Most obituaries of unfulfilled baseball seasons are bitter or
sad, but not this one.
Yes, the Giants lost, 6-3, to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday
to close the 2011 season. But to be bitter or sad would be like
raging at the nature of life.
By Marcos Breton – McClatchy Newspapers
SAN FRANCISCO
Most obituaries of unfulfilled baseball seasons are bitter or sad, but not this one.
Yes, the Giants lost, 6-3, to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday to close the 2011 season. But to be bitter or sad would be like raging at the nature of life.
What’s the point?
Sometimes things don’t go your way no matter what you do, and they certainly didn’t for the Giants of 2011. Almost every player in the Opening Day lineup missed at least a quarter of the season because of injury, leaving a patchwork unit posting some of the worst offensive numbers in franchise history – and not fielding very well to boot.
You had that sinking feeling on May 25 when Buster Posey – the talismanic catcher and cleanup hitter – was lost for the year after breaking his leg in a collision at home. About two weeks later, second baseman Freddy Sanchez went down with a shoulder injury, and the improbable wins the Giants were enjoying began to smell of borrowed time.
Considering the Giants scored just 570 runs while giving up 578, it was amazing they finished second in the National League West at 86-76. That’s only six victories fewer than the 92 they won on the way to last year’s World Series championship.
In 1985, the Giants scored only 556 runs _ and lost 100 games.
What a terrible waste it was of World Series-caliber pitching by Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong, Madison Bumgarner, Sergio Romo and many others.
It said a lot that the team fought to the end and that all 81 Giants home games were announced sellouts. And what crowds they were.
The highlight of Wednesday’s loss was when the Giants let outfielder Pat Burrell walk off the field, perhaps for the last time in his career, to cheers and adulation.
Burrell played only a few months for the Giants last season and struck out in almost every World Series at-bat. Yet his bat helped the Giants reach the Series, and that was enough to earn the affection of the fans, perhaps for the rest of his life.
Later, Aubrey Huff, a disaster at first base and at the plate this season, was cheered wildly anyway when he stroked a seventh-inning pinch-hit single. Huff’s meek offensive output was a major reason the Giants faltered in 2011, but that didn’t matter to the fans.
It was love amid frustration – the Giants of 2011. And that speaks very well of a team and its fans.
There is no question that failing to make the playoffs in 2011 is frustrating for the Giants after the ecstasy of a World Series title in 2010.
But you could say that one season didn’t end Wednesday. Two seasons ended, both 2010 and 2011.
When all the Giants’ players came out to salute the fans after Wednesday’s loss, the public address announcer said, “How about a hand for your 2011 World Series champions!” People cheered, but the Giants of 2011 aren’t champions. It was another reminder of how the glory of 2010 was a constant blessing – and a specter – in 2011.
It’s been a blur, starting with an overwhelming ticker-tape parade. That bled into a winter of adulation, reality-show stardom, devastating injuries, early months of unsustainable wins, a White House visit, a big-name acquisition, a gut-wrenching late summer of recriminations and an abrupt ending
nobody wanted.
Anyone can second-guess decisions and player acquisitions that led to the Giants going on vacation while other teams contend for their trophy.
The team put big money on Huff to be the constant run producer he was last season. Miguel Tejada was supposed to squeeze the last bit of magic in his bat to replace Edgar Renteria.
Were those bad deals in hindsight? Sure, but deals are made with the players and circumstances available at the time.
I can’t think of better alternatives to Huff and Tejada – and I mean alternatives that would have fit the Giants’ pay structure and reluctance to part with top minor league prospects.
Put simply, the Giants of 2011 were like the Showtime series about them – none of the new story lines for them really panned out.
Vogelsong was an inspirational pitcher and story, but all he did was help the Giants avoid a losing year.
Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford are promising rookies, but they couldn’t hit. Nobody could hit.
Maybe you cut Tejada and Aaron Rowand sooner and bring up Brett Pill sooner? But are you going to ride Pill to a World Series – or other kids like Belt, Crawford and Eric Surkamp, who clearly aren’t ready? No. The dream is over for now. Cody Ross and Burrell came back to Earth and everyone else was too banged up.
Now the Giants must add offensive talent before the money pitchers falter or leave.
You forget a season that didn’t go the way anyone wanted but was still wild, fascinating, frustrating, engaging and entertaining.
Now the countdown begins until pitchers and catchers report in February.
I can’t wait.
