Tonight's Challenge (Update: Met!)

As the season record gets closer, Golden State Warriors are doing what is expected of a great team--winning against inferior opponents at home.  (Although as more teams adopt their style of play, no game is safe.)  In a few hours they face one of the remaining obvious tests: less than 24 hours after their home victory Tuesday, they are playing in a different time zone and altitude, in Utah.  If they win this game, the record comes more than a game nearer.

After the game....

The Warriors victory over the Jazz in overtime may be their most significant win in months.  This was not only one of their biggest remaining tests of the regular season run at the record (and possibly their biggest), it may be their last playoff preview.

This is especially true if--as Tony Parker is saying--coach Popovich rests his starters in the remaining two Spurs games with the Warriors.  (Cautioning that such player statements have been tactical misdirections before. If the Spurs are still undefeated at home when the Warriors arrive, I don't see them giving that game away.)

This game showed two things.  The first is the basis of everything: the Warriors as a team have no significant weaknesses in their game. (Of course this game was not the first time this was exhibited.)  They can play defense, they can score in every way, they rebound, they steal, they block shots and they make their foul shots. They can protect the ball (though there have been more games lately when turnovers were higher than they should be.) And they are, as Steve Kerr likes to say, very competitive.  They will exploit any weakness of the other team.

The second is that even though they were playing at Utah altitude after getting there at 4 a.m. from a tough game at home, and were probably physically as well as mentally weary, they pulled up from their reserves the skills and effort to win.  The game in regulation was uneven, but they ran away with overtime--especially Steph Curry.  He wore the Utah defenses down.

 It all bodes well for the playoffs, and, oh yeah, the Record. It was their 68th win, the most in franchise history, one game shy of the Lakers record that the Bulls broke.  They can tie that one on Friday when the Boston Celtics come to Oracle Arena--a streaky team that's got a pretty good record, coming in for their second of a road back to back.

When They're 65

With Bogut back on the home court, the Warriors have returned to form in two victories to reach 65 wins--only the second team to do it for two years running, the first being the team that set a lot of records they're going for this year, the late 90s Chicago Bulls.  In these two games combined, the Splash Brothers (Curry and Thompson) scored more than 135 points.  

Having defeated both the Clippers and Mavs this week, the Warriors now have to guard against lack of concentration as they face clearly inferior opponents, beginning with the Sixers on Sunday.  Several players after the game noted that this sort of happened against Dallas (a likely playoff team), when an 18 point lead almost evaporated in the fourth quarter.

Then come the Wizards, who've been on a bit of a tear lately, and the trip to Utah.  The Jazz took down Cleveland last week and would dearly love to giant-kill GS as well.  The Warriors play Memphis and San Antonio twice more, home and away.  Boston, Portland and Minnesota are their other regular season opponents.  Put it this way--they have to lose 3 out of the remaining 10 to not break the record for most wins in a season.   If they keep winning, they will have the opportunity to tie the record against San Antonio at home.

The Last Ten

Are the last ten the hardest?  I guess we'll see.  The Warriors are at 63-7, after a loss in San Antonio and a close victory in Minnesota.  They have 12 games left, and must win 10 to break the season win record.  With each victory the percentages become better that they will.  Or seem to--because the pressure mounts, and the fatigue, and lately, the injuries.

The Spurs took advantage of Andrew Bogut's absence at center, and tried a new defense of quick switches, especially on Steph Curry.  When the Warriors saw Minnesota doing the same defense they were prepared, even without Bogut.  Curry had two bad shooting games in a row, but both games were close anyway.  The effort to beat them so exhausted the Spurs that for the first time all year they blew a 20 point lead and lost.

The Warriors go home and mostly stay there for 9 of the final 12 games.  But their first game back is a tough one--the Clippers, always out for blood against Golden State.  The Warriors play Dallas and the Spurs on this home stand, and go to Utah and finally to San Antonio.  Those are the five biggest challenges, on paper.  And it starts Wednesday with the Clips.  I'd feel better with Bogut back, but no word on that yet.  Still, the Clips are kind of reeling lately, and Blake Griffith is still out.

At Giants camp, another troubling injury, this time to catcher Trevor Brown, but again it doesn't seem serious.  Brown has a good chance of making the team, especially with Susac still bothered by a mysterious wrist problem.  Hard to evaluate pitchers at this point, but among the veteran position players, the best news appears to be Angel Pagan (hitting well, running better than in recent years, and fielding his new position in left) and Hunter Pence (3 homers, etc.)  Pence and Joe Panik healthy and back in form are confidence builders for sure.

One Down

With a fantastic late flurry in the fourth, the Warriors blew open what had been a close game against Dallas, winning 130-112.  It was yet another record-setter and record-tying performance.

Now the biggest challenge of the season so far: an overnight trip to San Antonio.  To make it more exciting, Andrew Bogut was injured and probably won't play against the Spurs.  That's the biggest personnel loss so far--especially against the Spurs, and especially on defense.

The Splash Brothers were both "on" in Dallas (combining for 70 points), and even though Steph Curry proved in Dallas that he's essentially unguardable, they'll both need to be on big time in San Antonio (which means a back to back big night for Klay Thompson) if the Warriors are going to do what they haven't done in this century, and what nobody has done in San Antonio this season: beat the Spurs in their own building.  If they do, it will be their most spectacular win of the season.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants have fans holding their breath as the injury bug that ate their season last year beginning in spring training has been biting again.  So far, nothing long term, but it's ridiculous.  Several veterans have lost playing time because of injuries, but the most maddening and ridiculous have been to two new Giants--pitcher Cueto throws one pitch and gets hit in the head with a line drive and in his first game playing center field  Denard Span injures his shoulder on the first fly ball hit to him.

But at least so far, the difference is that the injuries weren't serious.  Cueto survived without a concussion, Matt Cain recovered to pitch a great game today against the Padres, with four Giants homering, including Span.  MadBum has recovered from his two small injuries fast enough to start Saturday.

It's actually been a pretty good spring for the Giants, especially with eye-popping hitting by young players who will go back to the minors (or already have) but who make the Giants' future (in some cases, near future) look good.

None Bigger

Golden State finished its home stand still undefeated there, with 61 wins in all for the season so far, thanks to a drubbing of the New York Knicks on Wednesday.  Their home winning streak is at 50, as they keep extending the record.

But their biggest remaining challenge of the regular season is next: back to back road games at Dallas and San Antonio, Friday and Saturday.  One of their 6 losses came in Dallas, and they haven't won in San Antonio (which is also undefeated this year at home) in 20 years, not since the Spurs first featured Tim Duncan.

Plus the Warriors are missing two important pieces:  Andre Iguodala and Festus Ezeli, both injured.  They won't even make the trip.

The drama of the San Antonio game also has to do with that home winning streak.  No team has ever gone through the NBA season undefeated at home.  Right now Golden State and the Spurs are.  Counting this game, the Warriors have two games in San Antonio.  The Spurs have one more at Golden State.

As for the big record, the Warriors have 15 games left.  They must win 12 to break the 72 victory record. At this point, the Warriors are 4 games ahead of the Spurs for the best record this season, their number one goal since it affects the playoffs.  Every game is important.  But there are none bigger than the two this weekend.

There's That Way, and There's This Way

After some games that were shaky thrilling maybe more than they should have been, the Golden State Warriors got back on track, showing how they can beat you that way, and they can beat you this way.

That way was  vs. the Utah Jazz, a game in which the Warriors scored 115 but Step Curry had all of 18 points.  Curry however led the team in assists.

This way was more familiar, even classic: Klay Thompson and Curry combined for 71 of the Warriors' 128 points against Portland, Thompson with 37, Curry with 34.  But as a team, a season low 8 turnovers.  And a stifling defense against the team that beat them at their last meeting by more than 30 points.

45 and The 300

Monday night the Golden State Warriors broke the NBA record for consecutive wins at home with their 45th, and Steph Curry became the first player in NBA history to hit 300 three pointers in a season.  He scored 41, including seven 3s.

Whether it's a temporary lull or a return to reality, the Warriors aren't putting teams away early as they used to, but they still have the best record ever at this point in the season at 56-6.

Even after the Lakers' surprising victory over the Warriors Sunday, the L.A. Times did this story by Dylan Hernandez on why the Warriors are a great team.   He quotes Laker great James Worthy comparing the Warriors with the Magic Johnson Showtime Lakers (and Worthy was the speedster scorer on that team who I thought never got the credit he deserved.)  He recalled that the style of that team was brand new and basketball purists criticized them.  It took awhile--and winning championships--before their style of play was accepted.

You know, I'm just old enough to remember that.  Though I started watching the NBA with the Larry Bird Celtics, the Lakers soon captured my imagination, with Magic, Kareem and Worthy.  And I do remember that "Showtime" was at first a slur before it became a brand.  Following that Lakers team was frowned upon.  (Furtively following them was encouraged by the fact that the networks broadcast those playoff games on tape delay after the late news.)

The Warriors, Worthy points out, are playing in a new way now, and getting some heat from stars of previous generations.  The way to prevail now as then is to win championships.  Meanwhile, they are incredible to watch.  And for the same reason as the other great teams and players--their grace, doing what seems impossible.

Having made the playoffs, the Warriors quest now is the #1 seed in the West.  Their only serious competition is San Antonio, a team that in any other year would be making headlines for their season.  Their loss on Monday was only their tenth.

And the two remaining dangerous patches in the Warriors' schedule both involve the Spurs.  On March 18 and 19 they play back-to-back road games at Dallas and San Antonio.  Then they meet the Spurs in San Antonio again in the second game of a road back to back on April 10, this time with trip to Memphis on April 9.  This is after playing the Spurs at home on April 7.  (The Warriors are done playing the Thunder this regular season, having won all three of those games.)

And of course, these games are likely to figure in whether Golden State breaks the wins in a season record, currently held by the 1996 Chicago Bulls, at 72.  I remember that quest, too, with the Bulls looking weary as the record approached. It may be the hardest of all records to break.

Are You Stephin Kidding Me?

After two wins in Florida on back to back nights, the Warriors flew back across the country to Oklahoma to play the Thunder on Saturday night.  Recall that Steph Curry had a total of 93 points in those two games, and in the last one at Orlando he hit 10 3 pointers.

Besides San Antonio, Oklahoma Thunder are this year's strongest competition in the West.  Their two superstars, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, were hitting on all cylinders for the entire game.  When Westbrook fell on Steph Curry, sending him to the locker room with a possible ankle injury, the game seemed lost.

It wasn't.  Curry returned and helped spark a comeback.  Even though the Thunder were up by 11 with 4 minutes left in the game, the Warriors tied it with no time left, on two foul shots by not their best foul shooter, Andre Iguodala.

They fell behind again in overtime, and again the game seemed lost with 14 seconds, and then with 7 seconds to play.  Then--well, except for all the shots that came before it, all those buzzer beaters from another galaxy far, far away--this would go down in history as The Shot.

But for Steph Curry?  Another night at the office.  A shot from outer space and the game was won.  This season for the Warriors and Steph Curry is transcending the history they are making--this is the stuff of myth.

As emerging Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis tweeted, "Is this real life?"

With that shot, Curry tied the single game record for 3s, with 12.  Something like 40% is considered pretty good for making 3s.  Curry's 12 came on 16 attempts. And those were about half of the 46 points he added to the road trip total. By the end of the game, Curry had broken his own record for 3s in a season and the Warriors clinched a playoff spot--with more than two months left in this season.

Now they're going home, where they are undefeated this year.

Here's the ESPN story with the video.  It's a keeper.

More on Curry from the New York Times.

Magic

Orlando hosted a game Wednesday but it was Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors who were Magic.  In back to back games on the road, the Warriors beat Miami and Orlando.  In those two games Steph Curry scored a total of 93 points, and broke the consecutive game record for at least one 3 pointer.  On Wednesday he had 10.  The Warriors have won 3 of 4 games on this road trip since the All Star Break.

His ten included another half court shot at the buzzer.  He does that so often it's like going to a Giants game in one of Barry Bonds record homer years--if you didn't see him hit one, you might feel cheated.  Now if you're lucky enough to get into a Golden State game, if you don't see Curry make a half court shot during the game, you might be disappointed.  But if you got there early, you certainly saw him make a few in warm-ups.

After they beat the Clippers, the LA Times sportswriter contrasted the two locker rooms.  The Clippers being tentative and a bit fractious.  But the Warriors, he wrote, don't just all like each other, they love each other.

That doesn't happen very often.  Which is part of this year's Golden State Magic.  52-5, on their way to Oklahoma Saturday.  Then home.

50-5

The Golden State Warriors became the fastest team to 50 wins in NBA history by beating Atlanta, which could be the start of several records between now and the end of the season.

They came out of the All Star break rusty and dropped their first road game of a challenging trip in Portland.  They rebounded with a victory over the Clippers the next night.  Then with just a travel day across 3 time zones, they hit the court running against Atlanta.  They lost big leads in both of their victories, so Steph got no rest in the fourth quarters.

Now they fly down to Florida for back to back games with Miami and Orlando, before another single travel day to cross time zones to Oklahoma on Saturday.  It's the most punishing trip of the year, and may determine a number of things for the remainder of the season, which they spent mostly at home, but with a quick rematch with Oklahoma and three games later with San Antonio.

To break the all-time victories for a season record they need to go 23-4 for the rest of the season.  They also have the all time record in consecutive home wins in their sights.  Why should they bother with these records instead of resting players for the playoffs?  One championship related answer is San Antonio, which is 47-9 and is riding their own consecutive home wins streak.  Golden State's goal is to give itself the best possible position in the playoffs, and that means holding the best record in the West.  So they'll be out to win every game for the foreseeable future. April is another question, to be answered by what happens this month and through March.

Catching Up Links

As the NFL season becomes a memory, an article on the increasing number of players retiring before they're 30, suggesting it's related to medical findings on the perils of concussion and other injury to a healthy life.

As the NBA gets back in gear, here's a keeper about Kobe and his last All Star game.

And as MLB spring training begins, a suggestion that takeout slides of the kind that caused the injury that pretty much doomed the Pittsburgh Pirates postseason hopes late last season, may be outlawed.

Here We Go

The Golden State Warriors chase history as the NBA season resumes after the All-Star break.

And spring training begins in MLB.  Neither the San Francisco Giants nor the Pittsburgh Pirates are expected to win their divisions--but hopes are high among their fans that this will be a great year.  For the Giants of course, it's an even-numbered year, when they're used to winning it all.

A Beautiful Game--and a Once Beautiful Game

The day after Steph Curry went off on the surprisingly good Washington Wizards for 51 points, the Golden State Warriors went to the White House to get praised and teased by President Obama, for what they did last season.  Meanwhile the New Yorker published a terrific piece describing the Warriors' "beautiful game."  It puts into words why it's so much fun to watch them.

In football:
An opinion piece in the New York Times affirms much of what I've tried to say here about football and physical trauma.

George Lundberg begins with the cautionary tale of boxing, a popular sport which brutal injury consigned to a lesser role.  His example of football's growing brutality is the one I've mentioned (though I'm hardly the only one): the Steelers-Bengals playoff game.

But while Lundberg (a pathologist and football fan) called for banning boxing, he concedes that he can't yet do so for football.  He makes the same point I tried to make: "In part, I admit, because of my own bias toward football, but also because I believe that violence is a byproduct of football — one that can be reduced — not the intended result, as was the case for boxing."

If the NFL could redesign the game to emphasize violence, which it has (with the full and enthusiastic cooperation of sports media) then it can redesign it to make it less violent, and no less a sport of skill, strategy and athleticism.

So far the NFL has shown no leadership in this area, and is therefore dooming the sport to a slow but certain death. "At a bare minimum, the N.F.L. should publicly admit that there is a real problem with the risk of player brain damage (as it has in court documents). It should follow the lead of college football, which now punishes offending players with immediate expulsions from the game."

There are other ideas out there, such as widening the playing field.  But the NFL is not exploring them, and it's not hard to see why.  Besides avoiding costly lawsuits by not admitting the links to brain damage, this violence is deep in the NFL culture, though that might be changing at least among players, and certainly among parents.

I won't be watching the Super Bowl.  I haven't watched one in several years.  All those commercials and injury time-outs.  But I may well watch highlights, of what I expect to be a Carolina victory, 40-16.

Back to Back

What probably doomed the New York Knicks on Sunday happened in Philadelphia on Saturday.  It took a last second tie-breaker for the Golden State Warriors, with the best record in the NBA, to beat the Sixers, with the worst record, after being ahead in the second half by 24 points.

So even though Steph Curry had a bad shooting night in New York, and the Warriors sloppily turned the ball over too much again, they won their second of the back-to-backs by 21 points, 116-95.

Draymond Green helped compensate for Curry by hitting 9 for 9 and 20 points.  Klay Thompson had 34.  The break can't come too soon for the Warriors as they are showing signs of weariness.  And yet...two victories, and a big second half against the Knicks to win by 21.

The Long Goodbye

Thanks largely to the Bengals and their homicidal players (though that team is not unique in that respect), the Pittsburgh Steelers lost their second playoff game in a year they had a real shot at the Super Bowl.  The following week, one of the heroes of their first Super Bowl victory since the 70s glory years, wide receiver Antwaan Randle El told a Pittsburgh reporter than he wished he had never played football.  Not yet 40, he has trouble walking and maintaining balance, and is showing since of cognitive problems similar to those suffered by people twice his age.

Randle El was not a bruising lineman, but a swift and graceful wide receiver.  He did not take hits on every down.  Yet he apparently suffered substantial damage.  He told the reporter he thought professional football would be gone in 25 years because of the results of its fashionable brutality.

Apart from the injury to quarterback Big Ben which involved some extra action meant to injure, the felonious hit that hurt the Steelers was a visibly brutal one to its latest swift and graceful wide receiver, Antonio Brown.  Though to my knowledge he hasn't made waves over this incident, he also took a group of high school players to see the Will Smith movie about NFL football called "Concussion."

In his meditations on the subject in the New Yorker, its editor David Remnick relates aspects of  football's history to make the case that this brutality has always been part of the game.  It was in many ways worse when it was primarily a college sport, in the early 20th century, when 19 players were actually killed in one season.

Rules were changed, equipment improved, but Remnick writes the pressure to make big showy hits was unrelenting.  Yet, he says, people who see this violence and its results can't quite back away from watching:

 But the modern football fan in possession of a conscience and a reasonable knowledge of the horrific statistics about injuries suffered by players comes to resemble a nacho-scarfing version of St. Augustine, who, faced with his own lust, addresses God: “Lord, let me be pure . . . but not yet.” Precisely. Let’s confront the crisis in football . . . but not yet. It’s kickoff!

In a way I fall into this category, but for me it is not because I have a love-hate relationship with the violence.  Maybe I'm a pollyanna on this, but I maintain that football is a great game that doesn't need homicidal hitting.  I played it, though not in more than a semi-organized way, up until leaving high school, and though high school football was king in my western Pennsylvania (which was known for incubating college and NFL stars), there was blocking and tackling, but not hitting. Not really, or at least not much.

It's those aspects of the game--the skills, the strategies--that appeal to many fans.  It's harder and harder to look past the homicidal hits and the people (the NFL, non-playing team leaders and sports media) that promote it.

Unless the NFL radically reforms its game, it is doomed.  As Remnick says, even legendary figures of the game like Mike Ditka say they wouldn't let their children play football now.  In the short term, teams from high school to colleges will survive on players from poor families, the analogue of slaves in the gladitorial ring, with the ability to take care of their families as the suicide incentive.  Before the whole thing collapses.

For now we've got Denver and Carolina in Super Bowl Fifty.  Denver doesn't have a chance.

Basketball in the NBA is about to get especially interesting, as the much publicized Golden State Warriors have the first of four regular season games with the San Antonio Spurs, who have quietly had a season almost the match of Golden State's.  Incredibly they have not played each other this year yet.  Golden State demolished Cleveland last week--a forty point destruction of their Finals opponent last year, that probably led directly to their coach being fired, despite a winning record at the top of their division.  The Spurs seem like the Warriors real competition.

Update: The Spurs brought a 13 game winning streak and a 38-6 record to the Golden State arena in a meeting of the two most dominant NBA teams in at least a generation.  The Warriors destroyed them by 30 points, 120-90.  Department of defending Steph Curry--guarding him close and harrassing him provided him opportunities to make them look silly with his ball handling and magnetic attraction to the hoop.

Pop and Shame

In baseball, the SF Giants added an important free agent outfielder--just not one anybody was talking about, Denard Span.  Strikingly like their other big name acquisitions, Span is coming off a sub-par year, beset by injuries.  So they are all more obvious risks, though the potential of each of them is high.

Span is also much in the mold of players they have, only more so: he's fast, a good fielder (mostly center), and an excellent contact hitter with not much home run pop. So the Giants may do their mix and match outfield on a somewhat higher level, with Span, Pagan (who Span may replace in center and as lead-off), Blanco and Pence.  While this makes for a team character of play, it also has that conspicuous limitation of not much home run threat in the lineup.  They'll probably take a hard look at Jared Parker, their rookie last year who had a brief show of power.

There are contingencies to address, especially given the number of injuries these days, like quality back-ups at first and third.  Good opportunities for the farm system, and lesser known additions.  Even if only one of the three new Giants has a year towards the top of their potential, it should keep SF competitive in their division.  That will probably remain their best option for postseason.

In football, I keep getting drawn back in and rudely pushed away--basically by the violence and the injuries they cause.  I played tackle football as a kid, and I loved the game.  But at that time it was about tackling and blocking, not hitting.

The Bengals player who leveled Antonio Brown of the Steelers and gave him a concussion in one of the ugliest hits I've ever seen was penalized.  He should have been arrested.  Forget suspension.  He belongs in prison.   The Steelers are complicit in this travesty, with the coaches and organization repeatedly refusing to criticize this kind of play.  Sports media are more that complicit--they're largely responsible for the elevation of the vicious hit.  (ESPN is so bad in other ways as well.  Their on-air reporters are often wrong in the most obvious way, their writers can't even get the day of the game right--but then editors appear to be a thing of the past.)

From a fan standpoint, that vicious hit and some pretty clearly intentional attempts to cause pain and injury in the sack that injured Big Ben's shoulder, deprives us of the game we have a right to expect.  Even if both play in Denver, neither is likely to be at full strength and skill, as befits a playoff game.

But beyond that, the violence is just shameful.  And I am ashamed.  

It's Not the Baseball Hall of Fame...Yet

Back to baseball for a moment.

Department of I could still kick myself:  Some years ago I found myself footloose in Seattle and a couple of hours too late realized it was the home opener of the baseball season.  Bad enough, but Ken Griffey, Jr. homered that day.  It wasn't one of his best years but still...I never saw him play.

He made it into the Hall of Fame today with a record proportion of votes, all but unanimous.  But frankly I can't take the Hall of Fame seriously.  It's just not a Baseball Hall of Fame if Barry Bonds isn't in it, period.  It's just another hall of politics.

On another note, I've written here several times about my belief that the San Francisco Giants broadcasting team is as good as it gets, especially after listening to announcers for other cities.  Now here's a piece by someone who claims to have heard announcers for every MLB team--and he agrees.

Tea leaves seem to fall in favor of Dexter Fowler as the free agent outfielder most likely to come to the Giants.  Not the acquisition some are hoping for, and bigger names are still out there, but the Giants have won championships with over-achieving outfielders in the postseason.

Hype or Hope? Steelers The Most Feared

Is it hype, hope or what?   A long article by Andy Benoit details reasons for the headlines' assertions: Nobody Wants to Face the Steelers: An explosive downfield passing game and a creative defense make Pittsburgh the most dangerous team in the AFC bracket.

Another article by Hunter Felt in the Guardian details why the Steelers are "a force to fear" in the AFC playoffs.

Benoit's reasons are the lethal passing attack as deployed by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who he calls "the league's most gifted QB."  In addition to a quick and big scoring offense, enabled by a sturdy offensive line, Benoit cites an improving defense in the later part of the season.  He also sees intelligence in defensive designs that make up for weaknesses as cornerback.  He concludes: "The Steelers, on both sides of the ball, give an opponent a lot to prepare for. That alone is dangerous. Factor in that the Steelers in many places, including everywhere on offense, are more talented than those opponents and what you have is the scariest team entering the AFC postseason."

Hunter Felt admits the defensive breakdowns and Big Ben's interceptions, but if they can be controlled he sees the Steelers as strong against less than stellar AFC opponents.  A lot of quarterback uncertainty on the other teams is the big factor, he believes (including Tom Brady's ankle).  The Steelers may not be the best team in the conference he concludes. "They could, however, very well be the team that none of the others want to face when the games matter the most."

So is the remarkable coincidence of two such articles due to sportwriters talking to players etc. or to each other?  There's undoubted merit in the case they make, but it doesn't seem Pittsburgh sportwriters are so buoyant.

Anyway, the passing game may depend on a versatile running game, and so far that's been DeAngelo Williams.  Late Monday the unofficial word/rumors are that his ankle is sprained, the MRI was negative, so he's "day to day" (hopeful) but the Post-Gazette writers are suggesting that his chances of playing Saturday against the Bengals are slim (hopes dashed.)

With injuries for a playoff game, teams get cagey.  But if Williams isn't near 100% he might not be effective anyway.  His yardage gains slowed towards the end of the season, but he's been important as an outlet and short pass receiver.  So it's a good thing that the next guy up, Fitzgerald Touissaint, caught a two-point conversion in Sunday's game, though his 24 yards on 12 carries wasn't great.

The Bengals announced that they aren't preparing to bring back their injured starter at QB for the Steelers game Saturday, so McCarran will start again.  He did pretty well against the Steelers before, but one stat from the Bengals victory over Baltimore Sunday stands out: they went the entire game without converting a third down.

New Year Updates

First the (unexpected) good news for Steelers fans: they're in the playoffs.  After they unaccountably lost to a terrible Ravens team (for the second time this season), they needed Buffalo to defeat the Jets, and they had to win against an even more terrible team, the Browns.  Underdog Buffalo did win, and the Steelers mostly let Cleveland defeat itself.  Within minutes after the game, just about everybody on the Browns was fired.  Quarterback Johnny Football was reportedly in Las Vegas gambling.

The Steelers are the sixth seed but they won their first Super Bowl of this century from that position.  However the difference is in the Bad News: in the Cleveland game, running back DeAngelo Williams had what looks like a serious ankle injury.  Not many teams had a running back as good as Williams when their star running back went down for the season.  But if Williams is gone, too, the Steelers prospects even for a win against the Bengals in the wild card game are pretty dim.  Even the ever-impressive receiver Antonio Brown can't win it by himself.

That's the difference--the Steelers got healthy at the end of the seasons when they got to the Super Bowl and won it.  They are not healthy now, and though essentially backing into a playoff spot isn't fatal (witness the 2014 SF Giants in baseball), they already have little margin for error, without a dominating defense.

What the Steelers do have going for them is playoff experience, especially at quarterback but also across the team.  That made a big difference for the 2014 Giants, who had great heroic moments but also profited mightily from the jitters and mistakes of opponents.  The Steelers will need lots of mistakes by their opponents to get very far.

On the other hand there's an NBA team so deep that injuries barely register: the Golden State Warriors.  Steph Curry's current nagging bruise is clearly having an impact, but in the 3 games he didn't play or played little, the Warriors won two.  If not Klay Thompson, then Draymon Green or somebody else steps up and looks superhuman.   Granted the Warriors haven't been putting teams away lately but a record of 31-2 is merely ridiculous.

In baseball, everybody's waiting for the remaining name free agent outfielders to make their choices, but none of them are.  It's rumored that the Giants are actively interested in at least one, but of course nobody really knows.  There's certainly no panic about it in San Francisco.

Meanwhile the Pirates seem to be having a decent off-season with acquisitions.  There are several ex-Giants on the team now, most recently pitcher Ryan Vogelsong.  With the Cubs making a big offseason push to dominate in the division, the Pirates are basically strong but will need perseverance and steadiness to weather things in the toughest division in baseball.

December Brides

The San Francisco Giants blindsided pretty much everyone by making a major deal with pitcher Johnny Cueto.  It's for six years though in practical terms, it's really for two.

So no sooner did Jeff Samardzija convince everyone that he was a great fit as a San Francisco Giant than the Cueto news had to be absorbed.  On the face of it, he seems a less certain fit. His undeniable talent and uneven temperament, and a demonstrated penchant for getting rattled by hostile fans in away game ballparks, will require the kind of support the Giants organization and his teammates can provide, if he responds to it.

It's a big roll of the dice--even more so than Samardzija, who may not have his raw talent but really wants to be with the Giants, for all the right reasons.  After a bad half season in Kansas City, Cueto wasn't getting the free agent offers he probably expected, and this deal with the choice of becoming a free agent again in two years was apparently the decider, not the team.  Of course he has ample motivation for doing well in the next two years.   Cause $46 million a year isn't enough, I guess.  Update: Cueto sounds like a better fit in this account.

The Giants probably had little choice really, as division rivals the Diamondbacks and to a lesser extent the Dodgers strengthened their pitching.  The guy who loses in all this is pitcher Mike Leake.  A couple of weeks ago he was in the driver's seat, choosing between Arizona and SF, both good situations for him.  Now he's probably not getting an offer from either.

If the Giants can stay healthy--or healthier than last season--they may need just one of those guys to rebound.  Cueto has the bigger upside, they say, if he can return to form.  Both can give innings (which was Leake's m.o., so he becomes unnecessary) and Cueto can be dominating.  If both do well, the Giants will be hard to stop.  But with the Cubs strengthening their team, the Central division is also going to be very competitive.  Wild Cards may again be hard to come by in the West.

Now it looks as though the Giants will look at rookies for the outfield, with Gregor Blanco getting the start in left but able to play center when needed.  Though a deal for a second-tier player might yet happen, they say, it doesn't look like a proven home run hitter is headed this way.

In basketball, less than 24 hours after they beat the Celtics in Boston in double overtime, the Golden State Warriors lost their first game of the season, to the Bucks in Milwaukee, at the end of a 7 game road trip.  A game that should never have been scheduled that way.  So they stand at 24-1, with only a couple of more games in December.  Does that make sense, NBA?

In football, the Pittsburgh Steelers luck may have turned this season.  Though the running back the Bengals injured out for the season is still out, Big Ben is healthy, and the Bengals quarterback essentially injured himself, and he's out for the season, too.  The Steelers won big, but picking off the second string quarterback for two touchdowns really helped.  Next game is Denver at home, against their second string quarterback.  The division is still possible but unlikely--the Bengals, like the Steelers, have some relatively easy opponents late.  But if the Steelers beat Denver and don't screw up against weaker teams in the final two games, chances are pretty good for a wild card.  And the team that gets healthy and jells at the end of the season can go pretty far.

Winter Update

Time for a sports update, as the baseball deals come fast and furious.

The San Francisco Giants again this offseason whiffed on their high profile targets of acquisition, most recently on pitcher Grienke.  They went immediately to plan B by signing Jeff Samardzgia to a five year deal, as the second starter behind MadBum.  He gives them the durability they've been lacking, even with his off-year last year.  He could help or he could be another albatross.  That's baseball.

Why have high profile pitchers passed on the Giants?  In addition to individual reasons of where they want to play, it seems mostly ego and greed.  Who will give them the contract that pays more than the last guy to get the biggest contract.

The Giants don't need those guys.  The Giants play complete baseball and they are a real team.  Brandon Crawford--Golden Glove winner and top hitting shortstop who the Giants signed to a long-term contract this offseason--is the model.  For pure baseball fans and for San Francisco area fans, the Giants will continue to be fun to watch, and to feel good about rooting for.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors are utterly amazing.  Tonight was their biggest test so far--on the road against a good Brooklyn team, second of back-to-back games, with some beat-up players.  They lost their early lead in the third quarter and were briefly behind before surging in the fourth to win by their biggest margin in several games.  22-0.  Wow.

I've read about the new style of NBA games, but watching Warriors games on the net made it very clear: it's all 3 pointers and attacking the basket.  The 2-pointer jump shot that used to dominate, even on the throw it in, kick it out teams, has almost disappeared.

So Steve Kerr, one of the best 3 point shooters before Steph Curry and company blew all predecessors away, probably helped establish the Warriors game as their coach last year, but I haven't followed closely enough to know if that's what changed the league.

Former Laker Luke Walton is getting a lot of attention in that weird interim coach thing he's doing, for managing this incredible streak.  How can it be he's not getting official credit for these victories?

Big money egos taints major league baseball for me, and the injuries in football--especially concussions--have drained much of my enthusiasm for the NFL.  The Steelers play Indianapolis tonight, but this doesn't look like their year.  I've been through this particular frustration before---when the Steelers seem loaded with talent but can't put it together consistently to win.  Their defense in particular is suspect.  And Carolina and now Seattle seem the teams with the mojo working.

Later...

On the other hand...after a rocky first quarter, the Steelers manhandled the Colts 45-10 and they looked like magic.  Big Ben had an amazing touch on passes long and short, and his receivers looked superhuman.  The defense came up with takeaways and gave up only one touchdown.  Effective running game set up the pass barrage.  Suddenly the Steelers look like they might make noise this year.  Their next two games--New England and Cinncy--will tell the tale.  Commentators are prone to inflation these days, but I did hear words saying the Steelers may be better than both.  Guess we'll see.

Bad Day, Bad Plays in New York & Pittsburgh

Daniel Murphy went from hero to goat for the Mets in the World Series, but he had serious competition.  His errors in the field led to victories for Kansas City, including in the final game in New York.  But other errors, possibly including managerial mistakes, will keep New Yorkers moaning all winter.  KC won the Series in five games.  What could be more demoralizing that leading in the eighth inning and losing--three times, including KC scoring 5 runs in the 12th inning of the final game.

The Mets had starting pitching and hitting, but KC exploited their weaknesses of defense (especially infield) and relief pitching.  Ultimately however it may be Series experience that made the difference.  KC played last year, losing to the Giants in seven.  The Giants played relaxed but also with nerves of steel.  They'd been there before, and even though key players like Joe Panik hadn't been, the team had--and the Giants are always a team.  KC took it all in.  This year they were the team that played relaxed, with nerves of steel.

Meanwhile in Pittsburgh Sunday, things also started in very promising fashion.  Big Ben was back from his injury and had the Steelers ahead in the fourth quarter against the undefeated Cinncy Bengals.  But whether it was fatigue or just bad luck, his fourth quarter interceptions gave the game away.

Perhaps even worse for Pittsburgh, they lost their franchise running back to injury--likely for the year.  It's not as bad as losing Ben, but almost.  It's just November but it's hard to see a path to the playoffs.

Cutch Apparent

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

 Andrew McCutchen learned the Roberto Clemente story many years ago, long before being drafted by Clemente’s former team, the Pirates, in 2005. When he was 11 or 12, McCutchen went to a baseball camp in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the city where Clemente was born and raised. There, McCutchen met Manny Sanguillen, the former Pirates catcher who played alongside Clemente, and heard the story of a Hall of Fame outfielder, the pride of Pittsburgh, who died in a New Year’s Eve plane crash in 1972 while on a mission to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

 The Commissioner’s Award, given annually to the player who best represented the game of baseball on and off the field, was renamed in 1973 to honor Clemente. On Friday, McCutchen was named the 2015 Roberto Clemente Award winner in a ceremony at Citi Field prior to Game 3 of the World Series, joining Willie Stargell as just the second Pirates player to win the award...

I want to strive to be like he was,” McCutchen said, “a person who would give you the clothes off of his back just to make this world a better place.”

I saw Clemente play many times, mostly at Forbes Field in the late 50s and 60s.  I shook his hand on the field once, on one of those pre-game events when kids could meet the players.  His last regular season game was on September 30, 1972.  I saw him last on September 21, in New York, in a game with the Mets.  He got at least one hit that day, closing in on 3,000 hits for his career, a mark he hit with his last at-bat.  He hit .325 in the NLCS, but the Pirates lost to the Reds in the fifth game.

Clemente was the most exciting player I ever saw play.  Only Barry Bonds came close.  I've never seen McCutchen play, which means I haven't seen a game in Pittsburgh since 2008.  Horrors!  But everything I know about him makes him a fitting heir to Clemente, on and off the field.

This Was A Job for Superman

The Team of Destiny is in part predictable: it's the team that's peaking at playoff time, often because their lineup is healthy after an uneasy season, and/or they made late season acquisitions that just jelled.  In retrospect, you can see this pattern a lot--in the 2012 and 2014 San Francisco Giants, for example.

But the unpredictable part is the Guy Who Becomes Superman.  Marco Scutaro.  Cody Ross. Madison Bumgarner. And of course, the payoff of things done right by managers, coaches and the front office, and team unselfishness.  But often enough you need the superhero.

The Mets got healthy, they seem to have team chemistry, their strength of starting pitching stayed strong, and second baseman Daniel Murphy put on a cape and flew.

Murphy hit a home run in six consecutive postseason games, including all four in the NLCS Mets sweep of the Cubs. That's an All Time Record, which in baseball means it hadn't happened in more than a hundred years.  In tonight's game he had four hits, the last one--in the eighth inning--a home run to center field.  He'd missed a homer to center field earlier by feet, getting instead a double that splashed off the warning track onto the ivy.  He was named series MVP.

Murphy had his biggest home run season this year--he hit 14.  But that's back when he was Clark Kent, mild mannered utility infielder for a not so great Metropolitan baseball team.

I've written here several times that I've never been able to figure out how the Cubs won so many games.  Once the Mets (and Murphy) beat Arietta, the series was functionally over.  The Mets, who lost all their regular season games against the Cubs, never even trailed the Cubs in any of the four playoff games.

Now the question becomes whether they will meet another apparent Team of Destiny, Toronto, which must win the next two games, both in Kansas City.

Schadenfreude 3 Dodgers 2

I won't lie.  It's the Dodgers losing rather than the Mets winning that did it for me, that actually had me excited in the bottom of the ninth on the MLB gametracker.  The criminal Chase Utley making the first out of the ninth was sweet, in his first appearance since he crippled the Mets' shortstop.

And on almost the same grounds I'm sticking with the Mets against the sentimental favorite (outside of New York) Chicago Cubs.  Yes, Barack's team, but they employ a serial criminal, however legal.

But I won't bring the same feeling to it.  I spent 5 years in Illinois, give or take, though outside of Areitta I still can't figure out why the Cubs win.   The Dodgers are not only the Giants perennial rival, these days they are their opposite.  The Giants clubhouse ethic is inclusive, personal and team-oriented, with a manager who is both respected and loved.  The operative word for the Giants is loyalty, as it is for their fans.  The Dodgers with their huge payroll appear to be the opposite.  Not as bad as Washington perhaps but by tomorrow they'll probably have a new manager, too.  Update 10/22: It took a few more days, but Dodger manager Mattingly is gone.

Meanwhile Toronto won their first series, and despite the fan damage in their ultimate home win, I'm sticking with them.  TO!  (And Trudeau!)

No More of This, Baseball

The Dodgers' Chase Utley has been suspended for his "slide" that broke the leg of Mets shortstop Tejada in their second playoff game. The play went a long way to enabling the Dodgers to win the game.  The immediate two game suspension is being appealed.

I don't think it's enough.  The Dodgers should forfeit this game, and Utley should be charged with assault.

This story contrasts this case with the Cubs incident that injured Pirates star Kang.  The Utley play is clearly illegal, the Cubs play just hard baseball, in this view.  I don't agree.  There is no place in today's baseball for a play that carries with it the significant likelihood of injury to a player.  Especially the Cubs player in question, who is a repeat offender.  He's already ruined one career.  That can't happen.

All I can do now is reinforce my distaste for the Dodgers and the Cubs.  Go Mets!

Last Games

Update 10/7: Unfortunately the wild card game went according to script, with Cubs ace Jake Arrieta blanking the Bucs and ending their season.  One of those rating guys had the Pirates at 10th of 10 teams in the playoffs, but mostly because they were facing Arrieta.  If they'd won this game, they would have been rated 2nd. Which by the way is where they finished in the majors in number of games won.

 So now a lot of pure baseball fans, and possibly Giants fans, will be rooting for the Cubs to go all the way, because they haven't in such a long time.  Not me.  I've got enough Pittsburgh still in me to wish them ill, particularly after they put one of the Pirates hitting stars on the disabled list, and after Arrieta plunked two hitters Wednesday.  He's riding high now, so he has a "winning attitude" but he seems like an asshole to me. Go, Toronto.  Anyway, my baseball season is really over now.

10/4:It went down to the wire but the Pirates won their final regular season game to get home field for the wild card game on Wednesday.  Their loss to the Reds Saturday along with the Cubs win meant they had to win Sunday to host the game, which they did.  With the likelihood that it's going to be a tense pitchers' duel, home field might mean nothing or it might mean everything in a low scoring game.

This is the third straight year the Pirates will play the wild card game, with a record of 1-1.  It's not a fair system, especially when the team with the second best record in all of the Majors--the Pirates--can be eliminated by one bad game, while other teams with a worse record (like the Dodgers) get a series.  This is the third year for this system, and though it produced the World Champs last year, it is due for an overhaul.

But where I am, the season is effectively over, because it's over for the SF Giants, and therefore their broadcasters.  So the dials on the radios return to the classical station instead of the one that plays really awful country music when it isn't carrying the Giants games.

I doubt I can go cold turkey though, so I'll probably spend some recreational time watching selected games from last year's postseason on YouTube.  I'll stick with the Pirates live this year in any medium I can, of course, as long as they're in it.

Saturday at the ball park on the Bay, Tim Hudson was honored, and Sunday it was Jeremy Affeldt, with the astonishing postseason record of 22 consecutive game appearances without giving up a run, including the seventh game of the World Series last year.  In the postseasons he pitched in every inning except the first and the ninth.

The best part of the game was the return of Matt Cain, who started and pitched 5 scoreless innings.  That was a good transition to next year, though the outcome of the game wasn't--the Giants proceeded with a lead and a shutout throughout the game in some majesty, giving pitchers a few batters and a bow, until with one out in the ninth the Rockies erupted and won the game.

It was Star Wars day on Saturday, so the Giants victory--on 425 foot homers by Marlon Byrd and Brandon Crawford, and an inside-the-park homer by Kelby Tomlinson, who finished the year with a .301 average--was witnessed by a number of Wookies.  Jake Peavy pitched another stellar game and got the win.

Sunday was fan appreciation day, and several Giants talked about the unique qualities of Giants fans, and how this combines with the team, from front office to clubhouse.  Ryan Vogelsong said it best: "I don't know where I'm going to be next year, or what name is going to be on the front of my uniform.  But I do know this--I will always, always be a Giant."

I'm sure lots of teams and cities claim that their fans are the best of all, but in my limited observation, the Giants have a good claim.  Pittsburgh fans are passionate, and though that passion extends to the game itself (football or baseball), it is all or nothing, depending on winning or losing.  There's deep loyalty but such mood swings of adulation or disgust.  Giants fans are more about the fun of the game, loyalty to the team they know, and just constant support.  It's probably a class thing but I don't want to get into that now.  It adds up to a different kind of excitement.  I've seen lots of Pirates games but I've never felt the electricity in the stands as I did in San Francisco.

Most of all, and not surprisingly, I'll miss the announcing team.  They've utterly spoiled me.  I can't listen to anybody else without wincing.  Well, some of the national TV guys are bland enough not to matter, but for radio, nothing like the fab four.

Huddie

Tim Hudson threw his last big league pitch on Thursday afternoon in San Francisco, across the bay from where he threw his first.  In fact the same man who was umpiring at second base that first day, was umpiring second base on the last.

But in between 1999 and 2015 Tim Hudson had a pitching career that may get him into the baseball Hall of Fame someday.

He'll be honored officially at the ball park Friday.  But the Giants announcing crew talked about how deeply he was part of this team, and the lives of his teammates.  How he was a mentor to Madison Bumgarner,  close to him every step of the way in MadBum's extraordinary postseason performances a year ago.  Their families even lived together for a time.

They spoke of his ongoing relationships with teammates that has extended to several looking for homes in his neighborhood so they can stay together.  One of them is pitcher Jeremy Affeldt, who before Thursday's game announced his own retirement at the end of this season.  He pitched in Hudson's game, and if he's faced his last batter, let the record show that he struck him out.

Meanwhile the Pirates had an off day while the Cubs won their game against the hapless Reds.  And the hated Ravens won their first game of the year against the Steelers in overtime.  The flaw in the Steelers game turned out not to be their substitute quarterback but their kicker.

 And of course the coaches--that's a burgh staple, though in this case they may be right.  And isn't this the third case of a failed pass on an obvious short yardage running play in a crucial moment, beginning with Seattle in the Superbowl?  Which was called the worst coaching decision ever made?

After Over

In the past two days, the Giants and the Pirates had to endure watching their division rivals clinch the championship by defeating them.  In both cases, the decisive game wasn't close.

Tuesday's game in San Francisco was dominated by Clayton Kershaw, who threw a one-hit complete game shutout, getting stronger as the game went on.  Madison Bumgarner was not nearly as sharp and gave up three homers in a game for the first time since his rookie season.  Manager Bochy apparently said he'd run out of gas.  Once it got to 7-0, Giants fans started leaving the building, not enthralled with watching the Dodgers celebrate.  But the Giants posted congratulations on the scoreboard, a characteristically classy move.

But Tuesday in Pittsburgh it rained--and I mean rained: 3.5. inches, which is a lot anywhere, but the most in the burgh ever on the date.  So today became a day/night double header, and in the first game the Pirates did their pitch and power thing with Cole on the mound and a grand slam by Cervelli for an 8-2 victory.  But the pitching fell apart in the nightcap and the Cards had all they could handle to keep from celebrating long before the final out.

Both final outcomes were likely but these games made it reality.  We'll see how the Bucs bounce back, with home field advantage in that stupid wild card game still somewhat at issue.   It's just a week away.

But we've seen how the Giants bounced back.  Out of the postseason completely, they played a solid, energetic game behind pitcher Mike Leake, who threw a two hit complete game shutout--remarkably, the first shutout of his career. 5-0.

 September rookie Nick Noonan playing first base for I believe the second time got only his second hit, but it was a soaring homer that almost made it into the water.  Matt Duffy got his 12th homer in the first, but even more impressive was later in the game when reliever Jansen threw at his head.  Duffy responded with a single and promptly stole second, in case message wasn't received.

Kelby Tomlinson doubled in a run, and made an athletic play picking the ball out of the air after it bounced off the heel of Crawford's glove and getting the runner at first.  The large crowd was into the game.

So for a no postseason season, almost unbelievably, the Giants are a better team.  They suffered, as Bochy said, "four concussions and three obliques" and you could probably count on one hand the games in which their starters in the field actually started.  Late trades helped,  but their farm system really came up big.

They lost one, two, three, four starting pitchers, and Chris Heston came up to give them important games and wins for much of the season.  Only one injury I can think of to the relief corps but age and wear take their toll, and while Strickland matures, up comes lefty Osich to become a go-to guy.

They lost one, two backup catchers, and discovered Trevor Brown, who was solid behind the plate from the start, and then started hitting.  Looks to me like they finally found the catcher who can alternate with Buster Posey and extend his career.  Even this year he became a godsend when first base starter Brandon Belt went down (again), and has just had surgery.

Their All-Star second baseman goes down, and up comes Kelby Tomlinson, who wins them some games with his bat, becomes a solid second baseman, and a fan favorite.

From the outfield they lose Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan, and after a hot-hitting first half, Ayoki, as well as veteran Blanco.  Up comes Jarrett Parker, and hits six homers.  He drove in the Giants final run tonight with a line drive single off the Dodgers closer.  Up come Williamson and Noonan to play solid defense, and get some timely hits.

 In fact, when contemplating the Giants lineup the night after their season became an end in itself, the only real differences were that Posey got a night off and veteran Marlon Byrd--not really expected to be the starting right fielder-- gets the rest of the season off as a starter.

So next season suddenly looks very interesting.  Pagan came back and is pretty frisky--he still has mental lapses in the outfield, but physically he seems rejuvenated.  Kelby Tomlinson will get offseason work at other positions including outfield with an eye to being slotted as the ultimate utility fielder, but--back injuries are really difficult, and the Giants need insurance at second if Panik can't play every day.

Even if he's cooled off at the plate, Parker's power can't be ignored--and power is something the Giants need.  (And what a strange year-- no big power hitter but more grand slams and more pitchers with homers than anybody.)  Williamson at worst is a late innings defender and pinch-hitter.

Relief pitching is in pretty good shape with young arms Strickland and Osich joining the aging crew.  Remaining games this year will probably see more innings for call-ups, both relievers and starters.  I guess everyone expects that much of the offseason will be about the pitching corps.  Hudson is retiring--pitching his last game tomorrow afternoon.  Vogelsong is probably going.  Matt Cain has pitched some in relief and may get a start, but hasn't looked real good--certainly not as good as Peavy has since his injury.  Word today is that Lincecum may well be back in some role.

Then there's today's arm, Mike Leake, a free agent who after the game sounded like he'd like to remain a Giant, and make that decision pretty soon.  Lots of news to come no doubt, but the important thing is that fans go happily to the ballpark, without dread or cynicism,  and that's the way it is now.  That's a good place to be in planning next year--which is dare I mention, an even numbered year.

Undermanned Giants Beat L.A.

They were the Athenians facing the Persians at Marathon, the Spartans at Thermopylae, the English we happy few against the massed armies of France.  The depleted, undermanned San Francisco Giants defended their home ground, and prevented the Los Angeles Dodgers from clinching the division, with a 12 inning victory, 3-2.

Really--just look at the box score.  The Dodger column is twice the size of the Giants.  They used a total of 25 players--pinch hitters, pinch runners and a pitcher for every matchup.   The Giants used 16 players total, including 6 pitchers.

But on this night, the underdog triumphed, and the heroes were theirs.  Starting with the starting pitcher Jake Peavy, who outpitched the fearsome Grienke for seven innings.  Rookies who had never played in a pressure game like this excelled.  Kelby Tomlinson had two hits and at least two run-saving stops in the field.  Catcher Trevor Brown drove in 2 of the 3 Giants runs.  It looked electric out there--the veteran Peavy, dealing and pumping everybody up, the infield making plays.  I noticed that after his big hit Trevor Brown shouted the same thing as Jarrett Parker did on his big day in Oakland: Let's go!

Tomorrow it's Bumgarner against Kershaw, the epic matchup everyone has waited for, and now it still means something. In a war of attrition, the numerical superiority of the Dodgers (due to all the Giants injuries) should eventually take its toll.  But whatever happens, the Giants redeemed their season on Monday night.

Things turned out differently in Pittsburgh.  The Pirates were held scoreless for the second consecutive game.  They had the Cards scoreless most of the way, and multiple chances to score runs, but lost late, 3-0.  Now every game is a crapshoot in terms of pitching, but the Pirates must win the next two against St. Louis to have any hope of the division.

It Means Something After All (and the Steelers Without Big Ben)

The MLB schedule-makers could see without too much difficulty what the likely division contenders would be, and at least in the NL west and central, they arranged for them to play head to head in the penultimate series of the season.

But even as recently as last week, it looked like neither the Pirates-Cardinals nor the Dodgers-Giants sets would really mean anything.  But as each of them begins, they do.

More so for the Pirates.  Though they lost Sunday, so did St. Louis, and the Bucs remain just 3 back, with the 3 game series coming up at home.  They got extra motivation on Sunday, when their 8 game winning streak was broken by Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, who took a perfect game into the 7th, and wound up giving up just 1 hit (and a hit batsman.)  Arrieta used the Krupe formula for a win: pitch a shutout and hit a home run.

 In the wild card game, the Pirates would likely face him again.  Even playing at home, they would be underdogs.  That's not the only reason they'd rather be division champs, but it seems like a big one.

In the West it looked increasingly like the division would be settled by the time the Dodgers came to San Francisco--and it almost is, but not totally.  So mathematically at least, these four games mean something.  And the last time the Dodgers came in, they got swept in consecutive shutouts.

What adds even more spice to this was how the Dodgers got swept in Colorado.  In Sunday's game, they didn't start any of their regular starters.  They pretty much threw the game (and were soundly beaten.)  There are a couple of interpretations of this.  First, they did it to rest their players.  This has been a trendy concept this year, and the Pirates have seemingly turned it into a science: paying attention to resting players and pitchers for the final push.  It's worked for the Pirates in their 8 game mid to late September winning streak.  It's probably something more teams will take even more seriously next year.

But the second (and not mutually exclusive) possibility is that they wanted to hold off clinching until they could do it in San Francisco.  The rivalry is bitter enough to make that possible, and maybe the Dodgers have felt their annual humiliation as they watched the Giants hoist their world championship trophies.  The Giants were humiliated on the field in their last trip to L.A.  The Dodgers perhaps want more: they want to kill the season of the defending world champs in their own home yard.  Not exactly a class move, but then we are talking about the Dodgers.

Back to Pittsburgh: fans there are rabid, frenzied, totally loyal, and also prone to anger and despair.  Sunday's Pirates game doubtless spread anxiety as well as depression.  But that wasn't the only such event.  The Steelers won their game against St. Louis, but Big Ben went down with an injury that is likely to keep him out for a month if not longer.

Now I wonder how the much criticized in the burgh acquisition of Michael Vick is faring among fans.  For Vick stepped in and did a credible job.  Even if he can't move as well as he used to, he still has the advantage of also being a mobile quarterback like Ben, so even if the Steelers must depend more on their running game--which should be pretty formidable, with not one but two of the league's best runners--his mobility and passing ability should keep the defenses from teeing off on the run.

But it should remind the city and the team that so far they have no future beyond Big Ben, who cannot play forever.  They don't have, and don't seem to care about having, a young quarterback they can develop.  Maybe that's not how it's done in the NFL anymore, but I do remember the many, many lost years after Terry Bradshaw.  They were painful.

Rookie Parker Steals the Show

It was supposed to be Old Timers Day in Oakland, but it turned out to be the Day of the Rookies, especially the Giants September call-up Jarrett Parker.  Just hours after hitting what may well be the longest homer to center field in Oakland Coliseum history last night, he launched one, two, three more home runs, the last one a grand slam that won the game, 14-10.

Parker has hit six homers in 17 at bats.  But he wasn't the only rookie to shine: Kelby Tomlinson had four hits and an RBI, catcher Trevor Brown had three and Matt Duffy had two and an RBI.  But Parker's 3 home runs and 7 RBIs were the most of any Giants rookie in history, and the most for any Giants player since Willie Mays in 1961.

The Old Timers were starting pitchers Tim Hudson (SF) and Barry Zito (Oakland.)  Both had started their careers with Oakland in the 90s and won many games there, and both got World Series rings with SF in this decade.  Both are finishing their final season.

But the game didn't follow the storybook. Hudson had a 7 pitch first inning but fell apart completely in the second, unable to find the strike zone.  He walked in two runs and hit a batter for a third.  Zito gave up 4 runs to the Giants in his first inning.  Both came out early, both got ovations, but very quickly Old Timers Day was over.

Their ineffectiveness only began what looked to be a clownish game, with sloppy play and the novelty act of the A's "switch-pitching" reliever, who throws left or right according to the hitter.  Jarrett Parker had his clown moment in left field when he fought the sun glare and tripped over his own feet to let a fly ball fall.

But Parker changed everything with his second and third homers.  Last night he faced the A's reliever named Dull and hit that titanic home run into the center field upper deck, for one of the longest home runs by anyone this season.  The very next pitch he saw from Dull was in this game, and he smacked it for another epic shot, a grand slam homer that gave the Giants their four run lead.

Meanwhile, the Pirates kept the pressure on with a 4-0 victory over the Cubs, behind pitcher Francisco Liriano.  However, the Cards took a commanding lead in Milwaukee when their game started later.  So the Pirates didn't gain on them.  If they can manage not to fall back by the end of Sunday, then they could tie St. Louis for first with a sweep next week.  At the very least, they've demonstrated that their best pitchers can dominate the Cubs.  That fact and their experience could provide an edge in the wild card game, still the most likely scenario.

Eyes on the Windy City

While the SF Giants seem in pursuit of a record--how many games in a row a team can lose by the score of 5-4--the Pittsburgh Pirates are once again making things very interesting in the NL Central.

In what is likely to be the pitching matchup of a wild card game between the two teams, Garrit Cole faced John Lester, and the Bucs were one run better against the Cubs 3-2.  Combined with a St. Louis loss to the Brewers, the Pirates moved to 3 games behind the Cards for the division crown.

The Pirates have won 7 consecutive road games, but they are playing the Cubs in Chicago for 2 more games this weekend, and then the Cards come to Pittsburgh for 3.  The pressure is on, but unlike last year, the Pirates have not jiggered their rotation to face the Cards with their best.  They tried that in 2014 in a last ditch effort to win the division, they failed, and were left with a lesser starter against the Giants in the wild card game, which of course they lost and the rest is history.

So it is still likely that the Pittsburgh will host the Cubs (who clinched tonight anyway when the Giants lost) in the wild card, while the Cardinals hold home field advantage throughout their series as division winner.  But it is still possible that the Pirates win the division--in which case they will hold home field advantage over the likely western winner, the Dodgers.

Clinchmas in Pittsburgh, Running on Empty in San Diego

For the third straight year--each season on September 23, now to be enshrined in Pittsburgh as Clinchmas--the Pirates clinched a playoff berth for 2015.  They did it with a resounding victory over Colorado, with more power than pitching, but enough to get the job done.  Congratulations and we had 'em all the way.

The Cubs lost but the Cards won, so positions hold for the Pirates to host the wild card game.  An article at CBS Sports suggests that this year's Central Division leaders make this an historic division.  If current rankings hold to the end of the season--that is, if the Cards, Pirates and Cubs are 1-2-3 in total wins in the majors, it will be the first time that the top three have come from the same division.  And that seems pretty likely to happen.

Meanwhile in San Diego, the Giants bullpen pitchers ran out of gas, all nine of them.  Jake Peavy pitched very well and had a shutout after 6 innings.  But the exhausted bullpen gave up 5 runs, and although the Giants hitters kept fighting back, in the end Casilla had a terrible ninth and the Padres won 5-4.

If the Giants hadn't had a ton of bad luck this year, they would have had no luck at all.  Mostly from injuries, which unbelievably continue to mount.  That ball that hit Adrianza last night resulted in a concussion--another concussion on this team!  And he's probably done for the season, which is mercifully only 11 more games.

Buster Posey came back from his "normal" injury after a game to play first, provide key hits and heads-up play in the ninth to score the tying run on a wild pitch.  Brandon Crawford, who started coming out of his batting slump last night, had key hits, including the first two RBIs.  But he showed signs of injury, almost came out of the game, and may be out tomorrow.  If this game had gone to the 10th he probably would have come out.  It's way too brutal to imagine this as an extra-inning game.  Losing in the 9th may have been a mercy.

Latest newbie to impress is Jared Parker, who launched a homer, his second, and has previously looked good with situational hitting and baserunning.  And these guys are probably going to be the main reason to keep watching the Giants, apart from the extra resonance of games in Oakland and with the Dodgers.  Who won tonight.

Clinching and Limping

The furious stasis in the Central continues Tuesday, as the Pirates, Cards and Cubs all won.  The Pirates have to be happy that they've shaken off their September losses, frustrated that they're not gaining ground, and excited that they are very close to clinching the postseason for the third season in a row.

Yes, sports writers and commentators, that's the correct use of the word "clinch."  When you have games yet that you're definitely going to play no matter what, but you could lose all of them and still reach the postseason, that's called clinching.  When you win the fourth game of a seven game series, and no more games will be played, that's called winning.

Anyway, the Pirates could clinch tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are finally tanking--losing four in a row-- but it may be too late for the Giants.  Or whatever team is in the field wearing Giants uniforms.  On Tuesday, exactly three regular starters out of eight positions were playing.  And the three included an exhausted Matt Duffy. Adrianza played first base for the first time in his pro career, and it showed.  Nevertheless, somehow, even against a pitcher who struck out 8 Giants in the first three innings, they won 4-2.

The two rested regulars came through big--Pagan with a 2 run homer, Brandon Crawford--despite being in a deep slump, batting cleanup--got a hit and an RBI, plus a spectacular over the shoulder catch in the ninth.  But the newbies did well, too, especially catcher Trevor Brown, whose first hit as a Giant finally came--a double and an RBI.  He promptly got his second--a catcher who beat out an infield hit and then stole second.  He's doing well behind the plate, both in his defense and in handling pitchers and the game.  Yes, he's a keeper.

The Dodgers are still 6 games in first with 12 to play.  They will have to tank in epic fashion--and they are capable of this--and the Giants have to miraculously keep winning with a patched together lineup.  They might not even have Adrianza tomorrow--he got beat up on a hot shot in the ninth that bounced off his shin and hit him in the mouth.  If he's out and Buster Posey's back and hip aren't better, it's anybody's guess who will be playing their first game at first base tomorrow night. (And as feared, Perez did suffer a serious injury last game and is out for the season.)

And since the theme here is San Francisco and Pittsburgh, duly noted is the Steelers easy victory over the Niners on Sunday, 43-18.  Memo to Steelers: receivers so consistently and completely open is not likely to recur very often.

222

Tim Hudson pitched six innings of shutout ball in San Francisco Sunday, and his Giants teammates broke recent precedent by scoring some runs, so he notched victory number 222 of his career, soon to be ending.

It might have been Hudson's last start in the SF ballpark (though he's scheduled for one more), and the run that almost stood up for the game winner was Alejandro De Aza's first RBI as a Giant.  A few batters later, Buster Posey busted a three run homer for the victory.

Speaking of homer, Homer was one of the topics discussed by the Giants' announcing team Sunday, an erudite bunch that Saturday discoursed about regression to the mean.  Sunday it was Homer, Socrates, and the Pittsburgh Pirates--actually much more about the Pirates, who were in the process of applying their formula of pitching and power to the Dodgers, to take two out of three in L.A.  As they praised the Bucs, they gently mocked the Pirates announcers. So I'm not alone.

Brandon Crawford was back for the Giants--no rust in the field, dazzling there as ever, but plenty of rust at the plate.  Now Brandon Belt is out, with concussion symptoms. Perez may have hurt himself in this game.  It became official a few days ago that Joe Panik won't be back until next year.  On the brighter side, Brown, the catcher recently brought up who has been behind the plate these two games, looks like a backup option.  He's a converted infielder but catches well, and has some speed on the basepaths.  Hasn't gotten his first hit yet, though.  New outfielder Parker did get a hit and an RBI.

Nothing new in the standings really.  The Giants need to gain a few more games on the Dodgers to make their series consequential.  The Pirates are at least winning in September after a mini-slump, although their remaining schedule is pretty tough, while the Cards have only their head to head with the Bucs to worry about.  The Pirates have shown they can handle the Dodgers in L.A., but I'm sure Pittsburgh fans are worried about how well the Cubs handled the Bucs in Pittsburgh. Right now that looks to be the teams and the place for the sudden death wild card game.

But before that the Bucs go to Chi-town.  That Central Division is the most exaggerated in the majors.  The Cards with the best record, the Bucs with the second best, and the Cubs two games behind them, 6 behind the Cards.  And the last two teams are each 30 games out of first.

Off Day & Bad Day

It's an off-day for the Giants, and a really bad day for the Pirates.

With only one loss in the current home stand--a nightmare game with the Reds when the bullpen couldn't hold leads and they went down in the 10th 9-8--the Giants have been doing their part to stay relevant in the division race.  But the Dodgers haven't cooperated by performing their annual tank job.  They are also winning, and with each passing day, getting closer to finishing in first.  It may be over before the two meet again.

In the Central, the Pirates hopes of overtaking the Cards are also dwindling, as the Cubs came into PNC Park and won 3, including two extra inning games.  To make matters worse for the Bucs in the postseason, today they lost a key player to injury--Jung Ho Kang--who has been their spark plug for the last month or so.  Their losses to the Cubs, likely their opponent in the Wild Card game, are troubling.  As bad as last year's Wild Card loss to the Giants was, another one and out postseason this year would be very disappointing to the team and the city.

But in San Francisco, the fans aren't hanging their heads.  There's lots to see and cheer at the Giants games.  Like legally blind Jake Peavy becoming the fifth Giants starting pitcher to homer this season, all (except MadBum) since August,  something that hasn't happened in 80 years in Giants history.  Plenty to cheer about at the ball park--some fans even cheered a heavy rain shower last night.

Spectators are getting to see some Giants of the future in their first appearances, and will see more of them if the Dodgers clinch.  That's fun-- but so is witnessing baseball history: the talk of the town is about the possible matchup of two Bay Area greats in one of the Giants-As games in Oakland to end the season: Tim Hudson, in his last major league start against the team he started with, against Barry Zito, a star pitcher for both teams.  In show biz and baseball history terms, the teams would be crazy not to match them up.

Holding Their Own

Pitcher Mike Leake began Sunday with his worst start as a Giant.  By the end of the day he had his first win as a Giant.

Start after start, he pitched well, and sometimes brilliantly, but didn't get the run support.  On Sunday he helped remedy that himself, with a three run homer.  What's with the Giants pitchers and their hitting?  Anyway, he had plenty of help against San Diego, as the Giants came back from 0-3 to win 10-3, and swept their first series of the home stand.

The current storylines include the emergence of Adrianza, still a work in progress both at shortstop and the plate, but a young player who got key hits and RBIs throughout this series.  Also the return to health and relevance of Angel Pagan, who celebrated his ability to run well and freely for the first time all year with three stolen bases, extra bases on hits and range in center field.

But when all is said and done this season, the story is going to be Buster Posey.  He may get lost in the drama, or because his excellence is consistent over many seasons and so a bit taken for granted.  But he's got the second highest batting average in the league, and is among the RBI leaders.  His presence behind the plate is invaluable to Giants pitchers.  In the past few weeks he's been authentically awesome, the batter sensible opponents fear.  And this is when both of the other Giants catchers are out for the year, and his bat is so valuable that he's not only playing every day, but catching every game.

No Crawford or Panik again, though Adrianza and Kelby Tomlinson both had key hits and good plays.  The Dodgers bullpen almost blew it again but not quite, as LA won 4-3.

Monday night starter against the Reds is Tim Hudson.  Should be a fun night at the ball park.

Meanwhile in Pittsburgh...The Cards broke their losing streak, but the Pirates were behind 6-1 to their odd nemesis, the Brewers.  Not to worry.  They worked back to a tie in the 7th, and victory in the 11th, 7-6.  They remain 2.5 back, with crucial series against the Cubs next and the Cards later, both at home, where they are just about invincible.