Thoughts, lists and other compulsive bits about baseball from comedian filmmaker television producer/Red Sox fan Paul Francis Sullivan....
feel free to call him “Sully.”
The Giants have many talented relievers to fill Brian Wilson's shoes as he will probably miss the rest of the season with elbow surgery. Santiago Castilla and Javier Lopez could get a shot to replace him.
But Sergio Romo needs to be the closer for at least the next few weeks.
He has a great strikeout per nine inning rate and you need someone who can strike out a batter to pitch the close innings.
Plus he doesn't walk many. But that's not why I think he should close.
He's got a beard and a screw loose. And Giant fans need a closer with a beard and a screw loose. At least for a few minutes while they get used to a year without Wilson coming out of the pen.
Continuing the Why Each Team's Potential World Championship Would Be Good For The Game series, we move on to the Defending World Champion San Francisco Giants.
Now earlier I wrote posts for the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians knowing that their time as contenders wouldn’t be long. I never expected to throw the Champs into the “Quick before they fall out” pile.
But here we are. In the month since acquiring Carlos Beltran the Giants have gone 10 games in the wrong direction. They have turned a 4 game lead into a 6 game deficit. And with a showdown against the Diamondbacks looming, their season could startlingly be over in early September.
Their losing ways have been against lowly teams like the Padres, Cubs and Astros. A year after being unlikely Cinderella champs, they are the targets for teams with spoiling a pennant on their mind.
Then again, a strong September could catapult them right back into the playoffs, playing their patented brand of heart attack inducing baseball.
Yesterday they let go of Aaron Rowand and Miguel Tejada, thus ending a "Third ring for Rowand" and "Win a Ring for Tejada" motivation.
But Madison Bumgarner won and who knows? The champs could defend their crown
Now with the Giants, I am not going to make the reasons to support them winning a title personal. They are my dad's team, my son's team and my favorite National League team. But every team has fans and every team has someone's dad rooting for them
These are for fans everywhere.
10 Reasons why the
San Francisco Giants
winning the 2011 World Series
would be good for baseball
1. Another World Series title could put Bruce Bochy into the Hall of Fame.
He's borderline as it is. He took a Padres team that, save for 1984, was a consistent non factor and in short order led them to the 1996 post season. Then he won the 1998 pennant in San Diego. That team was dismantled but he put together Division winners in 2005 and 2006 in PetCo Park. Then he won the first ever World Series title in San Francisco with one of the worst offenses on paper for a fall classic.
He is a classic old school manager who gets respect throughout the league. AND he is already tied with Earl Weaver, Bobby Cox and Leo Durocher for World Series titles.
Another one would make the conversation very interesting.
2. Another title could help confirm Tim Lincecum's greatness
Isn't it fun to see greatness unfold? Sometimes aces can start off wonderfully and even become World Series heroes and Cy Young winners and then fade out from injuries or ineffectiveness. (Think Bret Saberhagen, Fernando Valenzuela and Dwight Gooden.)
I hope Linecum has a Tom Seaver, Greg Maddux or Tom Glavine type of career. He already is a multiple Cy Young Award winner and was a legit post season ace, winning the clincher.
He should be one of the great faces in baseball and a player to market the league around. Having him win MORE in October will make that possible.
3. Maybe there can be real closure with the Bonds era.
I have been a defender of Bonds despite thinking he used tons of steroids.
I honestly think that time will be kind on him. His new trial will happen soon and inevitably it will end with, at worst, a slap on the wrist.
The Giants have clearly moved on from the Bonds years (#25 jerseys were oddly absent the last time I went to the Giants dugout.) The team has built a World Champion without him.
Eventually I hope he will return to the Giants in some capacity. If Mark McGwire can return as a hitting coach, why can't Bonds? Look, EVERY team had players who were on juice. It was the era. And now the era is passing. Another title in San Francisco might help put it a little further back and Bonds wouldn't have to talk about the past. (Oh sorry. That's McGwire's line.)
4. More October calls from the best announcers in the game
Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow are the best play by play men in the game. They are knowledgeable, funny, classy and have a sincere style to calling the game. They aren't prepackaged or playing a part. And when they get into a game, it means some GREAT calls.
Meanwhile Jon Miller also calls games for the Giants and he is the Gold Standard.
But best of all listen to Dave Flemmings' call of Edgar Renteria's eventual World Series winning home run. The way his voice cracked meant he was speaking for Giants fans everywhere who couldn't believe their eyes when the ball left the park. This October needs more calls like that.
5. Another Championship would mean more celebrating with Willie Mays
The greatest player in baseball history is Willie Mays.
Willie Mays is still with us.
Willie Mays still has all of his faculties.
Willie Mays must be celebrated for as long as he is on this Earth.
6. The Giants - Phillies rivalry needs to be cultivated!
The Giants and Phillies could be a great post season rivalry in this decade. They have stockpiled aces. They played a wonderful series last year. AND there seems to be bad blood between them.
The Giants would inevitably have to go through Philly.
A laid back West Coast city and a wound tight East Coast city each with recent World Series titles could make for many great Octobers for years to come.
7. Carlos Beltran could get redemption for the "Called Third Strike."
Baseball is great for redemption stories. And right now, despite putting up great numbers in his limited post season experience, Carlos Beltran's best known highlight is looking at a called third strike to end the 2006 NLCS.
A base hit would have tied the game. A double would have won the pennant for the Mets. Instead it was St. Louis who won.
He may never get redemption in the eyes of Mets fans, but a little peace for Carlos would go a long way (and help him collect this winter as a Free Agent.)
8. Brian Wilson in the spotlight can only be a good thing for baseball.
If Zach Galifianakis was a baseball player, who would be be?
OK, probably Brody Stevens, but that's not the point. The point is Wilson has the great closer stuff and the All Star resume and the clinching the World Series highlight on his reel to give him substance.
And his style is so bizarre and legitimately funny that it can only bring attention to baseball from people who normally wouldn't watch.
Also it could spark a renaissance of awesome facial hair on closers and more goofiness. There is a place for a stoic Mariano Rivera. But it's nice to have a pitcher look like Rasputin on the mound.
9. A Repeat World Series title would give the Showtime show a great ending!
I thought it was going to have a great finale with a return to October. If thye come they erase a 6 game hole and make the post season and win it all... the show might win the Emmy.
It would be GREAT TV!
10. The Giants becoming the fun championship caliber team will help lead MLB into the 21st century!
As I said in a Sully Baseball video, the Giants are the fun marquee team to root for. They don't have the pompousness of the Yankees nor the annoying elements of Red Sox Nation. Fans who think they dominated the past decade (winning 2 World Series each between 2000 and 2009 plus consistently being in the playoffs will do that) have a new option. The Giants have a sense of humor that many of the Northeastern teams don't have. But that sense of humor is meaningless without consistently winning.
Bandwagons are healthy for sports. People have jumped on Steeler and Cowboy bandwagons for generations. Same with the Celtics and Lakers. And every once in a while a team with a truly unique personality becomes a trendy favorite. Think of the Raiders in the 70s and 80s. The Bulls of the 90s.
The Giants should be one of those teams. But they can't be that if they are one win and done. Baseball needs to expand its brand to a younger audience. And the Giants should be that team.
It's tough to do that when they are playing golf in October.
I thought for sure the National League West was a slam dunk. I didn't think the Diamondbacks would be a factor.
But here we are. The Defending Champs and the team that should be a flagship franchise for baseball are fighting for their playoff lives.
If they come back and win it all, the 2011 season DVD will be amazing!
If you liked this then go ahead and read the entries for the other teams.
If you are a Giants fan you better HOPE this is the low point.
On July 28th, the Defending World Champions took 2 of 3 from the Phillies IN Philadelphia. They opened up a 4 game lead on the Diamondbacks, who were a nice story but let's face it, didn't have the legs to contend deep in the season.
The Giants added Carlos Beltran and the West was all but clinched.
Since then? The Giants have lost 10 of 13 games including 2 to the Pirates who couldn't beat a Tee Ball team in the last few weeks.
The Diamondbacks haven't exactly been world beaters. They have gone 7-5, right around the same winning pace that I would have expected.
But here we sit... in Mid August... and the Diamondbacks are in first place and the Giants are out of the playoff picture.
Indeed if the Playoffs Started Today... the Phillies and Diamondbacks would match up and the Brewers would have home field over the Braves.
In the promos for the Showtime series about the Giants, there is a clip of Brian Wilson on the golf course saying "Mark it down. Repeat."
Ironically if the playoffs started now, that's what the Giants would be doing... playing golf.
And the Diamondbacks don't have to do this for the long haul. They have 45 games left. A team get get hot in a 45 game spurt. When a team is in first place all by themselves with 45 left, then guess what? They are a legit contender.
Now if you have no dog in the fight, you might think that rooting for the Diamondbacks is the right thing to do. A low budget club with lots of young talent is what people should want in the post season.
But, as I said in one of the Sully Baseball videos, the Giants have a unique opportunity to become one of the true marquee franchises in baseball. A fun, more relaxed alternative to the rough and not so friendly Red Sox and Yankees domination. And it would be a shame to see them be a one year wonder.
The Giants have the day off and the Diamondbacks are playing the minor league team that plays in Houston. So in all probability, the Giants will start Friday's game in Florida a full game back.
Let's see what you are made of. Defend that title.
The Giants very strange defense of their World Series title continued yesterday in San Diego. Once again a starting pitcher (this time Matt Cain) pitched well.
Once again the starting pitcher got a no decision and it went into extra innings.
The Giants are going to win the West. Right now they are tied for the Phillies for the biggest lead in any Division. And the Giants rotation is the only one in baseball that can match up with the Phillies.
But I would LOVE to see the Giants finish the year with their aces winning 12-13 games, thus creating the illusion to those who just glance at the win-loss record that San Francisco's rotation is inferior.
Right now Brian Wilson has 6 wins, just 2 fewer than Cain and Lincecum. Javier Lopez has 5 wins (including yesterday) and that is one behind Vogelsong.
I want Wilson and Lopez to each get to double digit wins. Preferably more than their All Star pitchers.
Imagine at the end of the year hearing "Brian Wilson led the team with 13 wins and Javier Lopez was second with 12. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain had 11 wins. Ryan Vogelsong and Madison Bumgarner each had 10."
Then you get to smoke out which commentators are lazy and say "A down year for the Giants starters" etc.
Think that is crazy? Have you been WATCHING the Giants? Have you been noticed how many times the announcers say "A great start for [INSERT GIANTS STARTER HERE] but no run support"? Have you seen how many games end with a mob at home plate after a walk off win?
Have 6 more walk offs go as wins for Brian Wilson... bam! There's 12 wins right there. 5 extra inning wins go to Lopez... and that's 10 for Lopez.
And that's 11 decisions NOT going to the rotation. Throw in a fluke win here and a vulture win there and they could get up to 12-13 wins.
All that matters to a Giants fan is to pile up wins, no matter how odd they come about. The Giants have played 15 extra inning games and 38 one run games.
So pile up the wins, Javier and Brian. Lead the team... and make the other teams feel complacent
OF COURSE they got two homers from Nate Schierholtz!
How else are the Giants expected to win? Normally?
Seriously, I am worried about Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper. They are losing their voice after virtually EVERY game.
With all of the crazy wins this team has, the new Showtime show will have more heart stopping finishes than Hoosiers!
Meanwhile, how awesome was Pablo Sandoval's 8th and 9th innings?
Not only does he get the game tying double, but he saves at least one run with a dazzling 2 out diving stop to end a potential go ahead rally against Brian Wilson.
Speaking of Wilson... I really was hoping he'd get the win.
He has 6. That's tied with Tim Lincecum. When your CLOSER has as many wins as your ace, you would have to assume your team is dreadful, not in first place approaching the All Star break.
It's been a weird year for the Giants.
It could be the oddest World Championship defense ever. But hey! It is working.
Last night the Giants were in total control of the game for 8 of 9 innings it seemed like.
Then, blink, the Dodgers tied the game.
Then, blink, the Giants have a 3 run lead again on Cody Ross's 2 out 3 run 9th inning jack.
With all of these last at bat victories, Brian Wilson will have a shot at 20 wins before poor Matt Cain does.
But did you see where the Cody Ross homer landed?
The left field seats were practically empty. Yeah I know it was a Wednesday, but still!
This is a Dodgers and Giants game!
Is this all residue from the Bryan Stow incident? Fallout from the McCourts?
Either way it is sad. Los Angeles should be a huge baseball town, especially after the Lakers are out of it.
There must be a billionaire owner out there. One of my sons is a Dodger fan and in a few years he will be of the age where he will start to know the players and the ins and outs of the game.
Let's hope by then they have management that cares.
When I wrote this Sunday about how the Giants should go for it in 2010 and get a needed bat and bullpen help, I got some resistance from some Giants fans.
Everyone agreed the Giants need another bat, but my call for bullpen reinforcements was not commonly held by the Hum Baby fans.
Do you know who I bet agrees with me? Tim Lincecum!
Last Wednesday he pitched 8 1/3 innings, was charged with 2 runs, struckout 11 and walked 1 and was in line for the win.
Today he pitched 7 innings, let up 3 runs, struck out 13 and walked one and was in line for the win.
That's 5 runs in 15 1/3 innings (a 2.93 ERA) and 24 strikeouts over that span against 2 walks.
And how does that reflect in his record?
GOTCH! 0-0! Two No Decisions! Brian Wilson blew the game last week... Sergio Romo wet the bed tonight.
I'm telling you, the Giants need some help in the pen, and the Freak would agree with me.
There is a rule in selecting All Stars for the once relevant Mid Season Classic that says each team needs to be represented.
This rule is of course insane because sometimes a team simply doesn't have an All Star worthy player... but it also means that every year there is a player that has no business playing in an All Star Game that gets to make the trip.
That team, that lost 99 games, had a lot of familiar All Star names (Darryl Strawberry, Eric Davis, Orel Hershiser, Brett Butler, Tom Candiotti, Jay Howell, Juan Samuel, Mike Scoscia, John Candelaria) but Sharperson, who batted .300 in 128 games got to make the trip to San Diego for the All Star Game.
He came into the game in the 8th inning, and struck out in the 9th against Dennis Eckersley.
He was basically a utility infielder starting 33 games at second and 39 games at third. The rest of the time he was a pinch hitter.
That's right, the Dodgers lone rep for the All Star game was a bench player.
Some people think MLB needs to change this rule because it is silly to see the Robert Ficks, Randy Winns and Mark Redmans of the world supposedly representing the best of the best.
But I like it. It's a funny quirk that to me allows us that inevitable moment where you shriek "[INSERT MEDIOCRE PLAYER NAME HERE] is an All Star?"
This year there is no glaring Sharperson candidate.
The Finalists would be
NATE McLOUTH of the Pirates. BRIAN WILSON of the Giants.
I'd probably have to go with McLouth.
The official award will be handed out on the eve of the All Star Game. I'm sure they will be thrilled.
I just can't wait to see the parade in New York where greats like Frank Robinson and Yogi Berra will be waving to the crowd along with A-Rod, Manny and Pujols.
How many people will be screaming "OH MY GOD!!! NATE McLOUTH!!!"?
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