The Daily News
1 “Detroit probably didn’t know what it was in for. Our guys had a date with destiny.”
–Bruce Bochy
2 What a night.
3 It went late.
4 It had to.
5 Pablo gets MVP.
6 That almost seemed weird.
7 When a TEAM wins, then the team should be the MVP.
8 What I love is that the East Coast is somehow bewildered that the best team in baseball won the World Series in four.
9 The other night some guy said that the Giants were just lucky.
10 Come, good sir. Did you watch the games?
11 What’s funny is that the right team won.
12 Unquestionably. Here is a quote by Tiger’s manager Jim Leyland: “They were better than we were. And you can’t say anything different. I mean, if it goes seven games and you lose the seventh game on a freak play or something, you might say, well, we were as good as they were. But in this Series, we were not as good as they were. They did a fantastic job. They’re the world champions, and they deserve to be the world champions.”
13 I thank Mark Purdy for that quote. I also thank him for getting this one from Series MVP Pablo Sandoval: “The right time. It came down to the right time.”
14 I couldn’t have said it better. It has been an astounding ride, and we are proud of the our team.
15 You know what else is funny?
16 I don’t feel like throwing this in anyone’s face. Baseball is the way we pass time on summer days when we hear lawnmowers buzzing and see butterflies alighting in our gardens, and hear our awesome announcers bringing us the games.
17 It is a part of the daily noise we often ignore while enjoying things.
18 Every now and again our teams win big games, and we go out of our minds.
19 But in the middle of summer, we have no idea about being careful about what you wish for.
20 By October, you start putting your entire life on hold.
21 Your team starts to infiltrate and control your daily life.
22 Summer has stepped into October, stepping on the feet of dusty skeletons and holding up the advancement of the ghosts.
23 It becomes other worldly.
24 And when finally you win it all, it is more of a death than a celebration.
25 You’re just relieved that the stuff is over.
26 This morning I am too exhausted to post pictures of Giants’ fans in Detroit putting brooms in people’s faces.
27 It isn’t about that.
28 It’s about that sort of thing in July, but by the time you are in the Series, you just want it all to end. In the end, it was a blink.
29 This one ended with a bang, not a whimper. And it ended almost before it began.
30 Romo strikes out the side in the tenth, with a caught looking on Cabrera. That strikeout was just plain stupid, and Cabrera had to know it. You don’t lose the Series on an 89 mph fastball. I loved it. I have to admit. I loved it.
31 I shot my fists into the night, and loved every second of it.
32 I admit I screamed, “GIANTS!!!” Because I could.
33 A lot of it was a huge relief.
34 I went on Facebook and posted something or other. I couldn’t even see the keyboard because I was so tired.
35 But World Champions. And deservedly so.
36 How do you enjoy that with grace?
37 A part of me felt sorry for all the baseball fans who followed their own teams all year. I want to share the joy with them, the joy of the game, for love of the game.
38 It’s almost like once your team is out of it, the only people who care about the Series are the teams that are in it.
39 And when your team just whoops the other teams ass, you almost feel guilty about celebrating.
40 It’s sort of like, “Let’s have a huge celebration for us!” And the 99% who didn’t get there are not on board.
41 I think the true celebration should be for all the baseball fans who love the game. It feels like it should be a shared thing, like ALL the teams should hoist the trophy and pass it around for taking part in the greatest sport of them all.
42 Just some thoughts.
43 I went in to each playoff game with a bit of Zen thrown in. I played Sugar Magnolia before each game. I played my guitar an hour before each opening pitch, concentrating on throwing good vibes and nice thoughts out there. I stayed calm. That’s what our Giants are about. Daily routine. Garbage trucks. Particles.
44 I wore the same things each night, and yes, I DID launder them.
45 Same hat.
46 I showered each night before the game, then put on my hat. It’s a Sinatra hat.
47 It looks clean, but like it’s been through a season. Same approach, each game of the playoffs.
48 I got into a zone, and I think most Giants’ fans get what I’m talking about.
49 Too much on the line not to think of good vibes and particles.
50 If you’re going to San Francisco…
51 The East Coast doesn’t get that stuff.
52 Dude. Our Governor used to be called Moonbeam.
53 We have Mays and McCovey.
54 It is what it is.
55 Thanks Giants. You lit up the night, and it is a grand feeling.
56 I’ll celebrate with the parade, and the DVD’s. Those aren’t throwing it in other fans’ faces.
57 Thank you everyone who respects baseball.
58 It remains something no other sports’ fans can understand, let alone people not into sports.
59 Thanks to every fan for a wonderful season.
60 Pitchers and catchers report in Februrary.
61 I’m happy to say, “That’s close!”
62 And thanks Boche.
63 See you again. It’s great to be alive, and to have lived through all of this. Raise a glass to the greatest sport on Earth. Raise a glass to the San Francisco Giants. They deserve it. So do their fans.
64 Peace.
~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News
www.xanga.com/bharrington
