Thursday, October 10, 2002

giants in six Maybe Picking the Giants in Six Was Too Conservative When this NLCS started, I picked the Giants to win it in six. The Cards, of course, are favored, which is why they have home field advantage. Now the Giants have swept the first two in St. Louis and are headed for the friendly confines of Pac Bell Park. This could be a sweep, but that's not too likely. My wife has been saying the Giants would do it in five and that is certainly a strong probability. I would love to see the series end without having to travel back across the country because that sets up the Giants in better shape to win the World Series. I can't believe I just typed "Giants", "win" and "World Series" in the same sentence. But it could happen. In fact, I think now that it's likely to happen. Go, Giants! 10:21:23 PM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

baker1 Dusty Must Stay Joan Walsh's piece in Salon about the tension between Dusty Baker and Peter Magowan is a very insightful and well-written feature. She sounds like she knows what she's talking about. But I don't think it's fair to characterize her article as taking the position that Magowan is "on the verge of letting [Baker] go." And I doubt that's the reality, either. Clear the field. Dusty Baker is the greatest manager in San Francisco Giants history. So why is team owner Peter Magowan on the verge of letting him go? [Salon.com] 1:12:39 AM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

lofton beaner Yep, Lofton Overreacted Alright, But NYT Doesn't See Whole Picture A benches-clearing melee erupted when Giant Kenny Lofton took exception to a high-inside pitch. I agree with Murry Chass of the New York Times--it was an overreaction to a pitch that was a brushback but not a beaner. On the other hand, if it's true that the Cards felt they should retaliate against Lofton for watching his homer a couple of innings earlier, then they overreacted worse. Come on, people. Who gives a rat's ass if the guy watches his home run? Where's the disrespect in that? Particularly if he's only hit three all year; he was probably more stunned than disrespectful. Then, too, the Cards hitters who clouted homers tonight stood and watched them, too. I didn't see the Giants hitting those guys. The bad guy in all this? Tony LaRussa, my personal favorite for NL Manager of the Year. He encourages his guys to pitch tight to batters who are hitting well. That's just old-school baseball. There's no place for it today. Overreaction to Pitch Sets an Angry Tone. Batters are so unaccustomed to having pitches whiz by their noses that they take offense when they do. By Murray Chass. [New York Times: Sports] 12:58:33 AM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

© Copyright 2002 Dan Shafer.