Sunday, October 27, 2002

Game Seven

If they're going to play a World Series where your team isn't involved, it may as well be an entertaining one of the seven-game variety. This year's Series has lived up to that wish, right down to a shocking late-inning jaws-of-defeat reversal in Game Six by the Anaheim Angels. Now we're left with one game in the baseball season, with all the well-marbled cliches on the table. If you're a fan of the game, you can't ask for much more, period. Well, besides less Tim McCarver and a quicker game and fewer of those enlarged-pore closeups, and a pitching duel, or at least a couple of staffs that don't look gassed...

By the seventh inning of last night's game, I had pretty much given up on the Angels, resorting to mocking their dorky, feeble, "Yes We Can" slogan right up until Scott Spezio's three-run homer landed in the rightfield seats. "If they're not going to entertain me by winning this, I'm free to start hating them," I told my fellow viewers. Fortunately I didn't have to make good on a threat to vomit on myself in the event of a Giants win (I'm withdrawing that threat tonight).

Despite my grouchy resignation, I knew better than to give up. With Shawon Dunston's home run threatening to stand up as the Series-winning hit, we were obviously on the wrong side of the looking glass. Sooner or later reality was bound to return in the form of the Rally Monkey, whose cult I have now joined. That mojo WORKS.

The play from last night that will endure in my memory was pinch-runner Chone Figgins taking third on Barry Bonds. That aggressiveness -- a hallmark of these Angels -- pressured the best player in the world into bare-handing and ultimately bobbling Garret Anderson's bloop single. The result keyed Dusty Baker to bring in closer Robb Nen early, and set up Glaus's game-winning double four pitches later. It also served to reminded us that Bonds is at least partially human, as he further proved when he bobbled Glaus' double.

Call him 1/3 Human and 2/3 Remorseless Hitting Machine. And consider the Angels lucky that Bonds didn't get a chance to atone for his mistakes, because there's still that air of inevitablity about him. Face it, he's GOING to hit a home run in this game tonight; the key for the Angels is damage control.

It certainly doesn't help that Anaheim is scrapping for pitchers. John Lackey will start on three days rest, taking the place of the injured Ramon Ortiz. Lackey already started Game Four on short rest, having been called upon in relief of Kevin Appier in Game Two; he ran out of gas in the fifth and allowed a 3-spot. K-Rod went a long 2 2/3 yesterday (and Bonds went long off of him). Ben Weber is toast. Don't even look at Appier or Washburn at this point, because it's just plain ugly to contemplate either getting lit again.

Against that, the Giants offer Livan Hernandez, who himself was lit up in Game Three. His sudden descent from Clutch Pitching God to Fat Hittable Slug was surprising (except perhaps to Giants fans), but it's not why I'm revising my prediction from my previously stated Giants in Seven. Ortiz's absence as starter (due to tendonitis in the wrist, reportedly), is reason enough for a reappraisal, but the real dealn is that Monkey business. I've seen too much over the past few weeks not to believe in it for one more day.

--posted by Jay at 7:51 PM LINK