For the third straight year, a National League team that was not considered a favorite, found a way to win it all. The San Francisco Giants, backs against the wall, facing elimination in both of their playoff series, bolted into the World Series and swept a team that was perceived to have superior pitching and hitting. No one saw them coming. No one gave them a chance. That's why watching them celebrate in the middle of the Detroit Tiger's home field, has that heart warming all American underdog story feel that we are all suckers for. Unless you're a Tigers fan.
The same thing happened last year with the St. Louis Cardinals and the year before that with these same Giants. Well, not completely these same Giants. General Manager Brian Sabean has continued to find the necessary pieces to build these championship teams. Midway through the year he added players like Marco Scutaro and Hunter Pence, who had a major impact on their season down the stretch and into the world Series. They lost their number one hitter, Melky Cabrera, to suspension for PED use shortly after the All-Star break. Instead of letting that bring them down, it brought them up. They had no problem moving on without Cabrera and refused to let any controversy seep into their clubhouse. Kudos to manager Bruce Bochy, who pulled off the same magic in 2010. That year, they didn't even qualify for the playoffs until the final day of the season.
As I was watching this year's playoffs, and I've watched a lot of baseball, it became more and more apparent to me that teams like the Giants, and the Cardinals, and the Oakland Athletics are becoming thorns in the sides of the bigger, badder clubs like the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers because they are able to play a more fundamentally sound brand of baseball. The ability to squeeze out a run in a game when your pitching is holding the other team at bay has become paramount. Actually, it's always been that way in baseball, it's just that our big number, big moment starved nature has focused in on the home run as being the most - and possibly singular - exciting moment in baseball. Not true folks. If the last three seasons haven't shown you that, then you're not paying attention.
I marveled during this quick series at the Giants' amazing defense. They were perfectly sound at the corners and up the middle, and center fielder Angel Pagan, who stole the series' only base, earning everybody a free taco at Taco Bell tomorrow, made several big inning killing catches. Early in Game 2 they gunned down a rumbling Prince Fielder at home plate, which, even though early in the series, seemed to take a lot of wind out of the Tiger's sails. This was behind their more than solid starting pitching and the unbelievable performances out of the bullpen by former starter Tim Lincecum. Another brilliant move by Bochy and under rated pitching coach Dave Righetti.
When all was said and done, and the Giants were celebrating like a band of brothers who truly love to play the game together, and Tiger manager Jim Leyland was giving a stunned, teary-eyed post game interview, we all felt that sense of pride that the little guy had won again. From David and Goliath to Rocky and Rudy, we relate to the Giants this morning because small ball again takes it all.
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