Before the game even started, I was looking up Robert Stock, a teenage catcher from USC who could be the #1 pick in the 2009. It's never too early to start daydreaming about the #1 overall pick in 2009, especially when the alternative is watching this team.
I watched last night's game -- Cain pitched well enough to win and the Giants couldn't score. It's like a game of rock-paper-scissors where the other party just keeps choosing paper every...single...time. It's morbidly fascinating. You know the Giants aren't going to score. You know the bullpen is going to come in and urinate kerosene. You know Cain isn't going to get a win. Is it art? I didn't used to think so, but now I'm not so sure.
Just a couple of years ago, it would have taken me days to recover from a loss like last night's. I'd dwell on Ray Durham's fielding, or lack thereof. I'd curse Brad Hennessey's 85-mph mediumball -- bullpen-aided defeats are the cruelest of all losses. Now, though, a loss like this makes me chuckle. No hyperbole. I laugh. Oh, you wacky Keystone Ballplayers; how will you manage to screw up this time?
I'm not sure if I should be worried about the apathy, or if this is a good thing. My lows just aren't as low. I would guess that means my baseball highs wouldn't be as high, but I won't get a chance to test that theory this year. There are 160 games left, and the Giants are on pace to score 162 runs. I already don't care. I'll root for the team, follow the young players, and get giddy should the team win in the late innings of a close game. But I'm done caring that a team starting Rich Aurilia at first can't win.
The organization spent an entire offseason hyperventilating about speed and defense, but the game was lost because Bengie Molina couldn't score from second on a single (he was running on the play, don't forget) and because Ray Durham has the range of Louie Anderson in a body cast. Why should I take it hard that the Giants lost like that? It's hilarious. Every game is like an episode of "I Love Lucy" crossed with a circus fire. I can't wait for tonight.
Keep 'em coming, fellas, don't screw up these next few draft picks, and we'll get 'em in 2010. Is it wrong to stop caring after the second game? Probably. But anything else would burn me out by May.