Giants VS Cardinals

[freakhappy]

Originally Posted by itjclarke

My second series, with apperances at '89 NLCS, '97 and all the early 2000s.. Great atmosphere tonight.. Hope it came through on TV. I'm not out to get you... It was the comment about "frisco" fans that got me first. I rarely post, but I was just psyched on my team. If you know the area, you'll know how much we hate the word"frisco".. It raises hackles around here. And also the insinuation that we're overexcited, rookie fans. I had season seats in 6 straight non playoff seasons. Most of us have stuck with this team through very lean years.. Heck in '91 we actually lost this team to Florida. So believe me, the fan excitement is deserved.. we're not just over excited frisco fans.

Btw- Zito, like Cain could've gone 2 more. He wasn't struggling at all when he was pulled.. But as I see it, Boch saw the opportunity to get Timmy in with the home crowd going nuts. He's a genious with late inning subs and at giving his bench and bullpen crucial game work. It keeps everyone focused and builds confidence. It will pay off later in the series when Mijares, Kontos have already gotten their WS butterflies out.

I feel ya, Ian...I'll quit being argumentive for no reason. The Giants are playing unbelievable right now and I wish them the best of luck. If they win, they will deserve it, that's for sure.

Not totally the same, but I'm a Tampa Bay Bucs fan and I've been through the ringer with those guys and finally in the late 90's and early 2000's they put together a good team. I waited a long time for that to come to fruition...so I know how it feels to love a team and not get too much in return.

Tell me this though...at more than one point in Zito's San Francisco career, you can't tell me you did not wish that guy was on a different team, right?

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by freakhappy

Tell me this though...at more than one point in Zito's San Francisco career, you can't tell me you did not wish that guy was on a different team, right?

I absolutely did, but that's makes me love his season all the more. Adding your football comparison, he and Alex Smith's careers have so much in common. I will say though, I never fully gave up on Alex.. but I sat in Arcade section 145 for many a Zito disaster. I tried to stick by him, but after 3 years, I was totally done with him. Especially because in 2010 the younger, harder throwing Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner emerged at the back end of the rotation. Sanchez since flamed out and was traded, and Zito basically through attrition got the #5 spot back. His year this year as a 5 has been remarkable. 15-9 is more than you'd ever ask of a 5 starter. Up until just post All Star break, I think most fans and writers were expecting/waiting for him to implode.. but it never happened. The guy's shown serious guts and it is so fitting of this year's squad. Eventual WS win or not, I'm glad they seem to have won you over

[barrysloate]

Zito 1, Verlander 0.

Tigers have to figure out what to do with Valverde....he seems lost right now.

[freakhappy]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Zito 1, Verlander 0.

Tigers have to figure out what to do with Valverde....he seems lost right now.

This may be a sign of the apocalypse! No way Valverde gets back into the closer's role...but I bet the Giants are hoping he does.

Ian, as a Giants fan I'm sure it was sweet seeing Zito do what he did this year after his recent struggles in the past years...I didn't realize he went 15-9! And to see Vogelsong do so well in the postseason after he collapsed in the second half. Just seems like everything is coming together at the right time. For some reason I just never thought the Giants would make it this far and I keep expecting them to fall, but after game 1 it looks like if they do happen to win they won't be playing catch up. They look like a team on a mission. I think the rest of the series will be a dog fight and I expect the series to go at least six and maybe seven games. Should be a great series to watch.

[itjclarke]

... and give a shout out to some good clean NL style baseball tonight. Way to pitch, way to pick it, way to scrap for runs. This is the much more common style Giants game.

TO ADD...
Let's go Romo!!

[deebro041]

Not a bad game, but some curious decision making by Leland. Could this be his last year?

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by deebro041

Not a bad game, but some curious decision making by Leland. Could this be his last year?

The one that stood out to me is when he pulled Delmon Young after he'd made the last out for a defensive replacement.. why he didn't pull a double switch then, or waited till he pulled Fister to put in the defensive replacement is beyond me. NL ball vs AL ball I guess.. but Leyland spent a lot longer in the NL than the AL.