It was a good read...saddening, yet I like to hope for this outcome:

Linecum = Maddox
Cain = Smoltz
Lowry = Avery
Zito = Glavine

They understandably aren't as good as their Braves counterparts were, but considering their age and potential, our pitching staff could be as potent as that historical one in 4 or 5 years.

Good article. I liked this quote at the end: "The drama of late-season baseball has been transferred from occasional but memorable all-or-nothing contests between great teams, to annual lower-stakes games between the good-to-mediocre. Could be an apt metaphor for the culture at large."

good stuff. what a team.  It's true that the races aren't the same, but on the other hand now we have 4 races per league instead of 2, so that's kinda cool.  

I remember watching that last game - oh the horror. Not as bad as... well nevermind.

Bonds, Matt Williams and Will Clark in the same lineup!

7 of our 8 starters were previous or would be gold glovers, including 4 who won that season.

2 20-game winners.

The Kevin Rogers, Mike Jackson, Rod Beck, lights out bullpen.

The MVP

John Patterson homer against Atlanta.

103 wins.

The absolute and complete annihilation of my heart.

I was fresh out of college and unemployed that whole summer.  That pennant race was my life.

The day after that fateful game, I started my new job - which I still have.

What a year although Will Clark was just so awful that season it was painful.

As amazing as that 93 team was, I still think our 2000 team was the bigger disappointment.

I was three.

my most exciting Giants moment was clinching the division in '02 when I was 12.  I still have my towel.

:(

I remember that race well. Gearing up for my freshman year at college back east. My father and I drove cross-country, stopping to take in minor league games along the way. Heck, we even managed a Cubs game where we walked right up at game time and bought seats three rows behind the visitors dugout (and then ate White Castle burgers after).

Best part of it was the nights driving, trying to find sports/talk radio that would give updates on the Braves and Giants games. We got lucky the further east we went. Dipped down into the south and got some Braves broadcasts. Cheered lustily for the opposing team.

And then that last game of the season. I skipped Japanese class to watch it in the campus center. My roommates stopped by to heckle me even though they were posh squash/crew dorks who could've cared less about baseball.

Then the loss. Broken heart. But ah, the memories.

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I faked asleep that year (we had a tv in my room) then got up to watch the end of games with the volume down, my brother was pissed. For day games it was a walkman with an earbud strung through my long sleeve shirt. I didn't care if it was 100 degrees, I was listening. I even told one girl I would be her boyfriend if she promised not to tell. So I "dated" Lindsay Davis until october.

I was 10 years old. Dragged to the Palo Alto shopping center for a day with shopping with "mom".  I had the radio glued to my ear. Pregame, I was on the edge of my seat, and lo an behold "Tickets will be available at Giants dugout stores for the possible playoff between the Braves and Giants!" There happened to be a dugout store nearby, I rushed over to my mom. I traded everything and I mean everything to convince her to get those tickets. Chores for a month, my allowance for 6 months, I don't care, just let me go! After about an hour, she relented, knowing how many reports from teachers I had received about allegations of radio espionage. I think she also kind of knew I stayed up to watch the games (being found passed out looking at the tv and it mysteriously off in the morning).

Then the game started. And well, we all know the rest. We returned the tickets of course, but I'll never forget how crushed I was. As we returned the tickets I cried. The lady behind the counter asked whats wrong?

We lost.

I'll never forget that day, what I was willing to trade (and well, when you're 10, trade is really all you have) for a chance to go to that game. I'll never forget Will Clark, who was my hero, Bonds, Williams, Thompson, Black, all those guys. I miss when the Giants were fun to watch, when they had heart, when they had passion, when baseball was more than individual accomplishments. Maybe we can return to that, I dunno, but that story sure brings back a lot of memories. . .