The Brew Crew were supposed to make the playoffs.  Supposed to.  The Angels vaporized.  The mighty Red Sox limped to a third place finish.  The Padres, arguably the best team in baseball for 137 games, lost ten in a row and collapsed under the feet of the team they owned all year long.  They even took two of three in the last series and still lost to the Giants.

Even the playoff teams were lousy.  The Twinks folded under pressure of a Bronx curse.  The Reds' bats never left Louisville.  The Yankees had the greatest lineup in history, but their pitching was a lead balloon.  CC and Mariano were awesome bookends to a lousy pitching library, and they got spanked by Ranger bats.  During the NLCS I surfed many a Phillie Phan blog.  It was amazing to learn just how awful the Phillies were.  Jimmy Rollins was AWOL, Utley was a mere shadow of his former MVP self.  Howard had a hole in his bat, and the offense was anemic.  How such a pathetic group of clowns managed to compile the best record in baseball on their way to what was hoped to be their third consecutive World Series is hard to imagine.  And dammit, why did they not sign Cliff Lee again earlier?

Then there's the Giants, stuck in their wet paper bag.  No offense whatsoever, and what little there was was led by the slowest catcher in history.  The richest pitcher in history was not even on the playoff roster, and the five slot in the rotation was a question all year.  They couldn't hit against anybody, and their 56 year drought was going to be 57 real quick.  The GM's of each of these teams are morons and idiots.  So are their field managers.  It was amazing to see any of these teams win anything at all.  They were all lame according to their own fans.  But what a year they gave us.

Top Fan Moments in History

I enjoy the MLB Network.  One of their "top" lists is a show about the top fan moments in history.  I love baseball fans and how they fit into the fabric of a game and into the mosaic of history.  When I'm at a game, I pay special attention to fans.  I'm a people watcher.

As a participatory fan, I love to see how other fans and fans in general contribute to baseball.  One of the things I think is most lacking about how baseball is viewed throughout history is the lack of attention paid to fans.  We always hear about great players and the Hall of Fame.  We hear about great managers, great ballparks, great seasons and pennant races, great personal achievements.  And yes, we hear about fans, but only sometimes.  We hear about how nasty Yankees fans can be and about how early Dodger fans can leave a game.  How knowledgeable Cardinals or Red Sox fans are, or how few Expos fans there are.  Or were.  But overall, there is relatively little said about fans as compared with other aspects of baseball.

And this is why I really enjoyed a MLB Network countdown on the top fan moments in baseball history.  There were some really great ones.  Tiger fans pelting Ducky Medwick with fruit, vegetables and bottles in game 7 of the 1934 World Series after Medwick slid hard into 3rd base.  Steve Bartman and Jeffrey Maier were also featured.  Chris Chambliss' pennant winning home run through the mob on the field.  Nickel beer night in Cleveland where the drunken fans went wild, storming the field and causing a near riot, forfeiting the game for the Tribe.  A female fan goes nuts after Ichiro reached into the stands for a ball and touched her.  Reading her lips, it was easy to tell that she called her mom from her cell phone to tell her all about it.  Or the fan in Houston that ducked out of the way of a foul ball at the last second, only to have the ball clock his girlfriend.  And of course, the two guys that ran out on the field to congratulate Hank Aaron on his 715th home run during his home run trot.  There was a great video clip of a ten year old kid who made a spectacular catch of a foul ball, only to catch a second one a few pitches later in the same at bat.

But the fan moment that took the cake as the most memorable of all time was the Bill Veeck stunt gone bad: Disco Demolition night in Chicago's Comiskey Park.  Fans got in for a discount if they brought a disco record to be blown up between the games of a double header.  Chicago rock radio DJ Steve Dahl was there to officiate the destruction.  A box of the records was exploded, and rock music fans went wild, storming the field and completely destroying it.  You could see fans from the upper deck slide down the foul poles to the field.  The White Sox had to forfeit the second game of the double header.  Yeah, gotta love the fans.

2010 Season In Review

Wow, what a year.  For me, it started out not being able to buy season tickets for the first time in 26 years due to the economy.  So, I picked the Giants to win the World Series since I wouldn't be there to see it.  And it happened.

Spring training started with the realization that the Giants had little prospect for improving upon their 2009 total of 88 wins.  Although 88 wins could be figured as overachieving, they finished in 3rd place behind a surging Rockies team, and were the only team of the 8 holding a playoff position at the All-Star break not to hold on.  One thing was clear, though.  The Giants had one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball, and the 88 wins without any semblance of an offense proved it.

They started off very strong in the first couple of weeks, as did the A's.  But they faded as time went on, and it was clear that the Padres were a team to be reckoned with, especially with the way they were pitching.  Slowly, the Giants added bats.  First, Buster Posey was brought up from the minors.  Bengie Molina was their cleanup hitter, and Posey took that spot after Molina's trade to their eventual World Series opponent Rangers.  Pat Burrell and Cody Ross were instrumental additions in the team's stretch run.  The pitching staff caught fire in August - racking up numbers not seen in baseball since the 1965 Dodgers.  I was convinced they easily had the pitching staff to win it all, but I was not convinced at all that the Giants would win anything.  The Giants never won anything, and it was not in their nature to ever do so.

The pennant race with the Padres was simply an amazing thing to watch.  "Torture" as we would come to know it was already coursing through our veins, we just didn't have a word for it.  Of course, that last 3-game series had the Giants dropping the first two - and losing a great number of games during the year to San Diego - and winning the West in game 162 was Torture at it's highest...to that point.

Of the 32 post-season games played in 2010 between all 8 playoff teams, seven were one-run games.  The Giants played every single one of those seven games, and were 6-1.  Now that's Torture.  All four Braves games, three of the six Phillies games, and not one of the Ranger games.  The Giants simply dominated the post-season, going 11-4.  Brian Wilson was on the mound for all four clincher games - game 162 vs. the Padres, game 4 vs. the Braves, game 6 vs. the Phillies and game 5 vs. the Rangers.  Three of those series ended in strikeouts.  Ryan Howard standing motionless trying to argue with the umpire whilst the Giants dogpiled in the center of the diamond is an image of contrasts I'll never forget.  Swing, Ryan, swing!  Tim Lincecum won game 1's of the NLDS, NLCS, WS and the WS clincher.  Matt Cain had a 0.00 ERA in 3 starts, and Brian Wilson was lights out.  The Texas Rangers, who had the best offense in baseball, were shutout once at home all year.  The Giants shut them out twice, and came one pitch from doing it a third time.  The Rangers totalled one run and six hits in the last two games, and only one Texas player even as much as touched third base.  AL MVP Josh Hamilton was a deer in the headlights and Vladimir Guererro swung not like a madman, but like a little leaguer.  Nelson Cruz whiffed and Cliff Lee was spanked.

Madison Bumgarner, Johnathan Sanchez, Juan Uribe, Buster Posey, Edgar Renteria, Javier Lopez, Aubrey Huff.  Kruk, Kuip, Miller and Flem.  Dave Flemming's cracked voice.  Enough names to remember forever.  I hope I didn't forget anybody.  Bruce Bochy, and the million man march down Market Street.  "Swing and a miss.  And that's it!"  What a season.  The replays are great and will be forever.

Test

This is a test.

MLB Network

This year we moved to a new city, which meant a different selection of channels on the cable TV.  The city in which we currently live has the MLB Network as a cable channel.  This, I'm guessing, would be an equivalent of the NFL Network so talked about?  I don't know.  But, it does have some really interesting shows.  First, it's all baseball, unlike ESPN.  Second, although it does seem to have some of the east-coast bias, it's not as bad as the Red Sox Network, uhm, I mean ESPN.  Or is that the Yankees Network?  Well, ESPN is often the Yankees vs. Red Sox Network.

MLB Network has panels of a sports journalist and former players that discuss the day's games, the winter meetings, the hot stove league.  They also have something I really love: lists.  The top 50 this, the top 25 that, the top ten other.  The greatest finishes, the greatest home runs, the best pitching performances, the best fan moments, the best ballparks.  It's fun to count these things down and try to guess what is number one.

One thing it has against it is the repetition of programs.  Like the Sports Center/Baseball Tonite/ Sports Center/Baseball Tonite merry go round of ESPN.  Sometimes a show will repeat for a week or so, with player moves in between that aren't reflected in the repeating show.  Overall, though, it is a good channel to have and it covers so many aspects of baseball and its history.  If you love baseball and have a chance to get this channel, do so.

Most Memorable Game of 2010

I saw MLB Network's list of most memorable games in 2010.  There were quite a few games at Coors Field that were see-saw battles that ended 12-11 or some such thing.  Halladay's no-hitter in the NLDS was also on the list.  But the game they listed as number one was game 6 of the NLCS between the Giants and Phillies.  It truly was a great game - not only because of the outcome, hehehe - but the way it all came down.  Starter Johnathan Sanchez was chased in the 3rd after a shaky outing.  His exit - hitting Chase Utley with a pitch - ended in a bench clearing incident.  Great ball was played by both teams, each turning a memorable double play.  The Giants pen pitched 7 innings of scoreless relief, while Juan Uribe hit the go ahead homer in the 8th inning.  Wilson's ninth came nearly unglued until he caught Ryan Howard looking for the last pitch of the NL season.

Anatomy of a Major League Schedule

I admit it.  I'm a logistics geek.  I like to know how systems work; I like to figure out how systems work; I like to make systems work.  Systems like the Major League schedule.  Back in the early 80's living in the Bay Area, I got an A's and a Giants pocket schedule every year so I could plan the games I wanted to attend.  I also wanted to familiarize myself with who they played during the year.  Each year, I noticed patterns in the schedules.  Then toward the mid-80's, before the internet, I wrote to every team during the off season asking for their pocket schedules.  This way I could plan trips to other ballparks, etc.  I noticed patterns in all the schedules.

This brings me to the overall schedule.  Until just a few years ago, a literal mom and pop team in somewhere like Connecticut, drafted up the schedule on their kitchen table.  It's now done by a corporate firm with computers.  I became most familiar with the 12 team NL scheduling format (1969-1992), so I'll write mostly about that.  The schedule maker grouped teams together geographically for travel efficiency.  The Giants would travel to, or host, groups of teams at a time, generally.  The groups were broken into 1) SF, LA & SD; 2) CIN, HOU & ATL; 3) PIT, STL & CHI and 4) NY, PHI & MON.  It made sense for teams flying out to the west coast to hit all the cities to save on travel, etc.  The same was generally true of the AL schedule with 14 teams, although it was more complicated, as there were an odd number of teams in each division.

Each NL team played 18 games against division teams (roughly three 3-game series at home, and three on the road) and 12 against each team in the other division (roughly two 3-game series at home, and two on the road).  The even number of teams made it easy to play against only your own division the last several weeks of the season, so the pennant races could be the focus.  The above number of games against each team came to a total of 162.  When the early 60's expansion took place, each team played each of the other 9 teams 18 times, 162 total.  They kept a similar feel when expansion took place again in '69.

The season is 26 weeks long (half of 52 weeks in a year), and each week is generally divided into a weekday series (M, Tu, W or Tu, W, Th) and a weekend series (F, Sa & Su).  Sometimes there are four game series, M-Th in the week or Th-Su or F-M over a weekend.  There are generally 52 series slots over a 26 week season, with one taken for the All-Star break, leaving 51 series slots for regular season play.  Now, the 10 team/162 game and the 12 team/two division/162 game schedules had (six series times nine other teams = 54) and (six series times five division teams = 30 plus four series times six teams = 24 for a total of 54) series to be played.  The logistical problem was to cram 54 series into 51 slots.  This was accomplished by use of the two-game series.  In playing six games against a team, split a three-and-three game series set into a two-and-four game series set.  Put two game series back-to-back in the weekday slot on Mon-Tues and Wed-Thurs, then the accompanying four game series elsewhere in the season.  Do this three times, and 54 series can fit into 51 slots.  Pretty clever.

The beauty of these older schedule formats is that every team plays other teams the same number of games.  An even number of games at that, so that there are equal numbers of games at home and on the road.  They played each other the same number of series.  The schedules were both balanced and symmetrical.  With the adaptation of 14 team leagues, odd numbers of teams in a division, the three division format with differing number of teams in each division, interleague play with certain "rivalry" matchups, and a 14 team AL and 16 team NL, today's MLB schedule is a complete nightmare.  It makes little sense from a position of fairness and having a level playing field for all.

The schedule makers have also had to take other factors into consideration.  Maximizing attendance with strategic matchups.  Teams make requests of the schedule.  Holidays.  Etc.  Opening Days are usually sellouts, so try not to schedule good drawing road teams like the Yankees for other teams' home openers.  That would be a waste of a sellout.  Bad drawing teams usually play more road openers.  The Reds are baseball's oldest team, so they traditionally open at home.  Schedule bad weather teams to open on the road.  Canadian teams are on the road for US holidays and at home for Canadian holidays to maximize attendance.  Interleague games are not as popular as baseball claims, so they are generally scheduled mostly on weekends during good weather when school is out to maximize attendance and make it look like a good idea.  Local holidays, too, like scheduling the Red Sox at home for Patriot's Day.  An example of team requests might be wanting a home game on an anniversary date of a great moment in that team's history.  The Giants requested to be at home on Oct. 3, 2001 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bobby Thompson's Shot Heard 'Round the World - against the Dodgers no less.  New ballparks, too.  When the Giants built a new yard, they wanted to both close Candlestick and open PacBell/SBC/AT&T against their arch-rival Dodgers.  Back when double-headers were a popular tool to increase attendance, the well-drawing Dodgers didn't need them, so they requested no double headers on their schedule.

So, overall the schedule is a major undertaking that has only increased in complexity over the decades.  The logistic geek that I am, I'd love to be part of that operation.  Personally, I'd like to see baseball address this monster and get back to some kind of symmetrical format.  Now that I've bored you to tears, you deserve something special if you've read this whole post.  Unless you like schedules like I do.

Giants World Series Trophy Tour

The San Francisco Giants have announced the Official World Series Trophy Tour.  It's coming to a town near you, if, that is, you live in Northern California, western Nevada, southern Oregon, Scottsdale, AZ, New York City or Cooperstown, NY.  Well, in late January or early February, it's coming to a town very near to me.  So, I'm liking the possibility of going to see it in person.  Fans can have their picture taken with the trophy, but that will cost a yet to be determined amount of money.

Now, that should be some fun.

Steve Scott Comes Clean

Okay, I've been hiding something baseball related.  It's time to come clean.  It's disheartening, embarrassing and really doesn't make me feel good about it.  But the results are what they are.

After having season tickets for the Giants the last 25 years, my job loss last year prohibited me, my family and my buyers from renewing (some of our buyers had economic issues as well).  We tried every way we could think, but it just wasn't in the card$.  Fifteen years with tickets 7 rows behind home plate at Candlestick, ten years with tickets 9 rows behind the visitor's bullpen mound at AT&T.  All vanished this February.  It was very difficult to swallow, especially in light of our economic situation at the time.

Then it fell out of the sky and hit me on the head.  I've lived my entire life without the Giants winning a championship.  Now that my first year in over half my life is realized without season tickets, I realized that 2010 would be the year the Giants would win it all.  It simply couldn't happen any other way.  I wouldn't have tickets.  Of course they would win.  So, in February I predicted a Giants World Series victory.  I didn't write about it because I was too ashamed, too embarrassed.  But I did tell others, and I stuck to it all year long, even when they were sucking wind.  We did go to a few games this year, but mostly in the bleachers or other cheaper seats.

Maybe when I get a decent job again, we'll buy tickets once more.  The ticket department has already told me that my 25 years will count for seniority, so that might help out a bit.  The good news is that I will remember this 2010 season for ever.  I predicted it, and they not only won, but they completely dominated the post-season with one of the most amazing pitching performances I can ever remember.  It will always be an incredible story.  So, there you have it.

Is Cliff Lee Really That Good?

The bidding war/stalemate over Cliff Lee raises a good question.  Is he really that good?  Is he another Barry Zito waiting to happen?  Last year he was only 12-9, with a 3.18 ERA, and 4-6 with a 3.98 ERA during the second half in a Rangers uniform.  He got spanked in the World Series.  Overall, I'm glad other teams are going after him.

New Uniforms for The World Champion Giants?

The Giants have won the World Series, their sixth trophy since the first Series played in 1903.  Will the Giants come out with new uniforms as a result in 2011?  Well, after they won their first WS in 1905, the Giants made a change in their 1906 uniforms.  John McGraw thought it necessary to show everybody who they were playing.  So, they promptly removed the traditional "NY" from their jerseys and replaced it with the identifier of "WORLD'S CHAMPIONS."  To see the transition, click here.  For a closeup of the '06 threads, click here.  These come from a great section of the Hall of Fame website, called "Dressed to the Nines," detailing the uniforms for every team in history.

I'm not expecting a big change to their already classic uni's.  But just think how such a thing would go over today.

2011 MLB Schedule Change

I noticed that the 2011 regular season schedule has a huge change in it, breaking from a tradition that has been kept for longer than I've been alive.  Traditionally, the schedule is 26 weeks long, and starts at the beginning of the week and ending on a weekend Sunday.  Next year, it seems to be moved up a series, and starts with three game series on a Friday and ends with three game series on a Wednesday.

I'm not sure what's up, but I heard some rumors that baseball wants to change the post-season a bit and make the league division series seven games.  I wonder if moving the season up three or four days is the remedy to accommodate this instead of pushing the World Series back yet again further into chilly November.  There's also a nasty rumor that in the next couple of years MLB wants to add an extra set of wild card teams.  Oh, please, NO!  I'll write about the anatomy of a regular season schedule during this offseason.

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!

Game 4 Observations

While all his friends went Trick or Treating tonight, 21 year old Madison Bumgarner pitched a three-hit shutout in the World Series against the great Texas Rangers bats.  That's two shutouts now against this team. 

The Giants had a phenomenal defensive performance behind Bumgarner to bolster the win.  But the great glove work started out with Hamilton's diving catch to save the Giants from scoring first.  The G-Men turned several double plays, and Cody Ross came close to matching Hamilton's feat later in the game with a sliding catch of his own.  Rook Buster Posey gunned down Hamilton in a seemingly sure steal attempt.  But the play that sticks out is Freddie Sanchez's robbery of a line drive.  Hit over his head, he went high up, landed into a backward somersault, and came up with a sno-cone snag.

The Giants provided all the offense in the game in a blowout.  Blowout?  Yes, four runs scored by this team is a blowout.  Huff's two run bomb, Torres' bouncer off the top of the fence that bounced back into the yard (yes, Ian, he did it too), and Posey's blast added up to an insurmountable lead.  Bumgarner was iffy in the 7th, but Bochy left him in for the 8th to face the bottom of the order.  The Beard slammed the door shut in the 9th with a 1-2-3 inning.

Final - San Francisco 4, Texas 0
Los Gigantes surge to a 3-1 series lead

Game 3 Observations

As much as Johnathan Sanchez struggled, the difference in this game was one bad pitch by Sanchez.  One pitch.  Cruz led off the second with a double, but Sanchez pulled it together the next two batters.  Molina was hot, so walking him wasn't a bad outcome if Sanchez were pitching around him.  Moreland had a very good at bat, and Sanchez battled back.  Moreland slammed the pitch he needed to, deep into the bleachers.  This is what a good hitter does.  He hits the one pitch he needs to all game long, and that's all it takes at the major league level to win a game.

On the other hand, the Giants have been doing all year long just what Moreland did in game 3, and it has been written off as luck.  Could I get away with labeling this Texas Rangers World Series home run as luck?  Not a chance.  Anyway, the Giants showed signs of getting to the Rangers pitching late in the game, but it was too little, too late.  Feliz came in and blew the Giants away in the ninth.  The key to the rest of the Series is for the Giants to keep this kid on the bench.  The Giants didn't play all that bad, and the Ranger bats showed us what they were capable of doing.  Josh Hamilton finally showed up in this series with a solo shot to give the Rangers an insurance run. 

Final - Texas 4, San Francisco 2.
Texas cuts San Fran Series lead to 2-1.

Game 2 Observations

Okay, another torture game, but only 7 1/2 innings worth.  Matt Cain was simply Matt Cain.  Zero runs in the post-season.  CJ Wilson tossed a really good game, too.  Edgar Renteria!  This was the pitching matchup everybody expected in game 1.  But it got really out of hand in the bottom of the 8th inning.  Both the Giants' bats and the Rangers' bullpen did some things out of character for them.  And, how does Ron Washington let a guy walk more than one batter in that situation in a close World Series game?  That just set up their 9-0 collapse.

I saw a post-game interview with Washington, and he was visibly annoyed at some of the questions.  Are the Rangers unraveling?  Let's hope so.  The Giants need all the opposing team's blunders they can get.  But...and this is a large but...the Rangers still have to play their first World Series game at home.  Those fans should be absolutely crazy.  GO GIANTS!

Final - San Francisco 9, Texas 0
Giants take a 2-0 Series lead

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

Game 1 Shocker - Giants Defy Odds In World Series

"Nobody had been able to hit Cliff Lee in his playoff career.  Game 1 of the World Series was different."

The title of this post, along with the quote above, were the headline and summary on Comcast's homepage story when I logged on tonight.  Shocker?  Well, if that's what the rest of the world thinks, we've got you where we want you.

Mat Latos, Derek Lowe, Derek Lowe (yes, twice!), Roy Halladay, Cole Hammels, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee.  These were the dominating pitchers, in order, guaranteed to beat the Giants.  They all lost.  Is there a pattern here?

Road Warriors

Guess which teams had the two best home records in baseball this year, and in which order?  Well, if you don't know, you could figure it out easily by looking at the title of this post.  Yup, you guessed it.  The Atlanta Braves were #1, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies at #2.  And the Giants beat each team on the road in that same order to win the pennant.  Games 3 and 4 in Atlanta in the NLDS and games 1 and 6 in Philly in the NLCS.  A 4-1 road record vs. awesome home teams.

THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!

The Philadelphia Phillies' dream of being the first team to win three consecutive NL pennants since the 1942-44 Cardinals has been slaughtered by the extreme underdog San Francisco Giants!!!!  Juan Uribe hits an 8th inning opposite field home run to put the Giants ahead 3-2.  Brian Wilson makes the perfect pitch - a low, backdoor slider - the pitch that awesome slugger Ryan Howard simply cannot hit.  Howard was fooled badly, and THE GIANTS WON THE PENNANT!  Another extreme form of torture!

The parties are spilling out into the streets!  We're going to the World Series!  Wahoooo!

No Respect

Well, the Giants aren't getting much respect nationally.  Just tonight, MLB Network was doing highlights of the Rangers beating the Yankees to win the AL pennant, and the talking heads started yakking about how the Rangers matched up against the Phillies.  Harold Reynolds interrupted the party and inserted, even if a bit hesitantly, "The Giants...may...MAY...win this thing."  I know you need to earn your respect, but really.

SHOCKING!

"Schocking!"  That's how MLB network described the Giants' 3-1 NLCS lead over the Phillies.  Shocking?  To whom is it shocking?  Oh, everybody who thought the Phils would roll, that's who.

"Phils in five."
"Uh, I don't know about that.  We should give the Giants more credit than that.  Phils in six."

Yes, that's the way most of the people "in the know" talked about the series before it began.  Neither scenario is possible now.  And of course, game 1, where Tim Lincecum outpitched Roy Halladay, was the Giants lone half-expected win.

I simply haven't had time to blog about these games so far, I've been so busy late at night watching highlights from the games I haven't been able to see on TV.  Anything can happen on any day in baseball.  Anything can happen in October, including the Phils rebounding to win.  But the Giants winning the pennant can also happen.  And that can happen tonight.  GO GIANTS!