Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
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162 Game Season Real Story of Baseball


The season is 162 games, the beauty of the game of baseball is watching how the entire season plays out. Each year we see injuries, missed opportunities, and dreams die within the last ten games of the year.

This year is no different.

The Diamondbacks are limping in to the finish line without the services of their most reliable power hitter, Luis Gonzalez who is out for the year with a separated shoulder.

Things are so bad in Arizona that Bob Brenly is bringing Curt Schilling back today to try to beat the Cardinals and ensure home field against the Cards in the first round of the playoffs.

The Angels have slumped over the past ten days. Now they need to win one more game to qualify for the playoffs.

On the other side of the coin, the Giants veteran lineup is clicking and rolling over the teams they need to beat.

Not only are the Giants going to qualify for October baseball, but a couple more Arizona losses this weekend, may give the Giants a realistic shot at the division.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if SF had to travel to Atlanta to make up the suspended game Monday to win the division, instead of the intended purpose of settling the Wild Card with the make up game in Atlanta.

Barry Zito had number 23 in the bag last night before the bull pen and the A’s defense let it get away.

What did that loss show the A’s?

Click “read more”.During the playoffs, Art Howe will let the big three work out of their late inning troubles, if they should arise.

The division title will be secured over the next 24 hours or so.

Zito was pulled with a comfortable 7-2 lead in the 7th inning, turning the game over to Chad Bradford, thereby preserving the arm of the lefty.

In the playoffs, Zito will stay until he can’t pitch any longer. Getting into the 8th inning is a must for the big three. Right now Bradford and Tam can’t be counted on to get big outs in the 7th.

At least in the 8th, Jim Mecir and Ricardo Rincon can generally retire two or three batters between them to get the job done.

After that, it is time for Billy Koch to close the deal.

The big three have not had extended pitch counts this season or for that matter, at any time during their careers.

They have to get the job done and believe me, they won’t be babied once the playoffs begin.

They will come very close to finishing what they start.

One or more will be asked to be the bell cow to lead the staff through the playoffs.

Last night’s loss also showed that Terrence Long’s days in center field must be numbered. Billy Beane has watched the pitiful defensive display all year long (no pun intended) and has not made a move to shore up the outfield defense.

Beane boxed himself into this corner by insisting when the season began, that David Justice be a regular outfielder, thus preventing Art Howe from moving Long to left field at any point in the year.

With Durham as the DH, there is no place for Justice other than left field, which means Long stays in center.

This miscalculation has cost the A’s numerous times during during the regular season and last night Long’s misplay in the 8th cost Zito his 23rd win.

The GM has not even given the manager a defensive center field replacement for the late innings, thereby creating the horrible situation in last night’s game when Long butchered the ball off Bret Boone’s bat, tying the score in the 8th.

Will the outfield defense be a factor in the playoffs?

You can count on it.

Will it sink the A’s?

Probably not, because the starters usually can overcome the lack of outfield defense. It’s the relievers that I’m worried about, They have a tough enough time getting three outs, when you ask them to get four or five per inning, you flirt with disaster.

The Dodgers are ready for their last gasp. With lowly Colorado in town the Dodgers could not score a run off of Dennis Stark, Todd Jones and Jose Jiminez.

The Giants have veterans in the lineup. Since being overshadowed by the A’s 20 game winning streak, the Giants have quietly run off 29 wins in 35 games without anyone getting very excited about their long range chances in the playoffs.

The truth is, the Giants are a very viable World Series team because they have the best player in the game and a whole lot more on the mound.

Benito Santiago continues to shine hitting behind Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent has had another Hall of Fame type season, and Reggie Sanders is coming through with clutch hits on a regular basis.

With Atlanta as the Giants most likely first round foe, the Giants could outhit the Braves and make it to the NLCS. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see it happen.

If you stop Gary Sheffield and Chipper Jones, you stop the Braves.

With Arizona hurting, St. Louis can knock off the Champs with some well placed hits.

If that happens the door is wide open for a great NLCS.

With five games to go there is still much to be settled and fine tuned.

The playoffs are a party and the toughest job is making it through the 162 game season and getting to the party.

Once you get there the fun begins, but what an ordeal to get there.

October baseball is the epilogue to the story of the season.

As a reader when you see there is an epilogue included in the book, you are just glad to read a few more pages, then you put the book down and say “What a story,” that is what the playoffs are all about.

The story of baseball is the marathon season and what happened over the six months on daily basis, the playoffs are the bonus for being a good reader.

I like the book.

0 comments

1 Anonymous { 09.25.02 at 5:21 pm }

i am so pissed off at terrencelong I could soil myself. Last night was an important game for momentum and team chemistry but instead of being a parade to the al west championship it was an exposure of a team that still has some immaturity problems. I hate Jeff Tamm let’s just get that out of the way. What kind of pitcher has tatoos on his arms.

AAfter long’s snafu in center I was so disgusted that I turned over to an otherwise boring giants game. What I saw was the anti A’s. The Giants are all grizzledveterens. The faces of aurilla, sanders, and santiago stood out for me. The main issue here is taking things for granted . The A’s thin they have the world on a string but it could be swipped from under them like that while the giants are playing every pitch as hard as they can. It’s nice to watch both teams but I used to go to the A’s for inspiration, now I find myself gravitating towards the giants to watch good baseball.

post that !!

2 Tman { 09.25.02 at 6:08 pm }

Anonymous apparently hasn’t watched many A’s games over the past six weeks. How much better can you get than twenty wins in a row? Or taking three of four from the Angels to clinch the season tie-breaker?

Not to excuse Long’s poor fielding but…

Sure the Giants have plenty of veterans. If that’s the road to success why are they struggling to make it into the NL wildcard and dominating the NL West? What about the interleague games against the A’s, how many did the Giant’s win? No one can win every game and remember Seattle is still a strong team that knows how to eek out runs.

I think what A’s fans really need to worry about is comments like Chavez is making about how tired the A’s are right now. These young guys are supposed to have more stamina than the vets right? I know Eric tends to be very hard on himself, but comments like that are best kept unsaid.

3 Tman { 09.25.02 at 6:10 pm }

Anonymous apparently hasn’t watched many A’s games over the past six weeks. How much better can you get than twenty wins in a row? Or taking three of four from the Angels to clinch the season tie-breaker?

Not to excuse Long’s poor fielding but…

Sure the Giants have plenty of veterans. If that’s the road to success why are they struggling to make it into the NL wildcard and dominating the NL West? What about the interleague games against the A’s, how many did the Giant’s win? No one can win every game and remember Seattle is still a strong team that knows how to eek out runs.

I think what A’s fans really need to worry about is comments like Chavez is making about how tired the A’s are right now. These young guys are supposed to have more stamina than the vets right? I know Eric tends to be very hard on himself, but comments like that are best kept unsaid.

4 Anonymous { 09.25.02 at 6:21 pm }

I think all teams have some “bad” games in them. Let’s hope that the A’s have one less of those “bad” ones to worry about now.

While I don’t think Seattle will lay down, I have to think they would rather have their elimination from post-season decided before they go to Anaheim. They know it is inevitable.

T Long is a hot and cold player. One will never forget the Boston catch, but then he screws up like last night. Maybe a lack of maturity and keeping his head in the game. I think he is so talented, but sometimes unfocused. Maybe like a Miggy we remember. Let’s hope for a post-season like he had last year.

5 Anonymous { 09.22.07 at 1:14 pm }

6 Anonymous { 09.22.07 at 1:51 pm }

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