Bloggi's great return

Tim Lincecum deserves the Cy Young.

I watched him pitch live and in person at the Giant's last game of the season; the kid has the blood of Zeus in him. Literally. He throws bolts of lightning.

For real, though, his form and consistency (sans that 9 run pounding earlier in the week - his only such day I might add) are thoroughly a sight to behold. At a mere 23 years old, he stands at 5' 11'' and a measly 170 lbs. And yet, he can again and again shoot at 98mph fastball down the pipe against the league's best, sports a 2.62 ERA, has limited opposing batters to an infantile .167 average and finished with a jaw-dropping 265 strikeouts - the highest in BOTH leagues and the secon-highest in Giants HISTORY. Up until the last week he led the MLB in both ERA and strikeouts. Unfortunately he had his one bad day of the season and knocked his ERA down to 3rd. The only reason he isn't competitive in all 3 categories for pitchers (which adds wins) is that the Giants offense couldn't provide Lincecum with run support if the opposing teams set up a little league pitching machine on the mound and handed out 'roids to the lineup like it was bubblegum. He finished the season with 18 wins, only 4 behind the leaders in that category. He could have easily gotten that many if he had any decent offensive support behind him. The fact that he won 18 is a near miracle in on itself.

That being said, I had the astounding opportunity to witness the Giants ruin the end of the Dodgers' season TWICE in one weekend, which was incredible. Their 10-inning nail-biter over their old rivals on Friday nearly made me shit myself. It was a 3 hour 40 minute test of my faith in superstitions, as I tried drinking beer at the right times in conjunction with the Giants being at bat and calculated the best time to consume the allmighty Gilroy Garlic Fries and hope the toxic garlic cloud might interfere with the Dodgers' ability to stay focused.

It worked.

Brian Wilson just about blew the save from Brad Henessy, who had his first quality start in a while and kept the Dodgers to only 2 runs despite his 8.5 ERA. BUT the offense actually came up in a pinch (for once) and tied it in the bottom of the 9th and went on to shove it up LA's ass in the 10th.

Now Sunday's game was just an all out day of me jumping out of my bleacher seat and pounding my fist in the air. Lincecum recorded 9 kills in the first 3 innings. We were sitting in the centerfield bleachers and had the perfect TV camera view of every mezmerizing pitch. He went on to mark down 13 kills over 7 innings (a tie for his personal best in one game), holding LA to 3 hits and 1 run.

Watch this to get a taste.

Add to this that we gave Omar Visquel a standing ovation when he left the field, as it was likely his last, at least with the Giants. Granted, he didn't post phenomenal numbers this season, but he's been a cornerstone of the veteran heart and spirit for a long time. Also add to this that Brian Frandsen made a return to the plate after having Achilles tendon surgery (can you imagine that?!), Peter Magowan officially retired, AND

get this:

I got to run the bases at AT&T Park! Hellz yeah, that's right. I got to be on the field and run the bases. For those of you that know me, I have video and picture proof.

Needless to say I had one of the most incredible weekends of my life.

Here's to 2009, Giants. Let's get over .500, shall we?



-Bloggi Out

"What's that smell?..... Ahhhh, yes. Defeat."