Ryan Braun can misplay a fly ball when he’s playing DH in an interleague game. So of course he made a crazy Spiderman catch to rob the Giants of a leadoff home run. It was pretty discouraging. All of you haters probably thought, "Here we go again!" You were all set to watch the Giants flail against Brewers pitching again. If they were lucky, maybe they’d get a hit-by-pitch, two passed balls, and a balk.
Not me. I knew the Giants would rally behind Barry Zito. I knew that Jose Guillen would drive in some runs like the run-driver-inner that he is. I even let the world know just how I felt through a completely legitimate tweet:
Completely legitimate. Every real Giants fan knew that Barry Zito was going to shut the Brewers down. Every real Giants fan knew Jose Guillen was going to put six runs on the board with clutch two-out hits. It’s just a feeling we all had.
Ahem.
The last time the Giants lost a series at home against a miserable team, they won their next five series and vaulted into first place. It would be nice if they did it again. Maybe they could even win their next seven series to make up for the last two nights. That’d be nice. Baby steps.
A meltdown from Zito in today’s game might have been the tipping point. Giants fans can be pretty passive and forgiving. But if Zito pitched the Giants into the ground before they even had a chance to bat, things might have turned. And Zito probably figured as much. He knew the team was desperate for a win. He knew the fans were restless. There was a lot of pressure on him. Heckuva game, Zeets.
And as much as I was not for the Jose Guillen move, it’d sure be nice if he Joe Cartered his way into our hearts. There’s nothing better than being wrong if it means the Giants are doing well.
Also, first place.