Baseball Journal One Giant Leap 10-29-12

Over the course of my week's vacation I watched six baseball games. The Giants won them all. That last game had so much tension in it, I almost cried when Theriot made his splashy slide across home plate in the top of the 10th.

As much as their 2010 championship seemed unlikely, this year's proves that was no fluke. While other teams in baseball and other sports grab all the headlines with their big, flashy superstars, the Giants are world champions again with a cast of role players who've bought into the concept of playing as a team, and solid, workman-like, if quirky, pitching.

How did they do it? That's question baseball executives will be asking all off-season. Chances are in the big markets, they'll come up with the wrong answer. Like I said, this has happened twice, with a largely different group of "misfits and castoffs," so there was a strategy, not an accident.

Honestly, it all starts with Buster. He was the missing piece for all these people to put it together. His absence was what sunk the Giants last year. His quiet leadership makes great pitching excellent, provides a steady core for an eclectic bunch players, and lets Bochy manage with confidence. MVP for sure. This is all mushy, touchy-feelie stuff and can't be quantified, but the results speak for themselves.

"There's no way you caught that," said the ump after watching Buster's amazing backhanded catch of a near wild pitch. The ump could have said that about several of Gregor Blanco's catches, not to mention other great plays by the two Brandon's. Then there's the Panda, who seemed to defy physics with some great picks at third. This is another element of the 2012 team that helped produced a World Series win: great fielding. An entire team can go into a batting slump, individual pitchers can lose their stuff, but great defense doesn't take a day off. When combined with great pitching, nobody scores or when they do, they can't blow you out.

What can you say about the pitching? Zito can no longer be used as the butt of an expensive joke. When he "pitched the game of his life" in Game five versus the Cardinals, what do you call it when outdueled Justin Verlander the next week? Vogelsong's long journey was apparently well worth the trip. Bumgarner, rock steady. Cain? Well, what did you expect from him? Anything less than a great game? Then there's the two-time Cy Young winner, Tim Lincecum, finding his good stuff out of the bullpen.

Then there's Sergio Romo. I generally don't want to meet any of these athletes in person. It probably couldn't be anything other than a disappointment. However, when MLB Fan Caver, Ashley Chavez, mentioned meeting Romo as a highlight, I don't doubt it. Even if he'd failed horribly in the series, I suspect he'd still be a happy, upbeat guy. That wasn't what happened though. Sergio just got more and more un-hittable as the playoffs went on. I can't believe some sportscasters are getting on Miguel Cabrera for not swinging at that final pitch. That final fastball down the middle surprised everybody in stadium, except Buster and Romo. After being set up with all those incredible sliders, who was going to be able to hit that sneaky fastball? Who?

There was one word that summed up these Giants that several of the players used: blessed. They were happy and grateful for the opportunity to be playing there. Even if you hate the Giants, you can love this group of players.

Congratulations.