MLB Postseason and World Series thread

[The Six]

It was incredible watching this team. I used to lament that the pitchers deserved better with how good they were, but got so little offense to back it up. Matt Cain has a losing record because he'd rarely get more than 3 runs. After almost making the playoffs last year, the GM had to do something immediately so that all that youth wouldn't go to waste. It was just enough. I thought Bruce Bochy was crazy juggling the lineup around everyday, with different guys starting and sitting. Now I know I know nothing and he was right all along. As much as I love all those players I have to give a large chunk of admiration to Bochy for working with those guys and making the right moves. This wasn't a team where you could just stick any guy in there and the players would have taken care of themselves. He knows how to handle the best pitching staff in the world, and the best team in the sport. From when he took the Padres to the WS and got swept, you can tell that he really learned a lot and used all those years intelligently.

[Still MIGHTY]

ESPN: How does it feel winning the World Series?

Brian Wilson: It feels like I want to rage... right now...

[BrianVlietDesign]

Believe it or not a lot of us here in Richmond, VA, including myself are actually very happy the Giants won. Our AA farm team, the Flying Squirrels are affiliated to them. And though I'm a ChiSox/Blue Jays fan, I supported the Giants the whole way through. It's nice to see those guys get the win. Congrats Giants fans, us Squirrels fans here in RVA couldn't be more happy for you.

[The Six]

Think of those Marlins teams that beat the Giants in the first round years ago...now the Giants have Renteria as the Series MVP, and the NLCS MVP was Ross, whom the Marlins waived. Funny how these things happen.

[Quillz]

As a Dodgers fan, I'm actually glad to see the Giants win. I just feel like they deserved it. They played harder, they had a longer draught, and, no offense at all to Dallas, I just can't help but feel the Rangers sort of picked up a ton of bandwagon fans a la Tampa Bay in '08.

Looking forward to next season to see the Giants-Dodgers rivalry renewed, now that both have an equal number of pennants + championships.

[Quillz]

Also, Lincecum was just incredible tonight. I'd go as far to say he was far more impressive this postseason than was Cliff Lee.

[rainmaker17]

It's absolurely dead in Arlington. You can head a pindrop. Stunning.

We're supposed to party?

Honestly, congratulations to San Francisco and the Giants. World Champions indeed. The talking heads told us we had a match-up of great hiiting meets great pitching. Great pitching won,obviously.

What does excite me is the future for the Rangers. They are young, talented and finally have baseball-minded ownership to back them. Despite what some may say, this team IS relevant now.

Thanks for the great ride Texas, can't wait for the next!

[rainmaker17]

no offense at all to Dallas, I just can't help but feel the Rangers sort of picked up a ton of bandwagon fans

You're wrong.

[The_Admiral]

So fan support for the Texas Rangers has been flatlining at World Series Intensity for years? oooookaaaayyyyy...

[Quillz]

no offense at all to Dallas, I just can't help but feel the Rangers sort of picked up a ton of bandwagon fans

You're wrong.

And I would certainly hope I am. That's what really annoyed me about Tampa Bay winning the AL in 2008... I was happy the team won, but the amount of bandwagon fans they picked up was almost disgusting.

Glad to hear the Rangers fans aren't like that, despite my initial impressions.

[Quillz]

It's absolurely dead in Arlington. You can head a pindrop. Stunning.

We're supposed to party?

Honestly, congratulations to San Francisco and the Giants. World Champions indeed. The talking heads told us we had a match-up of great hiiting meets great pitching. Great pitching won,obviously.

What does excite me is the future for the Rangers. They are young, talented and finally have baseball-minded ownership to back them. Despite what some may say, this team IS relevant now.

Thanks for the great ride Texas, can't wait for the next!

And I would agree with this, too. The Rangers are most certainly still relevant. Will they win the AL next season? Who knows. But, like you said, they have a young core, and Nolan Ryan's ownership may be the best thing to ever happen to the franchise. Unless the Angels and A's step up the competition next season, I really can't see Texas not making the playoffs again next season, at the very least.

[tp49]

You know what I always think back to during this run the Giants are having? Last month during Ken Burns' "Baseball: The Tenth Inning", the columnist from San Francisco who was talking about how someday the Giants will win a World Series in SF after talking about the 2002 heartbreak. Funny how that's a game away from actually happening

Yeah so have I. Marcos Breton is his name. If the Giants finish this thing, I'd like to read his thoughts on the whole experience. It will be interesting.

Breton writes for the Sacramento Bee. Here's the link to his column that will appear in this morning's paper.

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/02/3151524/after-53-seasons-giants-win-first.html

[Still MIGHTY]

You know what I always think back to during this run the Giants are having? Last month during Ken Burns' "Baseball: The Tenth Inning", the columnist from San Francisco who was talking about how someday the Giants will win a World Series in SF after talking about the 2002 heartbreak. Funny how that's a game away from actually happening

Yeah so have I. Marcos Breton is his name. If the Giants finish this thing, I'd like to read his thoughts on the whole experience. It will be interesting.

Breton writes for the Sacramento Bee. Here's the link to his column that will appear in this morning's paper.

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/02/3151524/after-53-seasons-giants-win-first.html

That was a beautiful column. Very nice. Brought it full circle. I like it.

[The_Admiral]

Yeah, it was very nice.

I'm happy for the Giants and their fans, especially because the answer to the question "which player was a perennial All-Star in Pittsburgh before leading San Francisco to its first championship?" is somebody who isn't named Barry Bonds. Love it, fathead. Now that the Giants won it all the right way, I hope that their otherwise likable fans can come to terms with the fact that they long supported a liar, a cheat, a fraud, a criminal, and he didn't win them any rings. The atonement can begin.

[TheOldRoman]

From Ed Price on Twitter:

"Until now, only one team has clinched 3 postseason series on the road: 2005 White Sox."

And the White Sox clinched it in the state of Texas (they swept the astros)

and the Giants are about to do it in Arlington, Texas.

Coincidence?

I said before the series that this Giants team reminded me a lot of the 2005 White Sox. Scrappy teams with great pitching which always seemed to come up with the big hit or make the great defensive play when needed. Juan Uribe recorded the last two outs in 2005 on two of the best defensive plays you would ever see in the World Series. I was happy to see Uribe win it again and have such a huge impact in the playoffs. Of course, Aaron Rowand was on that White Sox team also, although he was a part time player (and an albatross contract) on the Giants.

Congrats to the Giants and Giants fans. A team with that nice of a park and such great uniforms deserves a championship every 50 years or so. And to the state of Texas, you guys won a world series game this time. Next time the Rangers or Astros get back maybe they can win two.

[FiddySicks]

I usually I'm the loudest and most emotional one in the room when Giants games are on, but when Edgar Renteria hit that three run bomb I just sat there quietly and watched. Everyone thought there was something wrong with me, but truth is, this is a feeling that is so good that standing up and cheering as loud as I could just couldn't possibly justify how awesome this really is. The San Francisco Giants are World Series champs. Thats gonna take awhile to really set in. I'm still stuck somewhere in-between shock and total disbelief.

Anyone else going to the parade on Wednesday?

[The_Admiral]

The '10 Giants and '05 White Sox also share the dubious achievement of not having any Hall of Famers on their playoff rosters, unless Tim Lincecum ends up having a terrific career. Not to take anything away from Giants fans, but people in the future are really going to scratch their heads over a world champion whose most illustrious hitter was Edgar Renteria. The dominant pitching keeps them from being an outright Crappy Champion (nobody in recent memory can top the Carolina Hurricanes, for my money), but it's not going to be easy explaining this one.

[tp49]

Anyone else going to the parade on Wednesday?

Hells yes!!!

[The Six]

but it's not going to be easy explaining this one.

The team with the best pitching shut down everyone else. Easy.

[Sport]

The '10 Giants and '05 White Sox also share the dubious achievement of not having any Hall of Famers on their playoff rosters, unless Tim Lincecum ends up having a terrific career. Not to take anything away from Giants fans, but people in the future are really going to scratch their heads over a world champion whose most illustrious hitter was Edgar Renteria. The dominant pitching keeps them from being an outright Crappy Champion (nobody in recent memory can top the Carolina Hurricanes, for my money), but it's not going to be easy explaining this one.

Yeah that Hurricanes team was pretty mediocre. They basically won because nobody else had a great team that year. I'll submit two more, the 05 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 06 St. Louis Cardinals. Revisionists will point to Roethlisberger, Bettis, Pujols, Chris Carpenter, and Adam Wainwright, but those two teams were the worst regular season teams I've ever seen win the championship in their respective sports. The Steelers had the most unbelievable string of luck on their way to the Super Bowl and every opponent melted down against the 83 win Cardinals.