Monday, August 23, 2004
The Giants Are Predictable
Seems like there were about a dozen instances over the weekend where I predicted a certain Giants batter would do something and he would either do it or come very close.
A Barry Bonds hme run this week was preceded by me saying out loud, "Home run." Of course, no one was with me at that time.
But Saturday's game against the Mets was rife with pessimistic prognostications. I announced to all those willing to listen at the Stockpot that, with the bases loaded and no outs, Pedro Feliz would hit into a double play in the eighth inning. Sure enough, 6-4-3.
And in the 10th, with the Giants down two and a man on first with two outs, how tough, really, was it for me to say to the bartender, a fellow Giants fan, after he asked me what the situation was, "Well, there's one out, but Grissom's our last hope, because with Bonds on deck he's undoubtedly going to hit into a double play." After that I started actively rooting for the double play. I even said it like a chant, to the possible annoyance of people sitting near me. I figured, come on, if I root for it to happen, it won't. Will it?
Six.
Four.
Three.
We won't talk much about Dustan Mohr's Jose-Cruz-Jr.-like performance in right, which I give him the slightest of slight breaks on since he had to deal with the sun and the shadows, but still. As soon as I saw him head for the shadows, I thought, this is trouble and we're going to lose. These things happen, I am convinced, because I am a Giants fan and I root for them to win. If I were a Mets fan, Mohr would have caught the ball. This is undeniable.
There were of course some positive things to say about that loss. The Giants knocked a couple more teeth out of Tom Glavine's mouth, and Bonds went 4-for-4 with two walks, raising his on-base percentage to approximately one million percent. And the Giants turned six double plays of their own, including a brilliant turn by Pedro Feliz to keep the Mets at bay in the 10th.
Let's also give props to Noah Lowry, who has done some fine work recently for the big league team. And to Kirk Rueter for a fine outing yesterday, a 3-1 win in which he went seven solid.
So Bonds has two weeks to approach 700 home runs. There is a slight chance I will be in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. Anybody know a cheap scalper?
A Barry Bonds hme run this week was preceded by me saying out loud, "Home run." Of course, no one was with me at that time.
But Saturday's game against the Mets was rife with pessimistic prognostications. I announced to all those willing to listen at the Stockpot that, with the bases loaded and no outs, Pedro Feliz would hit into a double play in the eighth inning. Sure enough, 6-4-3.
And in the 10th, with the Giants down two and a man on first with two outs, how tough, really, was it for me to say to the bartender, a fellow Giants fan, after he asked me what the situation was, "Well, there's one out, but Grissom's our last hope, because with Bonds on deck he's undoubtedly going to hit into a double play." After that I started actively rooting for the double play. I even said it like a chant, to the possible annoyance of people sitting near me. I figured, come on, if I root for it to happen, it won't. Will it?
Six.
Four.
Three.
We won't talk much about Dustan Mohr's Jose-Cruz-Jr.-like performance in right, which I give him the slightest of slight breaks on since he had to deal with the sun and the shadows, but still. As soon as I saw him head for the shadows, I thought, this is trouble and we're going to lose. These things happen, I am convinced, because I am a Giants fan and I root for them to win. If I were a Mets fan, Mohr would have caught the ball. This is undeniable.
There were of course some positive things to say about that loss. The Giants knocked a couple more teeth out of Tom Glavine's mouth, and Bonds went 4-for-4 with two walks, raising his on-base percentage to approximately one million percent. And the Giants turned six double plays of their own, including a brilliant turn by Pedro Feliz to keep the Mets at bay in the 10th.
Let's also give props to Noah Lowry, who has done some fine work recently for the big league team. And to Kirk Rueter for a fine outing yesterday, a 3-1 win in which he went seven solid.
So Bonds has two weeks to approach 700 home runs. There is a slight chance I will be in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. Anybody know a cheap scalper?
