Did Matt
Cain throw the greatest game ever? I’m not going to debate the merits of that
question, but I’m not going to stop looking those words. Did Matt Cain throw
the greatest game ever? Professional baseball began in 1875 and yesterday I
found myself looking at an ESPN site that looked like this:
That coming
just hours after Matt Cain was driving golf balls from home plate into McCovey
Cove. That’s a good day.
Matt Cain
joined the Giants in 2005, as 20 year old phenom. Practically during the
Jurassic period. Names that were on that team: J.T. Snow, Mike Matheny, Michael
Tucker, Jason Ellison and Lance Niekro. Barry Bonds was there too. Cain
struggled in 2006 and in 2007, the year he finally started to become Matt Cain,
Tim Lincecum was recalled and shoved 2 Cy Youngs in Giants fans’ face. Giants
fans like Cy Youngs. To the national audience, Matt Cain became the other
starter, that other talented Giant pitcher. During 2010 championship, Matt Cain
didn’t have luxious black hair or a thick grizzly man beard nor was he a baby
faced rookie catcher. He's not a panda. Or a giraffe. Or a Chilean Llama, or whatever the heck else we have.
All Matt
Cain does is pitch. Pitch, pitch, pitch. All Matt Cain does is be Matt Cain.
Every single start. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing sexy about it either. Matt
Cain doesn’t have a ‘thing’. He’s not glamourous. He doesn’t blow snot rockets
out of his nose, that I’m aware of. He doesn’t fist pump that often. He doesn’t
have a catch phrase or crazy
personality. Matt Cain has a Matt Cain. Now, in 2012, he’s the longest tenured
Giants, the first of the great pitching staff that symbolizes the ‘Post-Bonds’
Giants. He’s been one of the best pitcher in baseball the past 5 years and
nobody seems to notice. Which is fine to Matt Cain. But not fine to not-Matt
Cain people. Last night, Matt Cain finally got the recognition he deserves.
He’s toyed
with no-hitters and perfect games. He had this game, where the only base runner
he gave up was James McDonald the Pirates pitcher. We always knew Cain was
bound to finish one eventually. Yesterday was finally that night. Cain couldn’t
have walked up to home plate, and handed Buster Posey baseballs in a better
location as his pitches last night. Every single pitch was right where Posey’s
glove was. When he threw 3-2 pitch to strike out Jed Lowrie to end the 8th,
it was like he was playing MLB The Show with cheat codes. A 3-2 changeup in one
of the highest leverage situations one could imagine. It’s safe to say my
cajones are like pebbles to Matt Cain’s boulders. There’s a pleasant thought
for everyone.
A perfect game is not a World Championship. But the feeling is dang close. Every single
pitch, a finger nail was lost at a raucous AT&T Park. I was sure about 35 time that Jose Altuve was going to get a hit. Gregor Blanco caused 30 million respiratory problems. Joaquin Arias' stumble on the last out made the entire city of San Francisco go NOewfewfnweccCDCWEFfwem#!CWFF, all in that one instant. Matt Cain didn’t worry though.
Because Matt Cain is Matt Cain and Matt Cain does Matt Cains better than
anybody else does Matt Cains. What a moment.
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