25 Years Ago Today

‎25 years ago, a young punk first baseman took Nolan Ryan deep on his first MLB at bat. that fire baseman was William Nuschler Clark Jr.

Game 2: Giants now 0-2 with a 4-3 loss

Jonathan Sanchez pitched well.  Even his bad inning was nothing more than a couple legit hit and 2 screw ball choppers + a throwing error, and a beach ball that Guillermo Mota threw to Furcal.

Belt went yard for his first ever.  Big thumbs up to the kid.

Posey got a hit, scored on Belt's dinger.  But, he struck out with the bases loaded and a 3-2 count (in fact he threw a bat and hit some Dodger fan in the head (the guy was probably one of the dudes that beat up those Giants fans the night earlier).  Grannies should come with 2 outs and bases loaded.

Posey's got this wierd steadiness about him.  He's not quite clutch -- He's not unclutch: he's just as likely to get a hit in a clutch situation as he is to get a hit in an unclutch situation.

Cain goes tomorrow vs Lilly.  This should be about where the rotation depth surpasses the other pitching staffs.  Anyone can throw out a couple of really decent guys (and let's not forget Sanchez should be a #3 at best), but when your #3 guy has to go up against Matt Cain: the Giants should win.

Of course, 2 more errors tonight (J. Sanchez and Panda Bear) -- 5 in 2 games.  Put that in perspective: that's like 6% of the total errors in 162 games last year.

Still even keel.  Win 2 in a row and leave LA on a high note.

Final thoughts before first pitch

The Giants tap into something awfully primal in my soul.

Every year, the Giants are vastly underrated.  Sometimes they underachieve, sometimes they get hurt, and sometimes they disappoint, but my expectations are alwayts high.

I was nervous that a world championship would institute a sort of indifference in my attitude towards this team.  After all, once they've won, where would that fervent desire and chip on ym shoulder come from.

AND THEN, I PUT UP ALL OFF SEASONM WITH NATIONAL D-BAGS TALKING ABOUT HOW THE BEST PITCHING STAFF IN THE MLB WAS COMPOSED OF 4 GUYS THAT ALL LOST TO THE GIANTS IN THE POST SEASON!

So, there's that.

Fact is, I'm more expectant than ever now.  2008 was a season that compeltely lost my interest by late July.

2009 brought tears to my eyes with SAnchie's no-no and Panda Bear's incredible hitting.  And Timmy's Cy Young.

2010 started with the expectation for play-offs.  I cursed DeRosa early, I cursed SAbean and Bochy.  Then I lauded them for Posey.  I struggled with Timmy in August, and, after one loss to the Dodgers in September, I cried in agony into a pillow for about 30 minutes -- without shame -- in front of my wife, in front of my dog (luckily my son was already in bed) because the Giants were 1.5 out of first and I thought the season was over.

(1-0 is my least favorite score)

And, then history, unlikely history, happened unexpectedly.

This season promises more of the same, and its the same team so they better effin' win!