2 out of 3 isn't good enough

For my friends who think I am being cynical about the Red Sox 2010 chances and that I am already looking towards 2011, let me present today's game.

Beckett was great for 5 then got hammered and the Red Sox not only lost but it wasn't even a teeth grinder.

They took 2 of 3 from the Angels... and it wasn't good enough.

They needed to SWEEP in order to even keep pace with the Yankees.

In trying to make up nearly a week of games with a month and a half to go, they need a 5 or 6 game winning streak... winning series is inadequate.

2 out of 3 might be fine for Meat Loaf, but not for the 2010 Red Sox.

When winning 2 out of 3 just isn't enough

Usually Meat Loaf is right. (All blog posts should start with that sentence.)

But almost always, 2 out of 3 Ain't Bad.

And the Giants showed guts. They won the first two games against the Rockies convincingly. And they stage a gritty comeback in the 9th where a single would have tied the game and fell just short.

And it wasn't enough.

As I wrote earlier, they needed all three of these games. They needed to make it 1 game in the loss column. The chances of making up 3 in the loss column with no more head to head games will probably be too much to handle.

And poor Nate Schierholtz struck out and essentially dashed the hopes of the Giants AND the Marlins, who needed the Rockies loss to inch closer.

The real goat was Edgar Renteria who couldn't advance the runners with nobody out. But it is hard to dump on Renteria after his slam against the Rockies last month.

In essence, there is nobody to blame. The Giants have overachieved this year and have given their fans some magical moments. The sweep of Colorado at the end of August. Randy Johnson's 300th win. Lincecum's Cy Young-esque season. The rise of Pablo Sandoval. The Sanchez no hitter.

But is this really a playoff team?

Well... can we sleep on that?