I’ve already outlined how I have no sympathy for the Dodgers.
One day, these roles will be reversed and the Giants will be on the Dodgers
side of things. Every thing runs in cycles, so milk this for all it’s worth. By
“one day” I mean hopefully 100,000 years from now when the Dodgers have a Klingon
prospect that’s a 17 tool centerfielder that can shoot particle beams at
pitchers. Only then. But after all the humiliation over the years at the expense of the
Dodgers, this is as sweet as a caramel apple doused with splenda and Italian
soda syrup. Better put: In 2008 and 2009, the Dodgers were in the NLCS
for back to back years. In 2008 and 2009, the Giants primary cleanup hitter was
Bengie Molina. Yep, no sympathy. Never forget.
For awhile, while the Dodgers were leading the division,
there was a subtle desire amongst some Giants fans, myself included, about the
possibility of the two teams meeting in the playoffs. What a thought! It
actually sounded kinda cool. A Yankees-Red Sox type series where I had a
rooting interest seemed like a pretty interesting and exciting concept. Then
this current Dodger series started and all that got tossed out the window and the only
thing I wanted was the Dodgers to fall on their faces, in part because Don
Mattingly unintentionally tripped them. And hey whaddya know!
I’ll admit I didn’t watch the first 6 innings of the game.
Blame college. But twitter gave me a pretty good idea of what happened. Don
Mattingly has an intentional walk fetish. In this particular instance, he
intentionally walked Angel Pagan to get to a hitter who’s hitting
.360/.384/.470 as a Giant. Percentages that seem rather unfavorable to the
opposing pitcher. This particular pitcher was Jamey Wright. Perhaps you
remember Jamey Wright. This is the box score of the final game he started.
Steve Finley was hitting lead off for the Giants. Oh.
Anyways, Marco Scutaro was that hitter in case you didn’t
know, and he thwacked a double to plate two Giants and what ended up being the
difference in the game. Angel Pagan was the 2nd runner to score and
Don Mattingly practicaly carried him to first base and said “there ya go little
guy! You can have that there base for free! No no it's not like a free base hit at all.”
That run was the difference in the game. If you’re a Dodger fan reading this
you probably shouldn’t have started. You should leave or surround yourself with beanie babies before proceeding farther.
That wasn’t the sole reason the Dodgers lost. Matt Kemp
struck out 3 times. Mark Ellis tried to extend a double for a triple but failed
miserably. Jamey Wright pitched. Also Matt Kemp struck out three times.
Should be noted Matt Kemp is playing through about 7
injuries and is clearly not himself. Doesn’t mean it isn’t less sweet! George
Kontos, do you have sympathy on the matter? (via @gidget)
Matt Kemp was abused by George Kontos, who was acquired for
Chris Stewart. Ahhhhhhh.
The game was probably one of the best Dodger Giants games I
can remember. Given the intensity of the moment, the fire of the rivalry and
good defense and pitching, by both teams, this was as climactic as a
meaningless game could get. When Sergio Romo was pitching to Mark Ellis in the
bottom of the ninth, no Giants fan in their right mind would call the game
completely meaningless.
And it wasn’t just the game. We’ve talked about it at
length, but it’s fun to rehash. When the Dodgers made the super human trade
they were 2 games behind the Giants. They added Adrian Gonzalez to replace
a replacement level first baseman. Josh Beckett was probably better than
Stephen Fife. Also Hanley Ramirez and Shane Victorino were brought aboard too.
Brandon League wandered on also. Also Nick Punto. Melky Cabrera was banned for
some stuff about a week earlier. Magic Johnson was running the Dodgers, and
there’s all types of karmic value for that. At least compared to Larry Baer. This all appeared to be an uphill battle.
That is what the Giants were up against. As it turns out, they clinched the
division two weeks early and then eliminated the Dodgers on their home field. No
matter where the Giants fall in the playoff picture, that alone makes for a
pretty fantastic year.
Buster Posey hit a home run tonight as well. Yep, pretty fantastic year.
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