The Spoils Of Victory

Alemaster is well known to many of you. He and I made a bet on the Reds/Giants series and yesterday the fruits of that victory arrived on my doorstep. Behold, Kentucky's finest;

Angus approved. Since I'm an infrequent imbiber I'm planning on saving this for a very special occasion. A beverage this good needs to be savored, not chugged like a bottle of Ripple.

To Alemaster; you're a very good sport my friend. When I crack that bottle the first drink will be to Absent Companions. Thank you very much, it is greatly appreciated. And I promise to follow all the directions!

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The Giants Win!!!!

The Giants swept the Tigers tonight, 4-3 in 10 innings in game 4. The Panda was the MVP.

It was a great series. Games 2 and 3 were nail biters but game 4 was torture. This makes the Giants World Champs 2 out of the last 3 years. I said it a while ago but the current Giants remind me strongly of the Braves of the 90s. A great core of young starting pitching and a very talented bullpen. Throw in a few good position players, a bunch of role players who only want to win and shake well. Add in a manager who must now be considered among the very best. Top it off with great clubhouse attitude and you've got a team that's going to be very hard to beat for years yet. 

To be fair the Giants went on an incredible run. They got hot at exactly the right time. After game 5 of the NLCS they put their foot on the gas and never let up.

My condolences to Murphy's Law. The only team I'd have accepted beating us with good grace would have been the Tigers. But I'm glad that didn't happen. The DO stayed up until midnight Florida time to watch. She called us afterward and we celebrated over the phone.

I know that in the great scheme of things what a certain sports team means very little but I love the game and I love my Giants. We've been fans as a family since 1982. They've frankly been pretty bad for the vast majority of those years so the last 3 years have been sweet indeed.

Now that the series is over I'll grin for a couple of days but then it's back to work. There's an election coming up and winning on that stage is orders of magnitude more important than even the G-Men winning it all.

But it's still a great day. Go Giants!

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Game 7 Tonight (Updated: Giants Win!!)

First pitch somewhere around 6:00 MST. In 2010 'Torture' was adopted as the theme for the Giants run to the World Series because of all the nail biter games they played and won. This year it's back because apparently the G-Men can't win a series without being on the precipice of elimination. If they win it'll be 6 games straight.

Torture. They're killing me but I'll forgive everything if they can win tonight. The phone will be off the hook this evening.

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The Giants pulled off the improbable with a 9-0 win in Game 7. They won 6 straight elimination games. All is sweetness and light in the Six household tonight. I even blew off the debate so as to not miss a single pitch. Somewhere in Florida three special Giants fans are also happy.

Game 1 of the World Series against the Tigers is Wednesday. Murphy's Law will be pulling for the Tigers and  I am content with the match up. Their number One fan will surely be watching and rooting.

I love October baseball!

The Giants!!!

6-4 in game 5. It was a nail biter for much of the game. Posey hit a slam and the G-Men won the series after being down 0-2. The first time that's been done in a NLDS ever.

The Reds are a great team but let this be a lesson. They had the Giants on the ropes but let them squeek out a win in game 3 and it was all over but the popping of the champagne corks. If you have an adversary down kick them in the ass don't piss on 'em.

Alemaster is a great guy and a gracious competitor but I am so going to rub this one in all Winter. :) Hey, I win so seldom I don't quite know what to do. Plus, he's a Rotor Head and what would my Leg brothers think if I let him off easy?

On to the NLCS. I think we just dodged a bullet and beat the next best team in the NL but we shall see.

Thanks Alemaster. These things are always a lot more fun if there are actual consequences and penalties involved.

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The Baseball Playoffs Are Here!

Congratulations to my Giants who clinched almost a week ago. They'll be taking on the Reds starting Saturday. It's should be a great series, though I hope Alemaster will forgive me for saying Giants in 4. The G-Men are actually a bit better team than they were in 2010 when they won it all. They hit better, the starting rotation is solid and the bullpen is deeper even without a designated reliever. I think Posey is the NL MVP.

Hey Ed, remember busting my chops over the Melki Cabrera fiasco? Can you say Athletics? Heh heh.

The Washington Nationals won the NL East. A sign of changes in that town?

Miguel Cabrera won the triple crown, the first to do so since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

The Braves and Cardinals will play a one game wild card game on Friday. I'm pulling for the Cardinals. That Braves team is good.

Some stuff happened in the AL. I guess. Not that it's important. The next World Series champion will be coming from the NL. I do know the Red Sox tanked. Again. Who the hell thought hiring Bobby Valentine as manager was a great idea?

It's a long season but the playoffs are finally here and my Giants are in the thick of it. I am a happy man.

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SF Giants - 2012 NL West Champions!

Without cheater Melky Cabrera mind you. Now it's time to get the guys rested, the rotation set and their post season game faces on.

Come on Ed. Giants v Rangers World Series again?

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Congratulations Brew Crew & Rangers

On winning the NL Central and AL West and a tip of the cap to Fred over at Guns & Coffee and Ed Rasimus over at Thunder Tales).

My Giants are done. They're just waiting for the Diamondbacks and Braves to stick a fork in them (Update: Diamondbacks just won the NL West). It was a good year, my first rooting for a defending World Champion, but the Giants didn't have enough offense for the long run. The Diamondbacks are just renting that title. We're gonna want it back next year so don't get anything on it.

I love baseball. I played it in my younger days and have been a fan forever. I'll watch the playoffs and Series but someone, anyone, please beat the Yankees. I don't think I could stand seeing them in the World Series again. I'll be rooting for a Texas vs Milwaukee World Series.

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Baseball Season

The 2011 season begins tomorrow so it's time for my predictions. I know that all the gamblers out there have been waiting with barely concealed disinterest for my pronouncements so without further ado here are my picks for the new season.

American League. Who cares? It's the league of the Red Sox and the Yankees. I mean, it's got the designated hitter rule for Ghu's sake. Bunch of Philistines.

National League East. Do they still play Baseball out there? I'll take Taiwan. National League Central. One of the beer teams. Michelob maybe.
National League West. The only division that matters. San Francisco Giants who will win 160 games (They'll take a couple of games off at the end just to rest The Freak for the playoffs. Not that he needs it).
World series. Giants. The rest of the NL will forfeit as soon as they're paired against the Giants. The AL team will announce they're "Just glad to be there". I predict there will be a lot of crying.

So there you have it. An unbiased prediction based on an in depth study of the Giants and a quick glance at all the rest of those losers. You can take it to the bank. Seriously. Have I ever steered you wrong?

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Giants

Please excuse me while I giggle madly. I know it's silly but i just can't help myself. My Giants are the 2010 World Series Champions!

It was a great series with a pitching heavy winning out over a hitting heavy one. Cliff Lee was terrific but Lincecum was masterful and they had enough hitting to score the runs they needed when they needed them. Actually, I thought the Giants hit pretty well throughout the playoffs and especially in the WS.

A tip of the cap to the Rangers who battled and fought and never gave up. They're a classy club with a lot of great players.

The Giants are as blue collar, lunch pail as any group you'll ever see. There's no towering egos, no single superstar player. Just a ton of pitching and a team of role players who worked their magic flawlessly. Cody Ross said it best. There's a new hero every night for this team. Hero is a stretch, I tend to reserve that honorific to the men and women standing the line in dark places, but the emotion is understandable.

I'm going to enjoy the victory but tomorrow I'll be heading to the polls in the hope that we can pull off another seemingly impossible task and hand 'Call me Senator' boxer a nice defeat she can call her own.

Yeah, I'm a pretty happy guy tonight.

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The Torture Continues

Woo Hoo! The Giants win the National League Pennant over the Phillies by 4 games to 2. Final score in game 6 was another nail biting 3-2. The bullpen was nearly perfect with Wilson getting a 5 out save and causing multiple heart attacks in the process.

Cody Ross won the NLCS MVP and it was well deserved. They absolutely would not have won without him.

This team thrives on pressure and just finds a way to win. Now if I can only find a way to watch a game without my hands covering my face.

The Giants were not supposed to win this series. Shows what the pundits know. In my opinion the 2 clubs with the best team chemistry, the Giants and the Rangers, won their respective pennants.

Bring on the Rangers. It should be a great World Series.

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Pure Torture

I'm generally not a huge stick and ball kinda guy. I like some football but I don't live and die by any team. I hate basketball and am totally indifferent to soccer and hockey (World Cup notwithstanding). I don't get mad when my team loses. No sulks or depression or broken televisions. No lost wager money. No money spent glorifying the exploits of spoiled children masquerading as adults. I spend my money and time on different pursuits, those where real experiences can be had. Most involve 2 wheels, 4 legs with fur or things that go bang.

There are always exceptions though and mine is baseball. I love baseball.

Baseball is an American sport. I know there are great leagues (and even better individual players) in South America, Japan, Cuba and Korea among others. But it was born here and is still played at it's highest level in the Land Of The Free. We all played when we were kids, whether hardball or softball, it's all baseball. The DO played Bobby Sox softball and my granddaughter can hit a fastball like nobody's business. I think the boy will be a football player but you can be sure his grandfather will give him plenty of exposure to the Grand Game. His dad and I agreed. He gets football and I get baseball. It's made him an odd blend of Patriots and Giants fan but his sporting card will be well filled, as any boys should.

I grew up playing the game, not usually well but always enthusiastically. I've hit a home run, struck out, scored the winning run and made the last out. I learned sportsmanship, concentration and athletic skills. I exercised my mind as well as my body. I discovered things about myself and the value of teammates and fair play. Win or lose, there's always tomorrow.

We came to California in October, 1981 when the Army looked over my duty requests of Hood, Lewis and Carson and instead hose to send me to Ft. Ord, a place I'd never even heard of. In April of 1982 my unit sponsored a trip to see a Giants home game. It meant a day off so I said heck yeah, sign me up. The Giants played the Braves. Bob Brenly hit a grand slam and the Giants still lost. Candlestick park was cold, windy and decidedly spartan but I had a great time and fell deeply in love with my now beloved Giants. We took The DO and Lu's parents and both our grandchildren to a game. All got their first exposure to The Major League in a Giants ballpark.

I've followed them through the good and bad. Most seasons I was left just hoping they'd beat the Dodgers and stay out of the cellar. I've seen them at their worst. I've seen them at their best. I've seen them lose a heartbreaking World Series when they were 5 outs from a championship. I've seen them knock the hated Dodgers out of the playoffs and miss a chance themselves when they couldn't win the N.L. West with 102 wins. I've seen them lose 100 games.

They're in the National League Championship Series this year after winning the N.L West on the very last day of the season. We tended to watch games this year while occupied doing other things. The name Torture was adopted to describe the G-Men and their long list of heart stopping games. They've been in more one run games than I can count. The closer, Brian Wilson has had Lu and I screaming at the TV. The offense is spotty at best. They're hard to watch without a roll of antacid and a strong drink. Or two.

But the pitching. Man can those boys ever pitch. Starters Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, Bumgardner and even Zito at times. Affeldt, Mota, Rodriguez, Romo and a bunch of no names in the pen. They can all throw.

Some late season castoffs in the field for some pop in the lineup. Where would they be without Huff, Ross and Burrell? Torres and Sanchez are starters now. All began the year with other teams. And don't forget the Panda. A probable rookie of the year in catcher Buster Posey. They don't score many runs but tend to produce at exactly the right times.

Tonight they took a 1-0 lead in their best of 7 series against the Phillies, a team that's supposed to be far and away better than the Giants. The score was a typical nail biting 4-3 squeaker that they somehow always seem to win. This is a mentally tough team that knows how to grind and take advantage of their opportunities.

I hate taking a kids game played by adults too seriously but I do love my Giants and watching them win. I just don't know if I can take it any more. These guys are killing me.

Ah, sweet torture, thy name is Giants.

I can't wait til tomorrow.

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