Thursday, September 11, 2003
Steve Finley, Honorary Giant
Well, he didn't sign with the Giants over the off-season, but it was almost like he played for them last night, hitting a three-run jack to cap a five-run rally in the eighth to give Arizona a 5-4 win over the Dodgers and helping us lower our magic number to eight. Memo to the L.A. coaching staff: Where the hell was Eric Gagne? Take a chance, Jim Tracy! Bring him in! What are you doing? Can he just not pitch two innings, or even an inning-and-a-third? He used to be a starter, for the love of Dave Righetti! There was a save situation in there, so he could have gotten a cheap stat. You can't afford to lose any more games. Not that I care that the Dodgers lost, mind you.
And here's a great quote from Tracy:
"The suggestion is there that [Gagne]'s completely invincible, and there's a ninth inning that still has to be played, and they're one gapper away from tying the game," Tracy said. "You get into a tie situation, and you have no one to save the game." [article]So it's more important for Gagne to get a save than for the Dodgers to get a win? Sheesh. I don't understand this mentality much.
Three more home runs, a good outing from Woody, and another win over San Diego. But speaking of the Padres, there's word that Benito may go back there when he's done in San Francisco. 2004 just might be Yorvit's time.
