Twenty one games left to play and the Giants have an eleven game lead. Is there anything remaining to write about before the playoffs begin? Let’s give it a try. Marty writes this morning, “Other than the Giants and the Braves no other teams are mortal locks to get to play in October.” When this season started, if one was asked who the “mortal locks” would be in October, one could reasonably have answered the Braves and the Yankees. If pushed a bit further, in answer to a question respecting who were likely to be playing in October even though not a ” mortal lock”, a reasonable response might have been the Red Sox, possibly the A’s, possibly the Giants, simply because of the mediocre opposition in their division, the Cards, Seattle, or any one of a grab bag of aspiring teams. No one in their right mind would have called the Giants a “mortal lock”.

Click below for more, thanks Ed. Not only had they lost their closer for the year but they had in some inexplicable fashion given the Braves a likely twenty game winner, receiving in exchange very little. Other than Barry and the pitching staff they didn’t appear to have a single above average ball player. After one hundred and forty one games it is difficult to point to one above average player on the team, save for the exceptions above noted. When they jumped out to an eighteen and four record at the start of the year,in looking at the club’s personnel, the question was asked, “why does this team win?”. That question was asked, over and over again, throughout the year, by many, and ultimately became the subject of a lengthy column this morning in the Chronicle. The question was put to a few of the players. Leaving the unbelievable Bonds aside as being a self-evident answer, the answers were the pitching, notably the bullpen, their bench which is clearly stronger than last year’s weak group, and their “collective experience”. It is worth mentioning that no one points to a player, other than Bonds, whose performance was riveting enough for attention to be paid to it. There is a good reason for this. There doesn’t happen to be such a player on the team. Perhaps J.T.Snow’s answer is as good as any, although one couldn’t take it to the bank and cash it at the beginning of the year in exchange for the “mortal lock” description. Snow’s answer was,”I think we’re always going to find ways to win games. We don’t panic. When the other team takes a lead, we just keep playing until the last out is made.” This might have been said about any number of teams who are not notably successful, however. This isn’t exactly the same as pointing to Jeter, Giambi, Soriano, or Sheffield, A.Jones,C.Jones, Lopez. when asked about a club’s prospect. The only answer one was able to come up with here, and the one which has been repeatedly given here, since the early days of the season, when the Giants were facing the Braves, Arizona, the Dodgers, was ” they win because they play better than the opposition. They’re a better team”; although, it must be said, after one gets through talking about Bonds and the pitching it is difficult to find anything noteworthy to call attention to. Bonds and the pitching, however, are clearly enough. That is what makes this team tough to beat. That is what accounts for the eleven game lead and the “mortal lock” designation. Pitching is still the name of the game. Sabean knows that. Pitching for the Giants tonight is Correia, a twenty two year old who was throwing in double A ball before being called up by the Giants mid-year. He has a 2.05 ERA in the six games he has appeared in. He joins Williams in the regular rotation, another young pitcher, who now occupies the number three position in the rotation, despite Alou’s diplomatic assertion that he is waiting for Rueter to recover what passes for a fast ball or a sinker that sinks. Sabean stockpiles pitchers. Some he gives away at opportune moments. Usually those he passes on turn out to be lesser talents than those he retains. And he has put together a much stronger bench this year, which Alou has used masterfully. The team keeps winning. They must be doing something right even if it is difficult to put an exact finger on it. Turning to the playoffs; it is important for the Giants to continue winning. One cannot overlook that 49-21 Pac Bell record. If the Giants can overcome the Braves in the standings and get the home field advantage they will have a leg up on getting to the World Series. There is a good reason why they are so successful at home. They have good pitching, they play well defensively, it’s a tough park for the best of hitting teams to hit in and it’s a difficult park for teams, who don’t play there regularly, to overcome some of the bizarre angles and distances which are part of it’s charm, at least for the Giants. There is a good reason why Cruz is still playing right field regularly despite his abysmal failure to hit. There isn’t a better right fielder in the league. This park makes outfield defense a priority. While Cruz doesn’t drive in many runs, he saves more than a few with his defense. Together with Schmidt and Ponzon, Bonds and the bullpen have a better chance than most of the possible playoff opposition, to try and do what the Giants feel they should have done last year, walk away winners. When one gets right down to it, therefore, it seems as though there’s always something to write about in this game, particularly when one is writing about a team which is a “mortal lock” to show up when they call “Play Ball” in October.