It's a strange feeling to sit in an empty apartment, letting a guttural cheer fly past the gums in response to a TiVo-recorded game that is long over. It's an embarrassing, satisfying feeling, and worthy of its own Sniglet, as people have been practicing this particular brand of stupidity since the advent of the VCR.
Michael Tucker took his grand slam stylings to Denver, and made yelping idiots out of many grown men and women. It wasn't just you, and it certainly wasn't just me. In any game where the Giants starter is knocked out in the fifth inning, there are two inherent obstacles to the Giants winning. The first concerns the lump of runs given up by the starter who was knocked out. The second is what looks to be a spectacularly bad bullpen. The bullpen was great yesterday, though, and Michael Tucker bailed the offense out for a second straight weekend.
No matter what loping defeatist attitude Giants fans have copped, there are now, have been, and will always be teams to look down on. Imagine the pall of a Rockies fan who invested a combined seven hours into watching his team play, only to have the two sunny weekend days spoiled by Michael Tucker. Tucker is a very useful player, but one with some easy-to-spot flaws. He seems defensive against left-handed pitching, and most definitely has problems picking up left-handed breaking balls. The Rockies grow sidewinding lefties in a little clay pot on their windowsill, and had two sitting in the bullpen when Tucker hit his grand slam. Again. On a first-pitch fastball from a right-hander. Again. Somewhere, there is a man in purple face paint walking around, clutching clumps of his own hair.
It's hard to know just how good the team is when they've only played two teams, with one of the teams being the punchline to a joke your six-year old wouldn't tell. The Giants have a winning record, sure, but with five of the wins coming against the bunt-the-runner-from-second-to-third-with-two-out Rockies. The Padres series will be a good test, though any test can only be considered a PSAT until Barry Bonds and Moises Alou rejoin the team. Still, it's hard not to feel good about a grand slam, a Pedro Feliz walk to set up the grand slam, and a strong outing by the bullpen in Coors Field. The Rockies could field a team of drowsy raccoons, and it would still be an accomplishment for the Giants to take a series at Coors.
Your thoughts on the series?
Also, there is an article about the SportsBLOGS network up at the New York Times, including a reference to this very site. It's a good feeling to be able to draw some attention toward a fledgling newspaper, using my carefully crafted reputation to help them get off the ground.