Kuzul

On Wednesday, the San Francisco Giants will be taking the field against the Texas Rangers in the 106th edition of baseball’s World Series. The players will be trotting out to their respective positions, digging into the batter’s box and toeing the pitcher’s mound with only one thing on their minds: winning.

Yet 33 years ago, the starting center-fielder for the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers had a lot on his mind. Granted, it was Game 1 of the 1977 World Series. He was technically still a rookie, and was being touted as the Dodgers’ version of Willie Mays.

He was facing one of the most experienced World Series pitchers of all time in Don Gullet, and he was playing his first game ever in historic Yankee Stadium. 

Oh, and he was gay. 

Glenn Burke, still accepted around sports as the first and only player in the big four sports (NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA) to come out to his teammates while he was still playing, was in the majors for only four years before his lifestyle seemingly drove him out of the game. Three decades after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, Glenn Burke attempted to break the gay barrier, but sadly their paths were not parallel.

Burke, an Oakland native and Berkeley High two-sport star, was one of the best Bay Area athletes to come out of high school in the 1970s. Remember, this is a region and decade that also produced Rickey Henderson and Claudell Washington, who have played a combined 42 Major League seasons to Burke’s four. And according to them, Burke was still the best talent out of all three.

Burke may have had the talent and the star power personality to match, but when he began to reveal glimpses of his sexuality to his teammates and management, it started him down a slippery slope that was simply to steep to climb back up.

Out. The Glenn Burke Story is an exclusive Comcast SportsNet documentary that chronicles his descent from the World Series to being traded to the Athletics to a voluntary retirement and down into the abyss of drug abuse, homelessness, and AIDS that eventually took his life, and shows how much his story affected many people who have until now been silent. 

Featuring interviews with Dodger teammates Dusty Baker, Davey Lopes and Rick Monday, among others, as well as A’s teammates Claudell Washington, Mike Norris, and Shooty Babitt, Out gets into the nitty-gritty of Burke’s athletic and post-athletic career.

According to almost everyone interviewed, Burke was run out of baseball because he was gay. The Dodgers apparently offered to pay for his wedding and honeymoon if he got married, and when he refused, he was promptly traded to the Athletics. The situation was no better there with manager Billy Martin, and Burke took a leave of absence from the team to clear his head. 

When he decided to come back, it was starkly clear to him that, while he still loved baseball and obviously had the physical tools to play the game, there was no place for a gay man in professional baseball. Burke then took the celebrity that he did have and played it up, spending a majority of his time in San Francisco’s famed Castro District.

Yet his fame ran out, and his party lifestyle turned into one of drug abuse. The tragedy was compounded when Burke contracted AIDS in 1994. But in the last years of his life, the same game of baseball that abandoned him came back to support him in his greatest time of need. 

Out. is being premiered for a public screening at the Castro Theater on Wednesday, November 10, and will be replayed exclusively on Comcast SportsNet on Tuesday, November 16. Tickets for the screening are $5, with all proceeds benefitting Marty’s Place, which once provided a homeless Burke with shelter and care as he coped with the effects of AIDS/HIV. 

For more information, and for ticket sales, please visit Comcast SportsNet’s exclusive information page.

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Whereas the Texas Rangers are set to go where no Texas Rangers team has gone before; whereas legendary Rangers’ minority owner and president Nolan Ryan is a bona fide baseball man, while Dallas Cowboys owner/president/general manager/attention harlot Jerry Jones is a frustrated-but-overmatched head football coach; whereas, the 1-5 Cowboys still delusionally believe they are “a good team”; whereas Ron Washington, grammatically-challenged and homeless-looking though he may be, is a leader of men while Wade Phillips is a leaner on excuses; and whereas this is my blog and I will dadgum well do as I please, I hereby declare the SilverandBlueblood website the Red-Shoed Rangers site for a day.

So, forget football. Let’s talk World Series. More specifically, let’s talk Dallas (I know the Rangers are in Arlington, but you know the drill: This is Dallas) versus San Francisco, DFW versus the Bay Area. A generation ago, that would mean Cowboys versus the 49ers.

My, how the times have changed.

Which city boasts the best baseball team, or, as Ron Washington likes to say, “The team that played the best on that day,” will be decided over the next few days. But which city is best? Well, I will decide that, thank you very much.

Why? Because I can, and because I am highly qualified to do so.

I am a native Texan, born in Abilene, raised in Mineral Wells, married in Arlington, living in Grand Prairie. However, I lived an hour from San Francisco in the ’80s. I spent many a happy and carefree summer day freezing my butt off by the bay.

Frisco is a world-class city. There is no denying that. It is one-of-a-kind. It has mystique, beauty and charm. Dallas, conversely, is a town of true grit, a go-getter’s paradise. Dallas rises out of the north Texas prairie like a silver-and-chrome debutante emerging from a covered wagon.

The people in San Francisco have that weird, eclectic vibe that says “We’re cool, and we don’t even have to mention it. You know it.” Dallas people are busy adding that third-car garage to their suburban mansion that they may have to abandon soon if Obama isn’t stopped.

The girls in Dallas are definitely more attractive than the drag queens in SF, but the hippies down in the Haight-Ashbury district are more laid back than the gangsters in South Dallas or the uptight yuppies in North Dallas.

San Francisco has Pier 39; Dallas has the Trinity River. San Francisco has Lombard Street; Dallas recently got Cesar Chavez Drive (or Street or Way or whatever), after much wrangling. San Francisco has Ghirardelli Chocolate; Dallas has Frito-Lay.

San Francisco is wine country; Dallas is Dr. Pepper Nation.

San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge; Dallas has the George Bush Turnpike. San Francisco is the heart of the Silicon Valley; Dallas is the heart of the most recession-proof economy in the nation.

San Francisco is the bastion of liberalism; Dallas is the adopted home of President George W. Bush for a reason.

San Francisco has Joe Montana; Dallas has Roger Staubach. Each city’s NFL team has won five Super Bowls, but the 49ers still suck. Right, Cowboys fans?

If you want beauty and charm, go to San Francisco. If you need a job, come to Dallas.

Maybe the deciding factor is sister cities: San Francisco has the misfortune of being just a bay bridge away from that toilet known as Oakland, while Dallas has the western charm and artsy grace of beautiful Fort Worth for its prairie mate. Oakland has Al Davis; Fort Worth has “Hell’s Half-Acre.” The former appears to have spent a few years in the latter.

In the end, give me a piece of San Francisco sourdough bread to go with my Texas barbecue, and I am happy. (Well, that and the knowledge that we have the better baseball team here in Texas.)

Go Rangers.

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***First of all, I’d like to apologize for my sabbatical from you, my fellow Giants fans. Apparently graduating from college isn’t as easy as it looks, and they usually save the best stuff for your last semester. Thanks for waiting.***

All the Giants had to do was to make the playoffs. 

Honestly, all I needed was for them to beat the Padres.

I’ve been saying it forever—in a playoff series, the Giants, no matter what their offense does, has the best rotation in baseball. 

I believed that, even knowing that the Phillies had their triumvirate of awesome, the Giants matched up very well with anyone the gods decided to throw at them.

They did, and we fans saw just what the Giants are capable of. 

It’s not conventional baseball. There’s good pitching, which can’t be denied. Yet that’s not all a team needs, and it’s not all a team can rely on to get to the World Series. But somehow, the Giants were just good enough in all other categories to make it. 

This team of misfits. Bochy’s “Dirty Dozen.” A Freak on the mound, a thong-wearing designated hitter at first base, a career minor leaguer playing Gold Glove center field. An overweight third baseman. A rookie catcher. Another designated hitter playing water buffalo in left field. And beards. So many beards. 

It wasn’t easy. It was stressful. It wasn’t conventional. It was torture. 

They made it on the most improbable of events.

A managing mistake by a Los Angeles non-manager which led to a burnt-out closer giving up a walk-off home run. A seven-run inning against a previously untouchable Colorado ace. A 10-game losing streak by a San Diego team that had been in first place for a majority of the year. A triple by the worst hitting pitcher in the league on the last day of the season. 

That’s what brought the playoffs back to San Francisco. 

And since the playoffs started, there has been more improbability.

A three-error game by an out-of-position utility man, and a multitude of injuries at key positions made the Braves series interesting. The fact that every game except one was decided by one run didn’t surprise anyone at this point.

Three home runs by waiver-wire pickup Cody Ross led the Giants past Roy Halladay AND Roy Oswalt. Another slew of errors by usually sure-handed fielders like Chase Utley and Ryan Howard put the Giants past the Phillies.

And apparently if you’re playing against the Giants, you can’t make a Willie Mays-style basket catch. The gods just won’t allow it. Just ask Shane Victorino. 

Now they’re playing in the World Series. 

I’m sorry, is that still happening? They haven’t pulled a last minute switcheroo on us have they? 

THE GIANTS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES!

They really are. And they’re facing a group of guys in the Rangers whose path to the World Series was just as improbable, defeating the two best records in the American League (the Yankees and the Rays). 

After facing the best pitcher in the National League in the last series (Halladay), and beating him once, they’re facing arguably the best pitcher in the American League (in playoffs history?) in Cliff Lee. 

After facing one of the best hitters in the National League in Ryan Howard, and holding him to ZERO RBIs and 12 strikeouts in 22 at bats, they’ll have to do the same against one of the best hitters in the American League in Josh Hamilton.

But if what we’ve seen so far is any indication, none of that matters to this Giants team.

All that matters is this: There will be good pitching. 

All that matters is this: There will have to be a little offense.

All that matters is this: There will be a hero, and his name will be praised.

Let’s go Giants. This is it. This is where we win.

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As a New York Yankees fan it is easy to get to know the players in the American League.

Due to geographical circumstances and interleague play, I have learned more about some of the teams in the National League, like the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Over the past few seasons, the San Francisco Giants have not come to the Bronx and have not factored in the postseason.

The Giants actually resided in New York City from 1930-57, in which the franchise won five World Championships and 17 pennants. Since making the move to San Francisco, the city still awaits for their Giants to bring a World Series title to the Bay.

Mainly known as the home to starting ace Tim Lincecum (“The Freak”), who has won the Cy Young Award the past two seasons, the Giants are another team residing in the NL West along with the Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

The organization’s biggest star, Barry Bonds disgraced the team’s mainstay. It seemed that the last special baseball moment for the Giants was Bonds hitting for his home-run record. It is his record because MLB can’t count it as baseball history when it was unauthentic.

Other than a cheat and a freak, there wasn’t much reason to get to the Giants over the last five seasons, until now.

After watching a few Giants games I understand their team’s appeal. The Giants players are scrappy, good, fundamental baseball players who are darn fun to watch because they never seem to give up.

STRENGTHS:

The team’s biggest asset is pitching. Three aces: Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner, follow Lincecome.

The Giants starters finished the regular season with a 3.36 ERA, which was the lowest in baseball. The Giants rotation also tossed a total of 1461 innings, gave up the least hits with 1279, 546 earned runs, and struck out the most batters.

All stats led the majors for 2010. They tied for third place with the Dodgers and Marlins for the least home-runs allowed with 134 in total.

The Giants have the top closer in baseball, Brian Wilson. A guy I would want on my team. Not only can Wilson shutdown batters, but he radiates a superior, daunting presence from the mound, making batters wince. Wilson led the majors with 57 saves in 73 save opportunities.

The Giants only offensive strength comes from pure, home-run hitting power. It is the only way the Giants know how to win.

Strategy is finding a way to beat the other team by holding up the opponent’s hitters and capitalizing at the plate on the two, three or four mistakes the opponent’s pitchers inevitably make.

WEAKNESSES:

The Giants approach has no surprises.

Slow is an understatement, as the team is tied with the cubs for the slowest runners in baseball stealing just 55 bases on the season.

The batters hit into a lot of double plays and rely too much on home-runs with nothing else as an offensive back-up. It explains how the Giants wins/losses coincide with the starting pitcher’s performance.

It is not a safe way to make the playoffs, as small ball can get a team those extra wins when other aspects are slumping. In many ways the Giants are an upgraded or superior version of the Toronto Blue Jays, as Toronto’s pitching keeps improving so does the team’s record.

How do I think the Giants will do against the Texas Rangers?

The Giants pitchers need to set the tone and dominate the games from the start. Other than Cliff Lee, the Texas Rangers pitching doesn’t hold a candle to the Giants. Keeping the speedy Rangers completely off the base-pads is essential.

I see no reason why the Giants couldn’t win it in six, only because Lee will win both his starts almost without a doubt.

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It’s no secret San Francisco is basking in its NLCS glorious victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. You can’t walk down a street in San Francisco without seeing someone with some sort of Giants merchandise.

The Giants Dugout Stores have lines flowing for, what seem like, miles. A person could walk from AT&T Park to the Ferry Building and back and the line would not have moved. Giants fever is extremely contagious.

But for all the fever, we have to remember there is still a series to be played. Game 1 is tomorrow night and the American League Champion Texas Rangers await.

Game 1: Tim Lincecum vs. Cliff Lee

Game 2: Matt Cain vs. C.J. Wilson

Game 3: Jonathan Sanchez vs. Colby Lewis

Game 4: Madison Bumgarner vs. Tommy Hunter

Game 5*: Tim Lincecum vs. Cliff Lee

Game 6-7*: TBD

How much of the Giants’ former catcher Bengie Molina’s knowledge of the pitchers help the Rangers? Probably not that much. Molina can tell them all he wants, but they still have to hit the ball.

Will Buster Posey and Pat Burrell begin to hit? Will Cody Ross continue his MVP type play? There are many questions to be answered and let’s start at the beginning.

The Game 1 matchup is the most intriguing because of the success of both pitchers. Cliff Lee has never lost in the postseason or to the Giants. Tim Lincecum has been his normal dominant self in the postseason.

In Lee’s previous three starts against the Giants, he is 3-0 with a 1.12 ERA. Now this Giants team is a much different team from the one he saw last year. That team has inept offensively and had no pop in the lineup.

If the Giants take a similar approach to Lee, as they did to Roy Halladay, they will fare pretty well against the Rangers.

The designated hitter, or lack thereof in San Francisco, will take its toll on Texas. In Game 1, they are starting Vladamir Guerrero in right field.

As most of the National League can attest, the right field at AT&T Park is like playing centerfield. Many have to play well toward the right centerfield gap to prevent anything from entering Triples Alley. With Vlad’s limited range, this creates a significant advantage for the Giants.

Guerrero has been limited to only 61 at bats as the right fielder. In those 61 at bats, he had an average of .246 with a .767 OPS.

The Giants crowd will create all the home field advantage the team needs. The Texas Rangers have never won a game at AT&T Park, if they take Game 1 from Cliff Lee, they will carry that momentum to a 2-0 series lead heading to Arlington.

The Giants will struggle to contain the Rangers full lineup in Arlington. Guerrero will be back in his normal DH spot. Nelson Cruz will be able to get his arms extended against the Giants’ two lefties in the rotation.

The Rangers have a predominately right-handed lineup which most would think favor Texas against Sanchez and Bumgarner. The answer to that is yes and no.

The Rangers have hit only .266 as a team against lefties (.280 against right-handers). Their OPS is nearly 60 points lower against lefties. But Ian Kinsler, Guerrero, Cruz and Michael Young all hit above .320 against left-handed pitching this year.

Sanchez has to lower his walk total and Bumgarner needs to be weary of pitching to contact in their live ballpark.

Once going up 2-0 in the series, all the Giants have to do is win one game in Texas before bringing it home for Cain in Game 6. They would have to beat either Colby Lewis or Tommy Hunter because I do not see the Giants beating Cliff Lee twice.

The other three pitchers for the Rangers have been solid all postseason. They shut down a potent Yankees lineup and a dysfunctional Rays order.

The Giants offense will have the task of doing just enough to win. What has been shocking about the Giants’ run is the lack of power from the lineup. This is a lineup that has the ability to take a pitcher out the yard but have, overall, failed to do so.

Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey and Andres Torres have all gone homer-less. The Giants have six as a team in 10 games. There has not been a time during the season where all three of these guys have failed to hit one out. This should change in this series.

Despite having not hit a home run, Torres is starting to swing the bat better, and Freddy Sanchez has started to swing a hot bat. The table setters are getting it done in front of Huff and Posey. It’s up to them to get Torres and Sanchez in.

The bullpens have been very good as well.

This series will key on Brian Wilson and Javier Lopez. Lopez will be granted the singular task of shutting down Josh Hamilton. No one has yet to do it, but Lopez has already done it to Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.

Hamilton is just next in this list.

Wilson has his own brand of torture. Let runners on base only to tightrope his way out of danger for the save. The Phillies were not hitting well going into the series with the Giants. The Rangers, on the other hand, lit up the Yankees rotation and may not leave potential runs stranded.

If the Giants can contain the opportunities of the Rangers, they will scratch and claw their way to four more one-run victories.

The stars will line up in the next week plus and the monkey sitting on the Giants’ back will be released. The Giants win this series 4-2.

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So awesome. So. AWESOME!

There’s something special about playoff baseball that just kicks so much ass.

The intensity goes through the roof! It doesn’t matter which team is playing, the ante is always higher the later and later we get into fall.

Last round, I went 0-2, dropping me to 3-3 this season. Good, I’m glad.

How unpredictable has this postseason been? Who knew the Rangers and Giants would be playing in the World Series as they send the Phillies and Yankees—the last two teams to win the Series, as well as the last two teams to participate in the last two seasons—home empty-handed?

I sure as hell didn’t. I said from day one, Phillies over Yankees in the WS. Glad I’m wrong. These playoffs have been incredible to watch. Fortunately, it’s the World Series. Unfortunately, playoff baseball is ending in 4-7 games.

Behold the schedule…in all its glory:

Game 1: TEX@SF – Oct 27 7:57pm
TEX: LHP Cliff Lee
SF: RHP Tim Lincecum

Game 2: TEX@SF – Oct 28 7:57pm
TEX: LHP C.J. Wilson
SF: RHP Matt Cain

Game 3: SF@TEX – Oct 30 6:57pm
SF: LHP Jonathan Sánchez
TEX: RHP Colby Lewis

Game 4: SF@TEX – Oct 31 8:20pm
SF: LHP Madison Bumgarner
TEX: RHP Tommy Hunter

Game 5: SF@TEX – Nov 1 7:57pm
SF: RHP Tim Lincecum
TEX: LHP Cliff Lee

Game 6: TEX@SF – Nov 3 7:57pm
TEX: LHP C.J. Wilson
SF: RHP Matt Cain

Game 7: TEX@SF – Nov 4 7:57pm
TEX: RHP Colby Lewis
SF: LHP Jonathan Sánchez

Game 1. Cliff Lee. Tim Lincecum. I’m not making this up. And if there is a god, we get to see this again in Game 5.

It’s going to be a *terrible* series for TV, but for baseball fans and enthusiasts, they’ve been salivating over it for days. Neither the Giants nor the Rangers were supposed to get this far, but both have proven they deserve it. The Giants are gunning for their first championship since 1954, while the Rangers are going for their first one ever. Both crowds are going to be bananas.

How’s this for karma? Coming into this season, the Giants have not won a World Series Championship in 52 seasons. The Rangers went 49 years without even a postseason series win, let alone a World Series appearance. These two teams account for two of the top four clubs with the longest World Series Championship droughts. Add them up, and what do you get? 101, the number of years the Cubs have been waiting. That damn goat!

We BeLEEve!

I’m going to throw some stats at you, just to show you how unfair this is.

In eight postseason starts, Cliff Lee is 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA. Only Sandy Koufax and Christy Mathewson have a lower ERA among pitchers with at least five starts in the postseason.

He’s the first pitcher ever with three straight postseason games of at least 10 strikeouts. He has five 10-strikeout games in his postseason career; one more and he’ll be the only one ever with six, passing legend Randy Johnson. Lee had 30 strikeouts in between walks, another postseason record. There have been eight postseason games in history in which a pitcher has struck out 10 and walked none; Lee has four of them.

This dude is dirty. He’s got a solid fastball, jams hitters inside, and has an outstanding curve and cutter. You know he’s throwing strikes, but you can’t do anything about it. Lee will be on more than full rest for Game 1 (as per all starts), but can he go on short rest if he has to, something he’s never done in the postseason?

Pitching

The Giants’ starting pitching is very good, but with one “Giant” hazard (so to speak): Jonathan Sanchez.  He lasted only two innings in Game 6. If he’s again caught up with the different release points of all his pitches, he’s going to be wild and will walk/hit a bunch. Such an issue is non-existent with the Rangers’ No. 3 starter, Colby Lewis, who dominated the Yankees twice in the ALCS.

Both teams had solid pens in the regular season, but the Giants get the edge in the postseason (the Rangers imploded against the Yankees, and the Giants relieved seven innings when Sanchez was pulled after two-plus).

RHP Brian Wilson became the fourth pitcher to win or save four games in one postseason series. His postseason game plan has been low, outside fastballs until he gets two strikes, followed by a breaking ball strike. He’s been lights-out.

Both teams have great lefty relievers, but the Giants will need help from their righty setup men—they were good in the regular season, but were unsteady by the end of the NLCS, thus, Lincecum’s relief appearance in Game 6.

How did THEY get here?

Many people are asking how the Giants got here.

Statistically, they don’t belong—they’re not a good defensive team. They aren’t patient at the dish, and they don’t steal.

They’ve got good pop from No. 1-8 in the order, but is that it? They don’t get many hits, but the ones they do get are key, critical base knocks at exactly the right time.

Proof? They’ve won six games by one run in this postseason, tying a record for the most one-run wins in a single postseason. But that’s exactly the way their team is built—the team is primarily composed of castoffs and misfits from other teams. As third-base coach Tim Flannery says, “They’re Street Fighters.”

Oh…well then, who invited THEM?

The Rangers’ offense has been the primary reason why they’ve gotten to the Fall Classic. In this postseason, they have hit 17 home runs and stolen 16 bases. They’ve homered in 11 consecutive postseason games, one short of the record set by the Astros in ’04 . They beat the Yankees four times by at least five runs, the second team ever to do that in a seven-game series.

They’ve got a ton of pop, too–OFs Josh Hamilton hit four bombs in the LCS, and Nelson Cruz has five this postseason.

The big thing that I’ve been stressing for years is finally being showcased—speed wins ballgames! Take Rangers’ SS Elvis Andrus for example. He runs constantly. Even if he doesn’t steal, his speed intimidates pitchers and throws them off their game, as they constantly have that stolen base threat staring right at them. Andrus even scored on an infield ground out while at second base. And it doesn’t end there: Cruz, Hamilton, Kinsler, Murphy, Francoeur and Young are all good-to-excellent runners, just to name a few.

This team runs the bases exceptionally well, and they’ve even managed to turn C Benjie Molina into a (more) aggressive runner. And what does poor pitcher concentration lead to? Poor pitches. And what do poor pitches lead to? See Hamilton and Cruz, above.

Finally, the Rangers have scored 59 runs in 11 postseason games. They scored 36 runs against the Yankees in the ALCS. San Francisco has scored 24 runs this entire postseason.

Cody Ross 4 Prez

Fate, destiny. Whatever you want to call it, it’s thrown around a lot. But the Giants can certainly make a claim for being the team of destiny.

It’s hard to explain, but sometimes when the bounces go your way, the bounces go your way. And when they don’t, they don’t—you can’t do much about that, either.

The Giants have been lucky to get a lot of little benefits throughout the 2010 postseason. Case in point: Game 6 of the NLCS against the Phillies, where Andres Torres got a perfect bounce off the center field wall to stop Jimmy Rollins from scoring.

If you’re talking destiny, let’s look at Cody Ross’ story—he’s claimed on waivers because the Giants didn’t want him to go to the rival Padres, essentially a blocking claim. He drove in seven runs in 73 at-bats with an over-crowded Giants’ outfield. Then he hit four home runs, two in one game off Roy Halladay, and drove in eight runs, slugging .794 in the postseason with a .362 average against changeups.  I defy any rational explanation for this.

Stories like Ross’ are so incredibly rare in every other sport—there’s no way the 11th man on an NBA team ends up as the best player in any playoff series—but in baseball, it happens constantly. He’s been the reason why Giants have made it this far. Key hits at the right time. Oh yeah, Ross wanted to be a rodeo clown as a kid.

But, Cody Ross isn’t going to hit a home run every night. The unlikely NLCS star is great at breaking up no-hitters, but nobody else is getting on base in front of him. All four of Ross’ home runs have come with the bases empty.

Final Thoughts

The true winner: Benjie!

The rotund backstop gets a World Series ring regardless of whether he wins or loses. Talk about having your “bases” covered! He is about to become the first catcher in baseball history to appear in the Fall Classic against a team he played for earlier in the season.

Molina, with the Giants since 2007, played 61 games for San Fran in 2010, was then dealt to Texas for RHP Chris Ray and a minor leaguer, then played 57 games for Texas during the regular season.

He’s also been solid in the postseason, batting .333 with two homers and seven RBIs in nine games. He belted a three-run shot against the Yankees in Game 4 of the ALCS that helped propel them to the big dance.

Ray, a reliever who pitched well for both teams, could also end up with a ring regardless who wins, although the Giants haven’t put him on their playoff rosters. Does Molina hold a wild card when it comes to knowing the Giants’ pitching tendencies?

The team of destiny is the Lone Star. I’ve doubted them from the beginning, and they continue to make me look stupid. This ends now. I keep looking for a reason to think the Giants are going to win, and I keep coming up empty. This is going to be an outstanding series, an absolute thriller, but Texas comes out on top.

Pick: Rangers in 7

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Mark my words: Bengie Molina is going to get a World Series ring.

Impressed with the boldness of my prediction?  Don’t be: Bengie Molina is currently the catcher for the Texas Rangers, but he began the season as the catcher for the San Francisco Giants. Thus, by virtue of time served, he’ll get a World Series ring no matter which team wins.

Rest assured, though, he’d probably rather win the World Series and get the ring.

In anticipation of the Fall Classic match-up between the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers, which begins tomorrow, here are some other World Series Fun Facts.

Begin Slideshow

I love me some Timmy Jim, but I don’t want him in my house.      

Before you start in about the fact that Tim Lincecum wouldn’t want to come over to my dumb house in the first place, he would. It’s close to the ballpark, always has a full fridge, is smoker friendly (on deck) and he could relax on my sectional pregame.

So save it—he’d want to hang out…but he can’t, because he’s covered in disgusting dog hair.

I am an expert in such things, unfortunately. My girlfriend has an English Bulldog named Margaret Thatcher, who, at the very least, enjoys equal voting power in our household.

When I get home, I can’t even look this animal in the eye lest she start urinating on my hardwood floors. She ripped up some Dita sunglasses once, and I almost stroked out when she annihilated my leather John Varvatos jacket last summer…that adorable little scamp.

It’s San Francisco, pal, and I enjoy looking fabulous, okay?…guilty.

Know what I also love? Beach Blanket Babylon and watching Ryan Howard strike out looking, thus catapulting my beloved San Francisco Giants into the World Series.

While dog-loving friends come over and coo and fawn over Margie, I spend the time usually sweeping and trying to reclaim my floors. This, of course, never gets me anywhere, as the bone-white dog hair falls off her back like so many snowflakes in winter.

Fellow dog agnostics will certainly affirm when I state that Margaret’s hair is literally everywhere. It is her legacy. It permeates every crevice of my house and snuffs out a little of my soul each passing day.

This hair is not just gross but may also contain the reason for the dominance of Tim Lincecum…and also why he is not welcome at my place.  

Tim has a pair of French Bulldogs named Cy and Young, who have super names, are cute as a button, and guaranteed, shed like gangbusters all over the two-time Cy Young Award winner and everything he owns. 

It’s on his uniform, all over his house, in his car; it coats his beanie collection and is stuck to his straightening iron right this second.

You can’t escape this stuff, trust me. Each time he accepted his back-to-back Cy Young Awards on the field at AT&T Park, he did it full of dog hair. When he struck out 14 Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, he had the little Frenchies’ cheveux de chien all over him.

When he outdueled Roy Halladay in Game 1 of the NLCS, and then again in Game 3 (well, arguably), that crap was on him again…100 percent certain    

This is no fluke, and Lincecum’s otherworldly performance should not be blindly lauded as a timely “finding of his game” or “taking it to the next level”…this is a pattern.    

Experts contend that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in professional sports, and that is when the pitcher is not rubbing up the ball with French bulldog hair.

Seriously, you think a little Vaseline or spit does something to pitches? You think a surreptitiously hidden emery board used to scuff up the ball gives an edge? You think testicle-shrinking PEDs might do the trick?

What if I could offer a technique that spun micro-fine dog hair into a batter’s eye right before they swung? Fox Sports has that ridiculously cool, super-slow motion replay, the one where you can watch every rotation of the ball. All I’m asking you to do is look a little closer next time, watch the fur fly and be honest with yourself.

Lincecum does not appear to be cheating knowingly, so I would please ask the government to continue focusing most of its vast taxpayer resources on chasing down a retired offender who happened to be using the more traditional PEDs.

Even though that guy was just too scared to come clean, because at the time, the entire world had singled him out as the only problem and the U.S. Government was (and is) after him like Al Capone.

You know the guy I’m talking about—the one who caught all the heat for his silent peers and then watched every one of their subsequent tearful confessions. The one who watched these cheaters get nary a slap on the wrist or even praised for “coming clean” after their names were released in the Mitchell Report.

Even though baseball fans have strangely misplaced their syringe signs, and even though the entire public whose money is financing this witch hunt is already past it…or humbled because of a taint on their own favorite player… Let’s still get that first guy! Yeah!

So, I offer continued success to the U.S. Government in their valuable pursuit against only one of the cheaters.

That being said, if you are going to be consistent, you might consider a few dollars towards looking into the effects of dog hair, how it changes the physics of a baseball and whether you can hit an already unhittable changeup when bulldog hair mist is launched into your eyes.

Because I believe that’s exactly what Tim Lincecum is doing, and it’s endangering the integrity of our national pastime.

Go Giants!…but let’s do this the right way. When Josh Hamilton steps out tomorrow seemingly because a little dirt got into his eye, let’s just make sure that really is dirt and win this thing fair and square…

…and to Tim Lincecum, please don’t drop by.

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It is quite ironic that two of the biggest topics in the news this week are the World Series and the upcoming election, which will determine our 106^th winner of the Fall Classic and our 112^th United States Congress.

There isn’t a whole lot that links the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers, who are making their first appearance in the World Series.

The two teams have played just 22 times with the Giants winning 15, including 11 in a row in San Francisco—dating back to the days of Candlestick Park. The Giants have also won seven in a row overall, even though they have not faced each other this season.

The Giants did trade catcher Benjie Molina in midseason to the Rangers to make room for rising star Buster Posey.  

So, it will be a World Series in which two clubs have about as much in common as the areas they represent, which makes this World Series one that could divide the national fan base between the two teams on political lines.

            The Giants represent San Francisco, perhaps the most liberal major city in the nation. It is home to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. It is an area that Democrats have a firm grip on.

The Rangers represent Texas, one of the more conservative states in the union. Sen. John McCain defeated President Barack Obama by a 56 to 44 percent margin two years ago and Texas has gone Republican in every presidential election since 1980.

The Rangers were also once owned by President George W. Bush and their current president, baseball strikeout king Nolan Ryan, is a staunch Republican who has appeared in ads supporting the National Rifle Association.

One kind of gets the feeling that if the Giants win, the Obama administration would open their doors right away for San Francisco to make their visit to the White House. And if the Rangers win, one might wonder if the team would rather meet with President Bush on his ranch in Texas than go to the White House, as is traditional for the champion of all major sports teams in the country.

While some believe this World Series may not be the most interesting, it looks like a world championship title fight on political grounds.

In a week’s time we’ll know the results of both.

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Much has been said and written about the Giants lackluster offense.

The team batted .257 in 2010, finishing sixteenth while the Rangers hit .276 and finished first.

On the other hand, both teams did hit 162 Home runs finishing tied for tenth.

But pushing aside generalized offensive statistics, something strange happened during the course of the year that only keen eyes were privy to.

The Giants cut up opposing teams’ aces.

Here’s a list of the best ten National League pitchers in 2010 using Earned Run Average, then what the Giants did against them.

1. Josh Johnson, FLA, 2.3
2. Adam Wainwright, STL, 2.42
3. Roy Halladay, PHI, 2.44
4. Jaime Garcia, STL, 2.70
5. Roy Oswalt, HOU, 2.76
6. Tim Hudson, ATL, 2.83
7. R.A. Dickey, NYM, 2.84
8. Ubaldo Jimenez, COL, 2.88
9. Clayton Kershaw, LAD, 2.91
10. Mat Latos, SD, 2.92
    
    

Josh Johnson: The Emperor’s New Clothes

From May 13th, 2010 to July 22nd, 2010, Josh Johnson pitched six innings or more and gave up two earned runs or less in 13 straight starts, a major league record.

Yet, on July 27th he came into AT&T Park in San Francisco and got roughed up.

He gave up three earned runs in seven innings and his historic streak was over.

During his streak he dominated the Phillies (twice), Rangers, Colorado, Dodgers, and Tampa Bay among others.

Sure, the Giants lost the game 6-4 with Johnson getting a No Decision, but the point is they roughed up the best of the best, ended the streak, and showed the Emperor without his clothes.

Johnson’s season began to spiral downward after that with his ERA going from 1.61 to 2.3.

So how did the supposedly anemic Giants manage eight hits and three walks versus the hottest pitcher in the universe?

Adam Wainwright: Good is not Great

On May 24th, Adam Wainwright laced ’em up versus Barry Zito at AT&T park.

Nine innings later, Wainwright had his first loss of the season as the Giants won 2-0.

Zito’s stuff that night was electric as he gave up only three hits while striking out 10 in eight innings of work.

The offense didn’t pound Wainwright into the ground, but they scratched out a respectable two runs and seven hits to get the job done.

The cast of no name misfits proved their mettle against arguably the best pitcher in baseball over the last three years.

Roy Hallady: Meet Cody Ross

Not only did the Giants beat Halladay in game one of the NLCS, they marred him in game five and scorched him on April 26th for 10 hits, five earned runs, and his first loss of the season.

His ERA went from 0.82 to 1.80 on that night in April.

How did such a mortal offense give such an immortal legend fits all season?

Jaime Garcia: Not so Fast, Rookie

On April 23rd, the Giants got to the rookie phenom for 7 hits, 4 runs, 2 earned runs, and 3 walks over 6 innings.

They won the game 4-1. And while it was still early in the year, Garcia’s ERA jumped from 0.69 to 1.42.

Garcia would shut them down later in the year to finish 1-1, despite his 2.7 ERA for the year.

Roy Oswalt: Wile E. Coyote

Roy Oswalt must really, really, really hate the Giants.

Not only did he go 0-3 against them during the regular season with Tim Lincecum showing him the difference between owning Cy Youngs and wishing, but they eventually knocked him out of the playoffs.

Even when he finally got a win against them in Game 2 of the NLCS, he turns right back around a few days later and earns the loss in the ninth inning of Game 4.

Then, he gets cut up again in Game 6 and while not getting the loss he certainly didn’t pitch well enough to get the victory.

How much is he wishing he forced his way onto the Texas Rangers instead of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Twenty years from now Roy Oswalt is still going to have nightmares about the San Francisco Giants.

The funniest thing is he’ll think back to their average offense and just scratch his head in bewilderment.

Tim Hudson: Kryptonite

Hudson is the only pitcher in baseball this year who the Giants just didn’t get. Not ever. All year.

Including the playoffs, Hudson went 1-0 with two no decisions.

In 22 innings, he gave up only 10 hits and two earned runs.

Yet even though he was untouchable, the Giants won Game 2 against the Braves in the NLDS.

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

R.A. Dickey: Speaking of Lucky

Giants didn’t play him this year. Lucky for him.

Ubaldo “U-boat” Jimenez: A Game He’d Like to Forget

Jimenez starts against the Giants in 2010 netted a 2-2 outcome with him earning two wins against one loss.

His no decision against the Giants on July 3rd, however, was his worst of the year.

The Giants massacred an erratic Jimenez while feasting on seven earned runs in six innings. It was the most earned runs he gave up in 2010.

In his two wins, Jimenez was his typical dominant self. But on September 1st with the stretch run beginning, the Giants beat him 2-1.

Lincecum beat him in that game and also showed him the difference between owning Cy Young awards and wishing.

Clayton Kershaw: Dodger-meat

The Giants went 2-2 in games started by Kershaw in 2010. His two losses include a combined 13 innings, 11 hits, 6 walks, and 6 runs.

Despite his dominant stuff, the Giants kept him honest.

Mat Latos: Keep Your Mouth Shut, Kid

Mat Latos had the Giants number early in the year, but by the end of the year he wished they would just go away.

He faced them six times during the season, and in those six starts the Padres went 2-4.

The Giants offense got to him enough and at the right times, to keep him vexed. Even to the point he started trash talking.

Then on the last day of the year with the Padres still holding an outside shot at the postseason, the Giants clawed him into his grave, beating him 3-0 on October 3rd.

Conclusion

So what gives? How does an average offense manage to cut up aces. Reason, common sense, and statistical analysis would suggest the Giants struggle mightily against aces.

But they don’t. They didn’t.

Because… heart, courage, and pride don’t cater to reason.

The Giants offense is an overweight, poor, uneducated father who God has blessed with the most beautiful daughter in all the land.

He knows he is barely worthy to be her father, which makes him all the more stalwart and prideful in protecting her.

He would cut any man’s throat who even thought to impugn his daughter’s beauty and grace.

He is humble, but always ready to defend her, especially against other maidens across the land.

Cliff Lee is a very pretty princess, but he comes nowhere close to matching the beauty of the Giants pitching staff.

And so the overweight, poor, uneducated father that is the Giants offense will cut him, again and again, until he’s dead.

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