Troy Tulowitzki doing his best Ryan
Spilborghs impression. Photo from Flickr.
So the Giants suffered a devastating loss at the hands of those upstart Colorado Rockies last night, meaning they lost three of four in Denver over the weekend – but to hear Giants fans and the Bay Area media tell it, you’d think the Gigantes had just been eliminated from playoff contention. The moans and groans have been plentiful on the Giants’ mammoth flagship radio station, KNBR 680 AM, and Giants radio announcer David Fleming set the tone last night when he called the loss the worst defeat for San Francisco since 2002. That year, for those of you baseball fans who spend a lot of time living under a rock, was the Giants last World Series appearance. And oh yeah, they happened to lose that Fall Classic in seven games after being eight outs away from a ring in Game 6. So to call Fleming’s remark from last night an exaggeration is an understatement. Blowing a three-run lead in the bottom of the 14th inning to the team that leads you in the Wild Card is certainly bad, but let’s be realistic here, folks. An extra-inning loss to a division rival on Aug. 24 is hardly a reason to throw in the towel.
If the Giants are truly worthy of a playoff spot, they can easily recover the lost ground. Need more convincing? Just look at the numbers: The Giants have 37 games left (including six at home against the Rockies) to overcome a four-game deficit. And after Sept. 21, during the last crucial days of the season, the Giants face only one team with a winning record (a four-game homestand against the Chicago Cubs, who are 27-38 on the road). In turn, the Rockies will have to face the resurgent St. Louis Cardinals (owners of the best record in the majors since the All-Star break) and the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers in six of their final nine games.
But regardless of whether or not they win the Wild Card, make no mistake: The Giants are not winning the World Series this year. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, as spectacular as they have been, have as much postseason experience as I do. The lights are much brighter in the playoffs, and we saw how well Lincecum handled the national spotlight in an exhibition game.
Still, San Francisco fans should rejoice even if their team is bounced in the NLDS – the postseason experience will be invaluable, and is crucial if the Giants get there again next season. And if General Manager Brian Sabean values his job, he’ll make sure to bring in a heavy bat for next year, too.
Photo from Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dirkhansen/ / CC BY 2.0
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