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Worst Kind of Losses

This is a general question to all baseball fans.  It's supposed to pretty light-hearted - all teams go through them though this season the Giants have had more than their share.

What is the worst way to watch your team lose?  I'm looking for which is the most frustrating, gut-wrenching, fist-through-the-wall type of loss and why.

The candidates:

A. Complete blowout.  A never-ending parade of opposing baserunners knocks our starter out early and it goes downhill from there.  The opposing box score is full of lines like 4-for-6 with a walk.  Meanwhile, the Giants are three-hit.  Lots of 1-2-3 innings then running back out to the field to get shelled.

B. Pitch well and lose.  The Matt Cain 2007 special.  Starter throws an eight-inning complete game loss, allowing only an unearned run.  The Giants never manage to punch through for some run support.

C. Hit well and lose.  The Giants' bats come alive for 9 runs on 15 hits, but the pitching staff can't hold a lead.  All our crooked numbers seem to have a bigger crooked number under them and in the end we lose 11-9.

D. Bullpen blows late lead.   Plenty familiar with these.  Giants enter the ninth with a two-run lead and the guy we put out there gives up a couple of walks and a walk-off dong and they celebrate like they won the World Series.

E. Late comeback falls short.  We get down big early, but the offense and bullpen keep it together.  The Giants claw almost all the way back only to leave them loaded in the ninth.

My personal vote is for E.  Your head fills with all these images of a walkoff win then you get yanked back to reality by a couple horrible at-bats.  Is there a worse feeling in baseball than taking off your rally cap and turning it back rightside-out?

Alternative:  what is the most satisfying kind of victory?

Poll
Worst kind of loss
Utter Blowout
3 votes
Pitch Well, Lose Anyway
15 votes
Hit Well, Lose Anyway
0 votes
Bullpen Implosion
57 votes
Failed Rally
7 votes

82 votes | Poll has closed

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

0 recs  |  Comment 26 comments

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Re: Worst Kind of Losses
The kind of loss that happens after a HUGE jinx. That's what kind of loss is worst.

I hope for your sake and ours this doesn't end up being that loss.

Which means we have to win. Any losing that happens today, it's the loss diary's fault. I hereby defer fault from myself and all others to Mr. Jinxy over here.

Interesting question, though.

Coming to you by proxy (I adopted: Dave Righetti!)

by howtheyscored on Jul 3, 2007 6:23 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
I fail to see how this diary presents any kind of jinx. maybe I'm missing something, but this seems like a perfectly innocuous and interesting question.

For me, the best answer available is D, the blown save. But I think there are several variations within this kind of loss. One of the worst is a game where your team leads from the get-go, and although they blow several opportunities to pad the lead, the starter pitches so well you get lulled into overconfidence before the rug is pulled out from under you at the end. Another - the worst in my opinion - is a combination of D and E, where the team rallies back from a big deficit to take an unlikely late lead only to then blow it.

by English Professor on Jul 3, 2007 6:49 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
This kind of diary... a "worst loss" diary, is just begging to be cosmically followed up by a devastating or embarassing loss.

It is an interesting question, but it's just tempting some punk ass baseball diety looking to give somebody a hard time.

Coming to you by proxy (I adopted: Dave Righetti!)

by howtheyscored on Jul 3, 2007 7:20 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
I move that these types of diaries can only be opened after a loss. So don't worry people, there will be plenty of opportunities for that.
Barry Bombs gear | comics | Ray - grounded for LIFE

by Natto on Jul 3, 2007 7:22 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
Look at it this way - would you rather have a "Most Satisfying Type of Win" diary before a game? :)

by sfmaynard on Jul 3, 2007 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
Unfortunately, I fear that would also be a jinx. It's sort of a catch-22, this world of superstition.

I can no more mention a pitcher who hasn't given up a hit than I can step on the 50 yard line... and so on. It's all in the George Siefert Teaches Sports Handbook.

Coming to you by proxy (I adopted: Dave Righetti!)

by howtheyscored on Jul 3, 2007 7:34 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
It's just a little good-natured superstition-ing. Hundreds of things could be jinxes in the world some of us live in.
Coming to you by proxy (I adopted: Dave Righetti!)

by howtheyscored on Jul 3, 2007 7:32 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
So it was written...
Disturbing: How fast we sank after losing Armando.

by victor frankenstein on Jul 4, 2007 6:12 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

D.
Where either the starter or bullpen blows an 8th inning sure road win and then Giants go down meekly in the 9th.

by wilriv21 on Jul 3, 2007 6:35 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

D
Where the team goes into extra innings tied, and then the closer walks the leadoff hitter, balks him over to second, he gets over to third, the closer balks him in, and then the closer figures "Fuck it, I haven't eaten a donut in like 8 minutes" and gives up a game-ending homer.
Steve Kline: He's pretty okay!

by groug on Jul 3, 2007 6:40 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: D
Oooh, good one. Although I'm fairly certain that such a thing just isn't reasonably possible.

Oh... wait...

Coming to you by proxy (I adopted: Dave Righetti!)

by howtheyscored on Jul 3, 2007 6:42 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: D
That pretty much takes the cake, I do believe.
Omar Vizquel hates Joey Barton too. He's a wanker, mate!

by PacBellBoozer on Jul 3, 2007 8:35 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
One like today.
And I get so high, I just can't feel it, in and out my brain, running through my veins.

by Tajiri on Jul 3, 2007 6:44 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
Context counts. I don't mind losing much to the Reds because it makes my father happy or to the Cubs because my son roots for them. But there's no such thing as an acceptable loss to the Dodgers (although a couple of Koufax's outings were so damn masterful I did end up with a tip my hat and move on feeling).

by NearestNorwich on Jul 3, 2007 7:39 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
The bullpen implosion is by far the worst kind of loss. You are all happy because you are leading the game 5-0 and all you have to do is get 6 more outs. You bring in your lights out setup man to pitch the 8th inning and he gives up a 3-run homer to Scott Spezio, then your even more lights out closer comes in and gives up a go-ahead 2-run double to Troy Glaus and you dont win the World Series...

Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory is the most demoralizing feeling. Complete blowouts are like executions - quick and painless. The other 3 are frustrating but at least have positives to take from them. The negative of a bullpen implosion completely erases all the positives of the previous innings so all you can take from the game is how Kevin Correia gave up another game winning homer, not that Barry Bonds hit #751 and we were leading for more than half the game.

by joebirdie3 on Jul 3, 2007 7:58 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
The worst loss for me is the one where not every player is individually just playing awful baseball. Those are the only games that I ever leave thinking "I really should have just read a couple chapters in 'Little, Big' instead."
Coming to you by proxy (I adopted: Dave Righetti!)

by howtheyscored on Jul 3, 2007 8:31 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
I think the worst loss is when your team is, like 10 games under 500, you've got a lot of good guys on the team, but they're all hitting anywhere from 40 to 90 points below their career averages.  But you, you stupid fucking optimist, keep expecting these guys to play like they can.

by allfrank on Jul 3, 2007 9:51 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
Boy, I sure it never comes to that.
Barry Bombs gear | comics | Ray - grounded for LIFE

by Natto on Jul 3, 2007 9:53 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
I'm surprised that no one has chosen E...

I always feel crushed when everyone battles so hard and gets your hopes up and then falls one hit short of winning.

by sfmaynard on Jul 3, 2007 10:22 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
I think it's because we're so accustomed to D.
Barry Bombs gear | comics | Ray - grounded for LIFE

by Natto on Jul 3, 2007 10:23 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
I feel crushed when that happens, but in my opinion at least I watched a game that was worth my time.
Coming to you by proxy (I adopted: Dave Righetti!)

by howtheyscored on Jul 3, 2007 10:41 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
Close , hard - fought losses are worth a "Damn."
Castrated - offense losses underwrite my dentist's Porsche.
Armandolike Maxipad surrenders lead to picking glass out of the carpet.
Disturbing: How fast we sank after losing Armando.

by victor frankenstein on Jul 4, 2007 6:19 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
The worst kind of loss will be however we lose today, with Matt Cain pitching against some piece of shit named Belisle. To lose a game when we have a matchup so much in our favor will really hurt.
Randy Messenger: "I don't care if Cincy is a bandbox. Nobody takes me deep"

by rxmeister on Jul 4, 2007 7:23 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
The worst losses are ones where we're on the road, playing a team that has at least one hitter most of us despise (Ron Cey for me), and we somehow manage to have a lead in the 9th inning. Then said player comes to bat and gets the game-winning hit. We get a loss, the obnoxious fans get to celebrate at our expense, and those fans are reinforced in their belief their guy is the greatest ever, despite us knowing for sure he's the most overrated player ever.

I didn't understand your last question. Please explain the term "satisfying win."

Your 2012 NL ERA champion: Sergio Romo

by Lyle on Jul 4, 2007 7:42 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
I didn't vote because you didn't list the worst type: strand tons of runners on base throughout the game and lose by a run.

by positiveuphemism on Jul 4, 2007 7:51 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Worst Kind of Losses
Let's see ... nail-biter, goes to twelve innings, in the top of the twelfth the Giants hit back-to-back home runs.

In the bottom of the twelfth, Bob Dernier hits an inside the park home run to win it. For the Phillies. At Veterans.

That's the worst kind of loss.

Thank you, -Vardibidian.

by Vardibidian on Jul 4, 2007 5:09 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

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