The Dynasty is over for the 2016 Giants who won the world
Championship in 2010, 2012 and 2014 and were three outs from another playoff
elimination game win over the Chicago Cubs on October 11th, a day after a
sublime come from behind win against the Cubs. Then the piano fell on their
collective heads as manager Bruce Bochy obviously over managed his team,
killing the momentum by replacing Matt Moore for the ninth inning after
pitching a two hitter for eight innings and opened the door for the Cubs to
pummel the Giant's Achilles heel ~ a carousel
of tired and shaky bullpen pitchers for four runs and then
finally crush them to a whimper with Chapman's 100 mile an hour heat in relief.
Thus the SF Giants went in one day from the sublime to the ridiculous with a
humiliating six to five loss ~ which could have been avoided or perhaps
postponed if Moore had been allowed to finish his pitching gem: Allen L Roland,
PhD
I'm
an avid Giant baseball fan ever since I heard the shot heard around the world
on October 3rd, 1951 when Bobby Thompson hit a homerun in the 9th inning to
beat the Brooklyn Dodgers and win the Pennant. See video ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrI7dVj90zs
I
was 17 years old at that time and living in Boston, Massachusetts but the
Giants captured my young and exuberant heart.
I
also remember well in 1962 when Willy McCovey smashed a bullet line drive into
the Yankee's 2nd base Bobby Richardson's glove with two outs in the ninth
inning of the World Series and the winning run at 2nd base. Over 50,000 fans
fell into a shocked hushed silence including myself ~ I was 28 years old at
that time, an active duty Navy carrier pilot and my beloved Giants had just
moved to the West Coast. See video ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD1TPzwIG9I
Now
I'm 82 years old and have celebrated and watched the Giants win the World
Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014 under the brilliant guidance of Manager Bruce
Botchy and now in 2016, they were seemingly on the verge of another playoff
victory against the Chicago Cubs on October 11th at AT&T park.
On
the mound was a determined Matt Moore who held the Cubs to two runs and two
hits in eight innings, retiring his final nine batters.
He
had thrown 120 pitches but he had thrown 133 pitches on August 25th when he one
hit the Dodgers and he still felt strong ~ as confirmed by Buster Posey.
I
was watching on TV and screamed to Bochy to leave Moore in along with thousands
of Giant fans at the game "Don't take him out ."
Moore
deserved at the very least a one batter curtain call for his incredible
pitching effort ~ but it was not to be. The
decision had already been made and it soon became a disaster.
The
bubble burst when Moore walked into the dugout after the eighth inning,
according to Steve Kroner, SF Chronicle , " I just went and talked to
pitching coach Dave Righetti and he said, "that's it for tonight"
and after the TV commercial break ~ there was Derek Law on the mound
ready to face Chicago in the ninth ~ the Cubs could smell the blood in the
water and Giant fans, including myself, braced ourselves for the unknown ~ the
feeding frenzy soon began and it was over in a few minutes.
Reliever
Sergio Romo openly laughing into his glove after being relieved by Bochy in the
tense ninth inning did not go unnoticed by many and speaks of player disunity
in the Giant Bullpen. In mid-September, Romo was seen laughing after
Bochy pulled him, showing up the manager, and Bochy said they met afterward ~ but
this was totally inexcusable behavior considering the circumstances.
Bruce
Jenkins ,SF Chronicle describes the carnage, ~ " On one of the most
disastrous evenings in Giants franchise history, a 5-2 ninth inning lead became
a four-run Chicago rally in what seemed like an instant.
Relievers
came and went, desperation filled the air, and the Cubs were ruthless in their
execution. Free of Matt Moore, the Giants left hander who pitched the game of
his life ~ they were feasting without mercy."
As the seagulls settled into AT&T park ~ also feasting without mercy ~ the Achilles heel of the San Francisco giants had been fully exposed to a nationwide TV audience.
The Giants shaky and suspect
bullpen had a disastrous roll call in the ninth inning
of a must win game but it would have eventually been revealed later in the
playoffs but hopefully not at the expense of
a magnificent effort by Matt Moore that foggy and
damp night in San Francisco ~ or in
the eyes of thousands of fans, including myself, who trusted that moment in the
ninth inning and screamed "Don't
take him out."
Most
certainly it still dwells in the mind of Bruce Bochy who was oblivious to the
crowd's chant as well as the genuine
optimism and momentum of his team, and
instead played mix and match with his suspect Bullpen after he ignored the
dominating performance of Moore, who was obviously his best pitching choice in that situation, and who also
fully deserved the accolades of the crowd as well as his moment in Giant
history ~ before they headed to Chicago for
a decisive game five….. thus it was not
meant to be, and only the Seagulls and Cub fans rejoiced at AT&T … but the CURSE
awaits the Cubbies in Chicago versus Kershaw and the Dodgers.
Love is the most
important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too. Yogi Berra
Allen L Roland, PhD
Heart centered spiritual consultant and advisor Allen L
Roland can be contacted at allen@allenroland.com Allen is also a
lecturer and writer who shares a weekly political and social commentary
on his web log and
website allenroland.com. He is
also featured columnist on Veterans Today and is a
featured guest on many radio and Television programs
Close don't count in baseball. Close only counts in horseshoes and grenades. Frank Robinson
ReplyDelete