Tournament of Happy Giants Postseason Memories: The Elite 8

The Giants won the World Series in 2014, and the last out wasn't one of your eight favorite Giants postseason moments, apparently. The decisions are only going to get more ridiculous from here.

Hello, and welcome back to the Tournament of Happy Giants Postseason Moments! We started with 64 moments in time, 64 things you watched during a Giants postseason run, and now we're down to the Elite 8. These eight moments are:

• The final out of a World Series victory
• The final out of another World Series victory
• The best Giants defensive play in the postseason since Willie Mays
• The winning home run of the first World Series victory
• Madison Bumgarner being himself
• Mat Latos being dragged down to the underworld by the shadow sentinels
• The Giants winning a pennant instantly
• The Giants winning a pennant slowly and savoring it

You will have to choose. You will have enemies. It begins now.

Romo saves it vs. Panik and Crawford save it

You might think this is a mismatch. But, really, what are the stakes, here? If Cabrera is looking backdoor sinker and hits it 500 feet, do the Giants lose Game 4, or do they come back in extra innings? And if they come back in extra innings, do they lose in Game 5? And if they lose in Game 5, what about the two home games, Game 6 and Game 7? Maybe -- maybe -- the Giants lose Game 4 and the subsequent three games. I know I don't want to find out, that's for sure.

What if the ball goes under Joe Panik's glove, though? What if he tries to flip it, and it (understandably) sails wide of second, and everyone is safe? That's two on, no outs, and the momentum of the game is clearly on the side of the Royals. Now, momentum is always a double play away from disappearing, but note that probability would have been on the side of the Royals, too. They would have been likely to score at least one run, which means they would have been a touch more likely to win the game. Romo's save was cathartic. But was Panik's play necessary?

It's worth thinking about. On the other hand, waaaaaaatch the perfect movement of the ball curl around the outside of the plate as Cabrera thinks "Slidersliderslidersliderawwwwwwwwman." Hey, we were all waiting for the slider, Miguel. We were all waiting for the slider.

The final out of 2010 or the homer that led to the final out

Oh, my stars, a chicken-or-the-egg debate. Confession: When Edgar Renteria hit his home run, I was convinced that the Giants were going to win the World Series. Even as a silly person who thought the same thing after Shawon Dunston's home run in Game 6, even as a jaded Giants fan who had been disappointed again and again and again, I thought, "There it is." It was pure rapture.

When Nelson Cruz struck out, though, it actually happened. For the innings after Renteria's dinger, I still went through all of the permutations of how the Giants could still screw it up. It wasn't fun. After Wilson got the last out, though, I spent only the next several hours wondering how the Giants could still screw it up. Turns out, there was no way for them to screw it up. It actually happened. IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

On the other hand, the home run had Andres Torres yelling, "I told you he was going to do it! I told you!"

Oh, I can't pick. You do it.

Madison Bumgarner comes into the game vs. Buster's at-bat of pure heart and righteous vengeance

Well, it's been a good Cinderella run for Bumgarner's entrance, considering we're just talking about the walk from the bullpen to the mound, a brief moment in which all things were possible, including curse words directed at both Gregor Blanco and Juan Perez. That was a great moment.

On the other hand, Buster Posey fed Mat Latos's still-pulsing heart to him, piece by piece, and we got to watch it live.

Well, it's been a good Cinderella run for Bumgarner's entrance, not that I'm trying to tell you how to vote. You clicked before you even started reading.

Travis Ishikawalkoff vs. Marco Scutaro

If the Renteria/Wilson showdown up there is a chicken-or-the-egg debate, this here is a Myers-Briggs test. How do you like your pennants? Do you like them ...

Jarring and unexpected, in which the Giants are vaulted into the World Series instantly, with the crowd going completely bananers and everyone jumping up and down and hugging each other, with the unlikeliest of postseason heroes rounding the bases, or do you like your pennants like ...

Slow and contemplative, in which the Giants take their time and let you reflect right there? How did they do it, how did they win another pennant? You had time to figure that out, to wonder how the team that couldn't hit Homer Bailey, how the team that was forced to start Barry Zito in a must-win game, how the team that was down for almost the entire postseason actually won. And in the middle of it all there was the hero who was almost sawed off at the abdomen by a large ape-man, looking toward the heavens and soaking it all in.

The first one was against the Cardinals, though, which might ... oh, right, they were both against the Cardinals. So you can't use that as a tiebreaker. How much does the unlikeliness of Ishikawa factor in? Seems like a huge deal. When this here was a fledgling site, we used to talk about him as if he was a potential starter on a contending team. Say, have you re-read the reaction from when the Giants signed Aubrey Huff the first time?

Do you have more faith in Huff bouncing back from a career-worst year, or do you have more faith in Ishikawa becoming a hitter who can sniff league average? If money isn't an issue, I take Huff every time. Now, money is an issue -- about $2.5M worth -- so I understand the argument for Ishikawa. I just see Ishikawa as a guy whose saving grace is that he'll make a nifty Giants-related punchline in about 15 years. Mike Ivie! Mark Leonard! Damon Minor! Todd Benzinger! Travis Ishikawa!

He was on track to be that punchline, and then he took the single most memorable swing in San Francisco Giants history, no big deal. Also, please stop reading that old post once you get to the part about Ryan Garko, thanks.

On the other hand, the Scutaro thing sure was special for McCovey Cove Chronicles, here.

I think I know my pick. It's not easy, but I know it. I'm going with the one that kept the Cardinals from winning another stupid World Series. Final answer.