The World’s Series of Base-Ball 2010: Discuss/Vent
Submitted by Sarah D. Bunting on October 27, 2010 – 3:15 PM47 Comments
I have no idea how to call the Series this year. I want to say that it’s a short series so pitching becomes more important blah blah, but I have trouble calling it for San Francisco even given that. I think it goes to at least a Game Six, but that’s all I can reasonably predict from here.
All that said: SF in seven.
Alternative theories, weeping and wailing, and further pledges for the Fall Classic welcomed in the comments — good luck to both teams and their fans, and if anyone is up for a live chat for one of the games, please let me know!
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Tags: Tomato Nation Fall Classic
I’m in Cablevision Fox exile (Foxile?). I will have to make do on dvr-ing the next-day replay on MLBN. Which is significantly less fun. ::pouts::
I can’t be the only citizen of TN who will be blisteringly angry if the Giants win, right? Because I am a sad, bitter Dodgers fan whose only joy in this rivalry currently comes from the number “1954.”
Go Giants Go! Ahem. I mean Hi!
As far as the series goes…. I just don’t know. I’m trying to be optimistic that my Giants will win, but I really don’t know… Our three and four guys have been folding like cheap tents and we haven’t really had the run support we’ve needed. I’m a little nervous, especially with runs the Rangers seem to be putting up.
Anybody else find it rather odd that Molina’s gonna get a ring no matter what? Giants traded him to Ranger’s mid season and apparantly if you spend half the season with a team you get a WS ring regardless. Sars, do you have the stats on how often, or not often that’s happened at all? Because that has to be an anomaly. Am I right? Bueller, Bueller…. Frye?
And as an aside. I just heard the best story about the Giants/Philly story that ended with one of my favorite one liners ever. “We came, we kicked your ass, we drank your whiskey and now we’re taking your plane!” Awesome.
@ attica: I just read that Cablevision pitched them a new offer today. With any luck, it’ll be resolved before too much of the Series has gone by.
As for the series itself, I watched most of Baseball Tonight’s preview last night, and I’m still no closer to being able to make a prediction. Beyond their aces (and one strange, bearded closer), I know next to nothing about their pitching staffs, although they’re clearly both good enough, having largely shut down the offenses of the Phils and Yanks.
On paper, Texas would seem to have the better offense, but the Giants have an old school way of manufacturing runs that’s proved pretty effective, too. My gut says Texas in 6, based on their offense and the way they’ve been fielding the ball these past two series, but they may be hurt by the NL home field advantage, which would force Vlad Guerrero to play that screwy right field in San Francisco four times. Ah, the hell with it, Texas in 6.
I have nothing to say about pitching/hitting/the actual sport. But after 39 years in a football town…I think it is the Ranger’s turn.
I have no technical knowledge of baseball to apply. I just know that I will be rooting my arse off for the Rangers, because they were responsible for the elimination of the Yankees. Living in Southern California, it seems like the thing to do to hate the Giants anyway, but really, the truth is that my Yankees hatred knows no bounds. As someone who rediscovered baseball as a Mariners fan, then moved to Angels territory, I find it impossible NOT to hate the Yankees.
And also I hate Jeter’s smug face. GO RANGERS.
@Tylia- I think it’s kinda cool Bengie gets a ring no matter what. I mean, he was a Giant for more than half the season, and he was pretty instumental in getting them there. I think he earned it either way.
I’m going to root for my Giants, but at the same time I won’t be super dissapointed if the Rangers take it. Both teams have earned it, in my opinion. They’re both underdogs when it comes to the series and they’ve both played some good ball this season. Obviously, I want the home team to triumph, but yeah, the Rangers are good guys.
I kinda dig series like this, myself. But I’m the least competetive person in the world so I’m always happy when I feel it’s a win-win.
I’m terrible at predictions and, in any case, am too excited/hopefull/nervous for my Rangers to even try hazarding a guess. I know it feels like we had a couple of significant bullpen breakdowns in both of the earlier series (the 8th inning seems to be our nemisis), so I’m hoping those guys can tighten things up a bit this time around.
It’s been a wonderfully fun ride. I’ve really enjoyed this year’s team, particularly seeing how much fun they seem to have playing with each other. (Hew.) We’ve had some good starts the last few seasons, but always flagged in the back half, so I spent most of the month of August holding my breath. Winning the AL West was great and at this point I’m just enjoying our “free baseball.”
Go Rangers!
I’m normally a NL homer, but I’m rooting for the Rangers because that’s the team of my best friend since college and we initially bonded over watching the Yankees sweep the Rangers out of the playoffs our freshman year (during which, if I remember correctly, the Rangers scored all of one run). Since then, she’s had to put up with some really lousy teams while listening patiently to my glee over my Cardinals winning a couple pennants and one World Series, so rooting her team on is the least I can do.
I wouldn’t even know where to begin in terms of predicting the series, because I know nothing about either team. Except that the Rangers are in football territory and could use a win, and they were wonderful in knocking out first Tampa Bay and then the Yankees (why yes, I am a Red Sox fan, what gave it away?). Moreover, I was impressed not just Cliff Lee, but with Colby Lewis too, not only going eight innings but actually getting three strikeouts in the eighth inning — I’m no expert, but that seemed pretty impressive to me.
So I’ll be rooting for the Rangers.
Oooh a live chat for a game? Sounds like a WIN.
I dunno. Conventional wisdom seems to favor the Rangers cause they are big hitters. But honestly, in the Yankees-Rangers series, let’s be clear – the Yankees pitching blew chunks. And so did their offense. So who knows?
I want the Giants to win, and it might be their year. After all, they did put aside the Phillies to get here.
As a Twins fan, I’m torn–I love the Rangers for beating the Yankees, but if it’s not going to be the Twins, then I kind of want to vote against the AL altogether.
Also, maybe this has already come up on a previous comment thread, but I just wanted to note how much Tim Lincecum looks like the kid from ‘Dazed and Confused’, and I think it would be awesome if Ben Affleck showed up to this first game, with a paddle, to hit it menacingly while Lincecum pitched. That would be the coolest.
@Emily: You should Google around to find the WSJ (…I think?) interview with the kid who played Mitch and how he gets that Lincecum comparison all the time. (“Wiley Wiggins,” I think his name is?)
I’m assuming Mitch wouldn’t have vapor-locked on that play last inning, but who knows. Heh.
Go Rangers! That is all.
@Heather I feel exactly opposite from you. I can’t root for the Rangers because they beat my Yankees. Yes, Rangers had a great team and they played great ball. But being a fan of a team is irrational at times. So it’s San Fran all the way for me. They’ve got a scrappy, don’t expect them to do well hey where did they come from team. There’s something to admire in that. Plus, SF – that’s an awesome town.
As I write this, Giants just took the lead in Game 1. The crowd sounds pumped. I say SF in 7.
I’m kinda rooting for the Rangers. I’m still somewhat bitter about the Phillies trading Cliff Lee away — so is he, apparently — and I’d like to see him win a World Series ring. Plus a friend of mine has been a Rangers fan for 20 years without much post-season happiness, while I don’t know any SF Giants fans personally.
It’s not that I hate the Bay Area … I lived in Berkeley for 3 years and loved it. And I’m not resentful of the Giants having beaten the Phillies; the Fightin’s just weren’t producing any offense and didn’t really deserve to win the NLCS. I just think that baseball-wise the Rangers, in the immortal phrase, “are due”.
(watching Game One) Go Rangers!! (but what a TERRIBLE time for Lee to remind us he’s human after all. There’s much wailing and gnashing of teeth at my house tonight. Especially because I’ve got teething 7 month old twins who’ve been, well, wailing since we put them to bed)
As a non-baseball fan (who happens to be engaged to a Reds fan) I’m glad I’m not the only one to see the Dazed and Confused connection. And yes, it’s totally Wiley Wiggins, who I thought was super-cool in the mid-90s.
Just added $89 to the Fall Classic, so that this Series turns out better for the Giants and the Bay Area than than ’89 did.
I’m rooting for the Giants based solely on the entertainment value of Brian Wilson’s crazy, hyper-bearded, gimp-associating persona. I’ve been fascinated.
Anyone else in Foxile, or just in general out in the cold, TV-wise? Stream the games live from here: http://atdhe.net/index.html
I promise the game will be available tonight. Watched Game 1 this way, since I am cable-less.
Also, go Rangers!
Let’s go Giants!! After suffering through years of Giants baseball, shivering in Candlestick, moping in 2002 (I lived in SoCal so it was especially bad) I would LOVE to see them take it.
@C8h10n4o2, I think my favorite thing about Brian Wilson (aside from the hotness of course) is how the sports reporters react ever time “The Machine” is brought up. The nervous looks and smiles, all “oh no! Don’t bring up the dude in the gimp suit! I don’t know how that makes me feel!” Hee.
I’m not even a baseball fan, but I was eating dinner at an Armadillo Willy’s in San Mateo (~20 miles from SF) and I have to say, having the whole place staring at the TVs and getting less and less subtle about their cheering after some plays was sort of fun. By the end of the game we were practically high fiving complete strangers the next table over.
@Tylia- I think who gets a ring is entirely up for the winning team to decide. The Red Sox gave a bunch of retired players rings in ’04, as well as one to Nomar Garciaparra (who got traded a mere two and half months before the victory.)
Topic! My Yankee-hatin’ heart would love to see the Rangers win, but a Giants win would be cool if only to watch Colin Hanks lose his mind on Twitter. He’s a hard-core Giants fan.
Nicole: If the current speculation over the Machine’s identity holds up, I’ll be doubly rooting for the Giants!
I’m from Royals territory and therefore haven’t had much interest in baseball since the ’80s, so this is my way of getting back at all the people who are only interested in soccer (mainly Beckham) every four years.
Re: Nicole “The nervous looks and smiles, all “oh no! Don’t bring up the dude in the gimp suit! I don’t know how that makes me feel!” Hee.” Thanks for that. I couldn’t stop laughing but it’s so true. Nobody knows what to do with Wilson, with the beard, with being such an offbeat interview. Thanks to you, I’m now imagining Boche having the following discussion with the pitching coach Righette “Bring out the Gimp.” “Gimp’s sleeping.” “Wake him up.” I mean, right?!?!
Last night’s game was a total nail biter until it wasn’t. According to one of the other posters, Rangers pitching is prone to falling apart in the 8th, but damn, who knew. And when Rowan gets a hit in the eighth, ROWAN!!! Who was pretty much benched the whole season for producing nothing at all! I mean damn.
I’m still kind of blown away by the first two games. We struggles all season to put up more than three runs for several ball games at a time and then all the sudden… Boom 11 runs, boon 10 more! The hell.
And as a total aside. You can follow Wiley Wiggins on Twitter, the guy who played mitch on Dazed and Confused. I use to read his blog all the time, plus he had a book of short stories that was pretty good. Also, that WSJ article was way too funny.
I attended Game 3 of the ALDS and Game 1 of the ALCS, both of which featured multiple runs against the Rangers in the 8th. I’m going to be at the Ballpark again this Saturday and plan on spending the top of the 8th in the ladies room, singing “lalalalalaalalala” with my fingers in my ears. Call me when the Giants at bat is over.
The national media is trying SO HARD to get pot-related innuendo into discussions of Lincecum, in the manner of an old-school gossip rag. It’s kind of funny. “The shaggy-haired righty made a curious mental mistake, losing track of the runners and outs…”; “The Giants’ ultra-laid-back ace seemed to be wandering in a fog for much of the first inning…”; “Lincecum, a free spirit, occasionally demonstrates a loss of focus on the field, and the Rangers got a glimpse of this side of him…” At this point, it’s like a game. I want him to get two more starts just to see if someone can work “pungent” into a sentence, or write about him seemingly developing “increased hunger” to win.
I like Brian Wilson, but he’s going right up to the edge of the too-much line, and I’m surprised the baseball reporters aren’t a little more jaded about these “closer as Eccentric Character” shenanigans by now. I mean, Papelbon was ingratiating for a season or too as well, and look how that’s going. When he (Wilson) is giving an interview in which he’s not putting on a show, and you get past the blacked beard, he just seems like a well-mannered, well-spoken kid from New England. I guess reporters think if they cooperate in making the players “larger than life,” it’s to everyone’s benefit. Shrug.
On one hand, I’m inclined to cheer for the Rangers, since it would be cool for them to win their first World Series appearance.
On the other, I’m in a part of Oregon that’s roughly halfway between Seattle and San Francisco and since we don’t have our own team and the Mariners … well … you know, aren’t good, we root for the Giants in the postseason. So they have a slight edge for me. Particularly since Bonds doesn’t play for them anymore.
Go Giants!
Not a huge baseball fan, and generally only care about sports when it “counts” (playoffs, etc.) (except football– shut up football), but it’s really exciting to be in San Francisco right now. The Bay Area hasn’t really had much to root for since ’02, and everyone is really jazzed. I’ve never seen hipster bars get so excited about, well, anything. Woo!
I like both teams–I worked for both teams while they were here so I’m kinda happy to see them both there.
Every time they say “Brian Wilson” I start singing the Barenaked Ladies song–
‘Lyin’ in bed, just like Brian Wilson did….”
Probably just me, though.
@Gretchen: Not just you. Probably just us two, but…not just you.
I think of the BNL song too!
Maybe that’s why Wilson has worked overtime to cultivate the oddball persona. Having that name AND pitching in California, he was at such risk for cutesy allusions to the Beach Boy. I would be coming up with preemptive ways to get that off the front page too. “Brian Wilson brought more of his good vibrations to a 1-2-3 9th.” “Wouldn’t it be nice…if Brian Wilson won the Cy Young?” “How do you hit a fastball like that? God only knows!” (OK, for added lame-assity, read this last one in a Tim McCarver voice:) “That wasn’t chin music, Joe, those were pet sounds. Pet sounds from Brian Wilson!”
I’m enjoying this WS a lot; bummer about the TV ratings. The Giants have always been my favorite NL team and I have nothing against the Rangers (except their connection to the Bush family). You could make the “It’s time” case for either team. SF has had so much futility, though. WS-wise, that rivalry with LA is almost as lopsided as the NY/Boston one used to be. So I’m rooting hard for them.
I’m enjoying this WS a lot; bummer about the TV ratings.
I just don’t understand how even the most rabidly partisan baseball fan isn’t watching the World Series, if s/he’s a baseball fan. (I mean, I wasn’t, last night, because I had to work, but I was following it via Blackberry.) I know it happens, I know there’s a lot of other stuff on TV, blah blah blah, but I don’t get how a fan who is SO into his/her own team gets that into the team if he/she isn’t into baseball enough to keep watching it after that team’s season is over. Does that make sense? Like, are you a fan of…being a fan?
I’m being too hard on people, I guess; I take breaks from the game too, during the season, because there are only so many hours in the day…and if I’m being honest, I don’t pay a ton of attention to spring training. But this is for all the marbles. The whole country now is obliged to care about the Superbowl; we can’t care a little more about this?
Also, this: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/11/01/weve-likely-seen-the-last-of-the-early-world-series-starts/
Earlier starts should see more kids watching, not fewer, but who knows how they read these things sometimes.
“At this point, it’s like a game. I want him to get two more starts just to see if someone can work “pungent” into a sentence, or write about him seemingly developing “increased hunger” to win.” Heh! You just KNOW that’s gonna happen. Odds on McCarver doing that are what… 3 to 1?
Re: TV Ratings…. I’m actually kind of not that surprised. Haven’t they consistently not had great ratings for the series? And I think the way the series is set up in contrast to our collective attention spans may speak to the ratings. I think there’s a tipping point for a lot of fans that if your team’s not in it, your attention wains the longer the series goes on. I’m not sure if it means that most fans nationally are fair weather fans of the game or what. It just is what it is. But I think it speaks to how the format of the series feels a little outdated and draggy…. My SO thinks the leagues could do some things to change the format of series that might add a little more intrigue to the game, but it’s hard to say for sure….
We’re Giants fans and I must admit I don’t get the beard. I can’t help but think of The Ballad of Badbeard from P+F. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N3HYTgT4OU
Wheneven they show Wilson my son starts singing “arg, arg, arg, arg…”
@Rebecca U. Great. Now I’m going to be doing that too. It’s catchy and fitting! Darn You. My husband is going to look at me like a crazy person now, not that he doesn’t like 500 times a day but this will just give him one more reason….. as if he needed one….
Aw. Good for you, Giants!
(Condolences, Rangers fans.)
Good series; *great* Game 5. Every pitcher who took the mound tonight earned his pay. The trophy comes to the Bay at long last.
I’m just going to throw this out there. The 2010 Giants: most underestimated Series-winning team since the 1990 Reds? I can’t remember what the “line” was on those Marlins teams that beat the Indians and Yankees respectively, so I’m not sure. But how did so many people miss how good these Giants were, and has an underdog manhandled the overwhelming favorite with such seeming ease since Cincinnati’s sweep of the “dynasty” A’s?
SF was (unfairly, in my opinion) widely considered to have backed into the postseason because San Diego hobbled down the stretch. When they only split the two home games with Atlanta, they were supposed to be dead going into Turner Field. Then Philly was considered the best of the final four teams, and Halladay was going to mow them down. Then almost no one gave them a chance in the WS; all we heard about prior to Game 1 was Cliff Lee’s dominance and the Rangers’ hitting. Even this morning, the preview on ESPN’s site gave the Rangers a 70 percent chance of forcing a Game 6. That’s extraordinary: they had beaten Lee once, they were up 3-1 (with two shutouts), their starting pitcher was a two-time Cy Young winner who recently struck out 14 Braves in a two-hit shutout, and still they were only given a 30 percent chance of closing it out, and Bobby Valentine was *still* talking last night about how San Francisco couldn’t score runs. When was the last time this many baseball-smart people were asleep? (Let’s not be mean and say “The middle of the Rangers’ lineup.”)
@Todd, I totally agree. It was crazy. And I totally bought into it early on. I remember thinking the Giants would get killed by the Phillies, and my dad actually said something to the effect of “Junior Varsity is beating the Phillies.” I never expected them to get this far, but damn if I’m not thrilled they did.
Once they were in the Series, it seemed like TPTB were still giving the Rangers the edge because of their “slugging.” And tonight did I hear Ozzie Guillen say “Rangers in 7?” For reals? He did not really think that even if the Rangers won tonight they’d win two games in San Francisco, one against Cain? Totally underrated and I think it absolutely worked to their advantage. No one expected them to get this far, let alone win. So awesome.
Hey, I picked Los Gigantes…and am a little surprised in retrospect that I thought it would take 7 games, though with the information we all had at the time, I think that was a valid call. As underrated as the Giants were throughout the postseason, I don’t think it was an insulting prediction to say that they’d have some trouble with the Texas lineup (or the Philly lineup). These are professional hitters. Some of them are going to get wood on Cain’s shteez.
The Giants are a very good, very…what’s the word I want here. “Businesslike,” I guess, although they obviously take joy in the game also, which is nice to see, but they’re mentally tough and didn’t get too rattled by anything. And their great strength was pitching, which is what you want in a short series. I don’t think anyone should be surprised that they won, or even that they won with such dispatch — but I’m already getting kinda sick of the whole “we don’t get no respect” subplot w/r/t the coverage of the series, because as good as the Giants are, both of their previous opponents *also* did a lot of things to beat themselves, and I don’t think it takes anything away from the Giants to note that Ron Washington’s in-game managerial decisions are, at best, bee-zarre.
Because, you know, the Giants capitalized on it. Tampa and the Yanks couldn’t. That’s part of a championship team, too — keeping your foot on the opponent’s neck.
Any Rangers fans want to talk about what it was like watching Washington do his thing, whatever that thing was?
I won’t speak for the Rangers fans, and I’m sure they have an interesting take, but I don’t know…what the players do on the field is so often the difference between a manager’s decisions looking bizarre and incomprehensible versus bold and inspired. The maestro may set the tempo, but the fiddlers have to actually hit all the notes. There are a half dozen or more things that could have haunted Bochy all offseaon too, had his team lost.
Philly and Texas lost because, for the most part, their bats went cold against starters who were superb (except for Sanchez, who just didn’t have enough left in the tank) and their own aces didn’t come up as big as advertised. SF’s pitching being good was not a story; the news was the Texas lineup being outperformed in areas such as situational hitting, knowing when to go for the productive out, running up the opposing starter’s pitch count to get him out of the game sooner. Washington bears some of the blame, but I don’t see him as a goat here, necessarily. If Lee had blown it by Renteria, the final Game 5 score was 1-0 Texas on Cruz’s solo off Lincecum, and we were headed for Game 6 tomorrow, we’d be hearing about what geniuses Lee, Molina, and Washington were to pitch to Renteria when first base was open. (Not sure how much input RW had into that, but still.)
@ToddK; “Philly and Texas lost because, for the most part, their bats went cold against starters who were superb (except for Sanchez, who just didn’t have enough left in the tank)” I don’t think it was so much what Sanchez had in the tank so much as it was which Sanchez was likely to show up to the field. We nicknamed him Sybil because he was very much a split personality. He certainly has the stuff to be lights out and showed that aspect of himself in a couple games this season. He’s just as capable of having teams run him up the flag pole the first couple of innings. Its just a matter of which personality he brings it to the game. He was the chink in our armor but only a minor one this post season. It coulda been alot worse. It coulda been *Gasp* Zito! I was worried Bumgarner was the other chink, but he managed to be pretty incredible and completely shut me up.
By my count, the Freak rang up 13 SOs in the Series, so that’s $65 more for PIFB. I was rooting for the Rangers, but have to admit that it would be a crime against humanity for Lincecum (and the rest of the Giants’ pitching staff) to have pitched as well as he (they) did and not win the trophy. Great, great WS; eff the haters.
SF’s pitching squad is crazy good – how many 0 ERA’s? That being said – still super proud of my Rangers!! Antlers are still up in Texas!