Sunday, April 10, 2011

Absolute Craziness

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 09:  Tim Lincecum #55 of the San Francisco Giants holds up his World Series ring before the start of the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park on April 9, 2011 in San Francisco, California.
Like a boss.

Today the Giants got their World Championship rings and celebrated by wearing SWANK gold-lettered jerseys and caps. Noted San Francisco Hall of Famers Mays, McCovey, Cepeda, Perry and Marichal all got rings, as did the crack Giants announce team of the esteemed Jon Miller and Lon Simmons, the destined-to-be-esteemed Dave Fleming, and the esteemed-by-some-loathed-by-others Kruk and Kuip.

It was a truly magical evening that was nearly ruined by injury early on, as center fielder Andres "The Giant" Torres went out with an ankle injury after fielding a fly ball early on. Amazingly, his replacement, the defensive whizkid and speedster who swings like Will Clark but without the power or average, Nate "Juggernate" Schierholz managed to have himself a three-hit night.

Things managed to get worse still thanks to Colby Rasmus, as he cranked a rare Matt Cain mistake just over the right-center wall to put the loathesome Cardinals up 2-1. The score seemed certain to remain that way, or to even get worse, but Dan Runzler pitched himself out of a self-imposed mega-jam, and with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, down by one with two men on, Miguel "Michael" Tejada stepped to the plate. Tejada famously hacked at a shoelaces-high first pitch on Opening Day to foul out and end an inning and a rally with the bases loaded. Here, however, he miraculously turned an 0-2 count into a 3-2 count and spoiled a handful of tough pitches to stay alive. It was a hell of an at-bat, regardless of the outcome.

But man, what an outcome.

Miggy jacked a fly to deepest left-center. When the ball left the bat, Cards catcher Yadier Molina actually hung his head and began walking off the field, but the ball stayed in the park. The aforementioned St. Louis hero Colby "sub-par cheese" Rasmus raced towards the warning track, trying to follow the ball in the 18MPH wind. He went for a basket-style catch, got a hand on it, and dropped it onto the outfield grass as both baserunners crossed the plate and Tejada leaped for joy, mobbed by the emptying dugout.

It was the second walk-off for San Francisco in two nights, and in their first two games at home. Regardless how much Tejada may stink up the infield and the lineup for the balance of the season, tonight he looked every bit as much a World Champion as his teammates.

Watching the 2011 Giants is much the same as watching the 2010 version: heart palpitations at every turn. But if this season turns out half as well as the last one, it will be well worth the ride. (P.S. I hope Pujols's slump lasts forever.)

- Bill

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