Man, isn't baseball fun? Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!
There is something the Giants have going for them, though. The players on the field haven't been Giants fans for as long as we have. They weren't around for 1998, 2002, 2004, or 2003. They aren't expecting bad things. We are. They don't care. They're too ignorant. And hooray for that.
There is still one game left in San Francisco. The pitcher the Giants are counting on has an ERA close to 3.00 and 200 strikeouts on the season. The Giants are still a good team. All they have to do is win a game.
And if they don't win tomorrow, there will be a one-game playoff in San Diego. And if the Braves can't rally to beat the Phillies -- they're down four as of this writing -- the Giants can lose that one-game playoff and then travel to Atlanta for a one-game playoff there. Th...
...wait, did the Phillies really just send Brian Bocock to the plate with the bases loaded? Charlie Manuel is a sadistic, twisted ghoul of a man. Whoa. He struck out. Weird. Go Phillies.
...ere seems to be no way the Giants can screw up that badly, that often to where they miss the playoffs entirely. Seems to be no way. But, oh, there are ways. There are ways.
Barry Zito could have been somebody. He could have been a contender. He could have had people remember him for something more than being a disappointment who hurts the Giants' chances to win when he plays, and hurts those chances when he doesn't just by virtue of his contract. He could have. He didn't. If the Giants collapse, it's hard to see how he can come back. Other than the $50M+ he's still due, of course. Awful. Maybe in two years we can trade him for another contract debacle. Keep your fingers crossed.
In an alternate reality, Jose Guillen hit a three-run home run, and the Giants clinched the West. I would have eaten my crow with a little feta cheese, braised in a wine sauce. It would have been delicious. In this cold, stark reality, Jose Guillen hit into a double play with the tying run on first base. Of course he did. He's not good.
Shake it off, Giants. Win a game. Win one more game.
Hey, the Braves are down five now. I feel like I'm rooting for the Giants to win a playoff spot on a walk-off subpoena.