And Then There Were Two

Two thoroughly entertaining League Championship Series wrapped up last night when the San Francisco Giants beat Philadelphia 3-2 thanks to an 8th inning opposite field HR from Juan Uribe and a 5 out save from Brian Wilson.

So, the World Series is set. Rangers, who came into existence as a franchis in 1961 as the Washington Senators after the original Senators moved to Minnesota to become the Twins. And until 2010, this franchise had not won a playoff SERIES let alone gone to the World Series.

On the other side you have the San Francisco Giants, one of the oldest teams in MLB history. Originally founded in 1883, the Giants have won 5 World Series titles...all in New York. The last coming in 1954 when they swept the Cleveland Indians in a World Series most known for "The Catch" by Willie Mays in CF. But, since moving to San Francisco in 1958, the Giants have not won a World Series despite appearances in '62, '89, '02.

So the stage is set for a historic World Series no matter the outcome. Either the first World Series championship in a franchise history or the first since a team moved 3000 miles away. Perhaps a more complete preview will be forthcoming prior to Game 1 on Wednesday, but for now, to get everyone ready for the 2010 World Series, here are my Top 10 World Series Moments (these will be primarily based on World Series in my lifetime so keep that in mind):

10) 1989 World Series: Battle of the Bay. World Series Interrupted by Earthquake. A's vs Giants

The first World Series that I can vividly remember because of the earthquake. The series itself was not terribly interesting, but will always be remembered for how Game 3 began. Go to the 4:30 mark to see the ABC broadcast cut off by the earthquake.

9) 1991 World Series: Kirby Puckett Walk Off in Game 6 (Bonus: Jack Morris performance in Game 7) Twins vs Braves


"AND WE'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW NIGHT!" Nothing beat the Metrodome during a playoff game. This HR lead to Jack Morris turning in arguably the greatest pitching performance in World Series history in Game 7 where he threw a 10 inning complete game shut out. Go to the 1:30 mark for Puckett's HR.

8) 1997 World Series: Edgar Renteria's walk-off single in the 11th inning of Game 7. Marlins vs Indians


This video kind of sucks but the Renteria hit is at the 1:17 mark. Points are taken off this moment for two reasons: The Marlins fire sale that followed and the continued hatred that God has for all things Cleveland sports.

7) 1986 World Series: The Buckner Play. Mets vs Red Sox


Remember when the Red Sox were lovable? Those were the days. I couldn't feel more bad for Buckner as his entire career (life?) has been defined by this one moment. The video above is the NES RBI Baseball recreation of that moment because, well, if you are reading this then I assume you are a baseball fan and if that's the case then you have seen this a thousand times.

6) 1988 World Series "A Roll of the Dice" Dodgers vs A's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeCuNRWqdLg&feature=related

Look, I get it. We all hate the Dodgers and I'm at the front of that line. But you are lying to yourself if you don't consider Kirk Gibson's Walk-Off HR off Eck in Game 1 as a great moment. For some reason this wouldn't embed but the link is above. HR at the 6:52 mark.

5) 2004 World Series: Reverse the Curse


This is not the most memorable of World Series on its own but the story behind how the Red Sox got there and the history of futility make this memorable. It also marks the last time the Red Sox and "Red Sox Nation" were tolerable.

4) 2002 World Series: Rally Monkeys and Thunder Sticks. Angels vs Giants


This is probably most known for the Giants collapse in Game 6. Leading 5-0 in the 7th inning of Game 6, the Giants Dusty Baker pulled Russ Ortiz in the 7th after giving up 2 singles (and gave him the game ball as he left). The Angels flashed the Rally Monkey, Spiezio hit a 3 run HR and the rally was on.

3) 1960 World Series: The Greatest Game Ever Played. Pirates vs Yankees


Only twice in baseball history has the World Series ended on a homerun. This is the first time in what is widely considered the greatest game every played. Bill Mazeroski walk-off HR to win the 1960 World Series.

2) 1993 World Series: Touch Em' All Joe. Blue Jays vs Phillies



The only other time a World Series ended on a HR was Joe Carter's walk off HR to beat the Phillies Mitch Williams and secure back-to-back World Series championships for the Blue Jays.

1) 2001 Series: Bloop Singles and Mr. November
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=3364797

Arguably this is the greatest World Series that has been played in my lifetime. Things got crazy in Game 4, where the DBacks were up 3-1 in the 9th in Yankee stadium and were only 3 outs away from taking a 3-1 lead in the series. DBacks closer Byung Young Kim gave up a 2 run HR to Tino Martinez. Bob Brenley inexplicably stayed with Kim in the 10th in which he gave up the walk-off to Jeter just after midnight, making this the first game to be played in November.

In Game 5, it was Scott Brosius who hit a 2 run HR with 2 outs in the 9th off Byung Young Kim that once again sent the game into extra innings where the Yankees ultimately prevailed.

But it was Game 7 that this series is perhaps best known for and the decision to bring the infield in. Luis Gonzalez bloop single behind Jeter (where, had Jeter been playing normal depth would have simply been an easy pop out) drove in the winning run and sent the DBacks to their first (and only) World Series championship.


So there you have it, my Top 10 World Series moments. Here's hoping 2010 can crack this list. Enjoy the Series!

In Which Our Hero Roots for the Capulets

Yesterday I posted the following tweet on Twitter (@leftcoastbias) and received, basically, the reaction I expected.

"I know this is probably blasphemy to say so soon after Game 162 but, I think I'm rooting for the Giants."

The Giants?!?!?!?! I know, I know. How can you root for THAT team so soon after they crushed all our hopes in 2010. The scar is fresh from Game 162. I get it.

But, allow me a brief moment to explain why I'm rooting for the Giants in the 2010 playoffs.

1) The NL West Connection

As an alum of the University of Arizona, I spend all fall rooting against the Pac-10. Stanford playing Minnesota? Go Gophers. USC taking on Utah. Let's go Utes! But when it comes to bowl season, I throw all that out and become a Pac-10 homer. Because in the end, I want the conference to do well.

The same concept applies here. I spent all summer rooting for any team playing the Giants. This even forced me to root, begrudgingly, for the Dodgers at times in hopes that the Giants would not catch San Diego.

Of course, now we know, that was all for naught.

So the NL West representative is the Giants. As the name of this blog implies, I root for West Coast teams more often then not. I'm an NL West fan. Thus, for a month, I'm a Giants "fan." Because, just like I become an Oregon and USC fan in late December, I want the NL West to do well.

Except for the Dodgers. Because fuck 'em.

2) Players that are Fun to Watch

I'm a baseball fan before anything else. Because of this, I like good players that play a solid brand of baseball. For this reason, I like Ichiro and King Felix, Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Carl Crawford among others.

So, with this in mind, I find myself liking Buster Posey and The Freak. These are good young players that make the game better. Buster Posey could be a NL Joe Mauer, and The Freak just showed in Game 1 of the NLDS how dominant he can be.

So I like these players. And thus, its easier to root for them.

3) Entertaining TV

In many ways the Giants are a carbon copy of the Padres. They have excellent pitching and just enough offense. This usually leads to close games. And what are you looking for in a playoff when you have no strong rooting interest? Entertaining baseball. And a close game is always entertaining, whether it is 1-0 or 7-6. For this reason, I am more interested in the Giants games then any other series so far.

Also, the Giants have the best shot, in my mind, of beating Philadelphia. The Phillies are the run away favorite in the National League and for good reason. But they've been to the World Series in the last two years. We get it, we've seen it. Like if someone said they had a Paris Hilton sex tape. Yawn.

The Giants, with that pitching staff, probably has the best shot of beating them.

4) The Story

Every October, if San Diego isn't playing in the playoffs, then its time to jump on a teams bandwagon for a few weeks. When making this selection, I usually pick the team that has the best story. Two years ago, the Rays were my team as they came out of nowhere to win the AL. Last year, it was the Phillies to be the first NL team to win back-to-back World Series since the Big Red Machine of the 1970's (and they were playing the Yankees).

This year, some good options, story wise.

-The Twins, with their new stadium facing the team that has been their bugaboo for the last decade. Basically, the Yankees are to the Twins what the Cardinals are to the Padres.

-The Rays, who have built their team from the inside and play a brand of baseball that I like. Lot of speed and good pitching.

-The Braves, in Bobby Cox last season. But, I spent most the 90's rooting against the Braves. I have no rational reason to not like the Braves, yet I do.

-The Giants, who have not won a World Series since moving to San Francisco...in 1957. In 2002 they were 6 outs away, but Dusty Baker was their manager so you know how that went.

I choose the team that hasn't won the World Series in 50 years. That makes for an interesting story and really, at this point I'm grasping at straws.

But if they were to be eliminated prior to the World Series, I can always root for whoever is playing the Yankees.

Where Have You Gone Bullpen?

The other day someone asked me whether it was "time to panic." My initial, gut reaction was no, absolutely not, its way to early. Keep in mind I said this with this in mind: Peavy was pitching tonight, against the Astros, followed by the Giants coming to San Diego.

Well...Peavy pitched admirably. Pedestrian by his own, astronomical standards. 6 IP, 4 ER, 2 SO. More indicative of his performance was where the Padres were when Peavy left. Down 4-3.

Black went to Thatcher who quickly gave up 3 runs, missing his spots badly. In a park like Minute Maid Park against a lineup such as the Astros, missing your spots is a recipe for disaster. This ran the score to 7-3.

Unlike what has happened often this season however, the Padres fought back. PMac went deep, and AGon did his best Charger impersonation at home. A 4 run 8th inning had tied the game and Heath Bell was coming in. Finally, the Padres had a game set-up as they would want it. I was going to argue a few days ago that the Padres unusually high bullpen ERA was more a case of mop-up guys getting knocked around (Rusch, Ledezma, etc.).

Heath Bell gave up 4 runs, putting the game out of reach, and the fans into panic mode.

So to answer the question that began this post, "is it time to panic?" Yes.

But hang on...it's April after all. How many times have fans seen things take place in April that never pan out (Shelley Duncan of Detroit, I'm looking at you). So let's review the Padres last three years and see how important April really is:

2005 (note: the Padres won the division with an 82-80 record):
April Record: 11-13; Most Games Under .500: 4 games under, on April 27. What drove that team to the playoffs was a 22-6 May and a winning record in 1-run games 29-20.

2006 (won division with an 88-74 record):
April Record: 9-15; Most Games Under .500: 7, on April 29. Perhaps most interesting was the team ERA of April: 4.57.

2007 (finished third with an 89-74 record):
April Record: 13-13; never under .500.

NOTE: statistics provided by http://www.baseball-reference.com/

I guess my point is this. In the past three years, the Padres have never left April with a winning record. Currently they are sitting at 9-12. They have a run differential of -28 and a bullpen ERA of 5.54.

So, time to panic, or just another April in San Diego? Time will tell, but my money is on history, and history dictates that the Padres play extremely well in May. For now, the panic button will be put away...for now.

Coming Up

Another bizarre two game series coming up, this time against the Giants. Maddux goes for win 350 tonight. Lucky for us, we get Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum. Sometimes its not stats, its luck.

The More Things Change...

Well that sucked...

The Padres dropped 2 of 3 against the San Francisco Giants this week. The same Giants that I and many others fully expect to lose roughly 100 games this year. The same Giants who bat Bengie Molina in the clean-up (I suppose we can't make fun of that now after his 2 dinger game on Tuesday). So, some thoughts from last nights 1-0 game.

- I will take partial blame for jinxing the outcome. On Ducksnorts.com I posted a comment at the end of the top of the 9th saying "two extra-inning games in a row against the Giants?" Of course, there was no extra-inning game as the Giants won in the bottom of the 9th. So, my bad.

- Who are you and what have you done with Jim Edmonds? The error was a freak occurrence as that ball was in his glove and somehow popped out. More concerning is the game winning hit. Was it routine? Certainly not. Is it a ball you expect Jim Edmonds to get to? Yes. Would Mike Cameron had gotten to that ball? In my opinion, yes. (I highly doubt Scott Hairston would have though). I think it's clear to anyone who has watched Edmonds play in the last week that he is not healthy. He is running poorly, he looks lost at the plate and he all together doesn't look right. Whether that's nerves from playing for a new team, the injury still lingering or just age, it is safe to say that Edmonds right now is a liability.

- Not to beat a dead horse, but there are two games in the Padres last 13 games that CF play has cost them a win. The 1-game playoff last year and the near-comical CF play of Brady Clark allowed at least 2 runs in that game. And now last night.

- Let's talk strategy. There are two plays in sports that seem like no-brainers and yet no one seems to do it. The first was illustrated in Monday night's National Championship between KU and Memphis. Up 3 with seconds to go, what is the harm in immediately fouling KU and sending them to the line...for 2! Now, the other should have happened last night. In the bottom of the 9th with 1 out the Giants had a man on second (the winning run) and the number 6 hitter up. Why then, don't you walk that batter to set up the double play? The runner you put on first doesn't matter as once the man on second scores, game over. And it sets up the potential for an inning-ending double play with the number 7 hitter for the Giants coming up. This seems like a DUH situation to me yet I rarely see coaches do this. Of course last night, the Padres didn't do it and, ultimately lost on the aforementioned double over Edmonds head.

- Some positive from the game was how good Germano looks right now. Two games, 0 runs....I think I'll take that.

- Padres get a much needed day off today. My school softball team begins their playoff play Sunday as a #3 seed (team: Scared Hitless) and my club softball team remains winless...FOR NOW! We are on bye this week (Little Blue Pill).

Injury Update from San Fran

Very quick post here today.

Michael Barret is going to be placed on the 15 day DL after hearing a "pop" in his throwing elbow in yesterday's 8-4 win against the Giants. The Padres are not ruling out a ligament tear which, if that is the case, will likely shelve Barrett for the season. Fingers crossed here. The Padres have recalled Colt Morton from Double-A San Antonio. This is likely to mean more playing time for Josh Bard and will put an early test to the Padres supposedly strong farm system of catchers.

The "mystery smudge" on Peavy's right hand has become somewhat of a national story. Rome is Burning and PTI discussed it yesterday and now it appears that umpires will be paying special attention to Jake on the mound. To me this remains a non-issue as it appeared to be no more than dirt and rosin but, in the era of baseball in which we find ourselves it is no surprise that any thing out of the ordinary is being analyzed to this degree.

AGon went 4-5 yesterday! And against Matt Cain which is no small feat! Well done AGon.

Road trip continues tonight in San Fran. I will miss the game as I have an appointment with one Mr. Bruce Springsteen in Anaheim. Baby, I was Born to Run!

Two the Hard Way

Series win in the Bay

Even the cats have Padres fever!!!

Assuming the National League All-Star coaching staff isn't blind, some notable Padres will be right back in the bay in less than a month (Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Trevor Hoffman and Adrian Gonzalez should be locks, more on this in the days to come) The Padres returned to division play this week, beginning a 6-game road trip in San Francisco where Bruce Bochy and company were waiting after an emotional series against the Yankees. The quick recap is this, the Padres dropped Game 1 after taking a late lead thanks to some Mike Cameron heroics, only to have the lead loss by Scott Linebrink (a reoccurring sight this weekend...more on that.)

Game 2 went the way of the Friar, winning in the most unlikely of ways...BY THROWING OUT A RUNNER! Not just any runner either. After Kouzmanoff hit a tie breaking solo homerun in the 10th, Hoffman came on to get the save. After recording two outs, Dave Roberts singles and than attempts to steal. It's Dave Roberts, everybody in AT&T Park knew he was going...including Michael Barrett who gunned him out. A Padres catcher throwing out a would-be base stealer, an unusual sight indeed.

Game 3 went the way of the Padres thanks in large part to a masterful pitching performance by Maddox (for those of you scoring at home, thats 340 career wins). Padres win the series, snapping a two series losing streak and returning the Padres (as of this writing) to a tie for first (Arizona playing L.A. as we speak, although probably not as you read).

Some notes from the past couple days. Is it time to be concerned in Friarland? Scott Linebrink has now given up at least one earned run in his last 3 appearances. On the surface this doesn't seem that alarming. Take into account that Linebrink is the link between the lead and Hoffman and the amount of pressure on the Padres bullpen, it becomes much more concerning. Which naturally leads to this question? Is the lack of Padres offense have an adverse affect on the Padres pitching? The theory being that the Padres pitchers have such a tremendous amount of pressure on them because giving up one run is disastrous. If a starter doesn't have shut-out stuff (say, Peavy on Sunday, giving up 3 runs) then the cause looks nearly hopeless. My thought is Linebrink, as well as the rest of the bullpen staff is beginning to feel that pressure and is cracking somewhat under it. That's understandable. The solution...

...is to make a trade. Lots of rumors circling and lots of wish list players on the fans minds, this one included. Most recently is the rumor of Jermaine Dye, the one-time World Series MVP from the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox are a disaster right now and they have made it clear that Mark Buerhle and Jermaine Dye are on the block. Clearly, the White Sox will want prospects back and presumably some pitching. As always, I throw out the Clay Hensley prospect, although with Wells likely retiring at the end of this year and Maddox only signed to one year, Hensley may be more valuable to San Diego.

Other Padres trade bait options are: Royce Ring (Padres are limited on left-handed relievers and this kid has ridiculous stuff), Chase Headley (the number one rated prospect in the Padres system, which is somewhat thin. He does play 3rd which hopefully is occupied for some time with Kouzmanoff), Scott Linebrink (the guy always mentioned, is it worth blowing up the best bullpen in baseball to bring in a slumping bat?). Dye is currently batting .230 with 11 HR's in the middle of a $7 million year.

Other notable trade rumors: Alex Rios of Toronto (a true leadoff hitter, which Marcus Giles is not), Adam Dunn (plays leftfield like a 9-year old, hits like Casey at the bat), Ken Griffey Jr. (my personal wish list player...)

The fact is the Padres need offense. Barrett is a nice pick up but that won't do it. Gonzalez has been slumping and some of that can be chalked up to him swinging at bad pitches because all he is thrown is bad pitches. The Padres in the last two years have gone 1 and done in the playoffs. This year's team pitches better than them. Let's not waste that talent on the inability to score runs. The offenses are better in October and the Padres can't rely on 2 hit wins then. KT MAKE A MOVE!!!
Which leads to our question of the day?
- Is a power hitting left fielder worth sacrificing any of the bullpen pitchers? If so, what left fielder would it have to be and who is expendable?

Up Next:

Huge series this weekend in Chavez Ravine. The Padres travel north to take on L.A. (Beat L.A., Beat L.A.). San Diego, Arizona, and L.A. are basically tied atop the West and that doesn't look to change anytime soon. Last year's division crown was won thanks to head-to-head record. Huge boost to San Diego to take 2 of 3 from L.A. this weekend and the pitching lines up perfectly, with Young, Peavy and Germano.

P.S. A little thing that made me smile...No Barry Bonds HR's this past three games, and no record breaking hit to happen against San Diego.