E.K. NATION

It would have been a lot easier to take if the Giants had lost 12-1, like they did in 1993.

But the Giants don't lose games like this anymore. They lose them in heartbreaking fashion. They're ahead, close to victory, and then it suddenly falls apart. Six outs from a World Series title in 2002, a Jose Cruz Jr. dropped fly ball away from a likely NLDS victory in 2003, and now a blown 3-0 ninth-inning lead that, if held, would have probably forced a playoff game today in San Francisco against the Dodgers, with a backup playoff game for the wild card in San Francisco against the Astros. And how could they lose two one-game playoffs at home in a row? Just hang on to the lead, and that's pretty much the situation.

Seven runs in the ninth inning. Granted, they haven't lost a game like this before. Unbelievable.

They simply have to lose games this way, don't they? Saturday afternoon I was feeling fantastic. Just get this win, and then we have Jason Schmidt going in L.A. on Sunday with a chance to force a one-game playoff for the division.

But no.

We have no choice but to look back on games like this one, an April affair in San Diego where the Giants blew ninth- and tenth-inning leads and lost. We've said before here that games in April mean just as much as games in October. And I had a sinking feeling, somehow on that day, that this loss was going to come back to haunt us. Little did I know.

So the playoffs go on without the Giants for the first time in three seasons, and it sucks.

Let's make some changes over the winter. Half these guys should not be Giants next year. We need a bat behind Barry Bonds, we need another starter, and if we're going to be bring in closers to try to lock down wins, we might as well get someone who can actually do the job. I'm not even thinking about who's on the market right now. I'm too busy reminiscing about the glorious time we had, holding a 3-0 in the ninth inning against the Dodgers on Saturday.