Sorry, I just always wanted to say that.
But they did, and now we’re on to a Rangers-Giants World Series. It will be the fourth time in 90 years that two teams who have never won the World Series (at least in their current cities) have faced one another in the Fall Classic. 2002, 1992 and 1920 were the others (thanks Crank!). It will also guarantee our sixth straight year with a different champion in baseball and our ninth different champion in ten years. But, yeah, baseball has a parity problem.
As for the game: maybe the most exciting poorly-played game I’ve ever seen. Not terribly poorly, mind you. But there were so, so many runners left on base. So many missed opportunities. So many big name players who didn’t come up big. Mostly in the red pinstripes. Frequently Ryan Howard, it must be said. OK, maybe that’s not poor play, but the nervous edge I had about me all game was borne almost totally from the suspense of “when are one of these teams going to do something?!”
Finally it was Juan Uribe who broke through with an eighth inning home run. Not a rocket -- indeed, a home run that would have been a fly out in many parks -- but ‘twas enough. ‘Twould serve.
At that point the excitement only ratcheted up even more. Tim Lincecum’s relief appearance in the eighth, in particular. I didn’t like the move on an objective level. He had thrown nearly 100 pitches 48 hours prior, and even if it was his day to throw between starts, there’s a difference between a bullpen side session and six outs from the World Series. Still, I desperately wanted the move to work because, hey, The Freak coming up big there would have been high drama. He didn’t, allowing two singles before giving way to Brian Wilson, but it was enough to pique our interest even more.
Wilson held. He bent in the ninth, allowing three men to reach -- one being erased on a fielder’s choice -- but locked down the pennant by retiring Ryan Howard looking. Which -- with all due respect for the big man’s skills -- was quite appropriate given how his postseason has gone.
The Giants win the pennant. They go home to a heroes’ welcome in San Francisco and a few days off before facing Texas in the World Series starting on Wednesday. Fantastic.