This weekend at SBC
it will not be
Juan Marichal vs.
Don Drysdale or
Jack Sanford vs.
Sandy Koufax but
it will be Jason Schmidt
vs. Kazushiro Ishi !

Amaury Pi-González
San FranciscoSo here we are again at
the end of the 2004
season. Each year I
have a friend that
tells me -around
March- “Giants are
not going to the
Playoffs this season”
And then around this
time of the season I
ask my friend:
“How do you want
your crow”?

See, the National
League West might
not be the strongest
division after all, but
there are three teams
playing over .500 ball
and that is not bad,
Dodgers, Giants and
Padres can beat anybody
any given day. Look at
the Giants record against
the Cardinals this season,
arguably the Cardinals
the best team in the
National League.

The Giants will send
Jason Schmidt and
then a guy named
Noah. Noah Lowry
(this is the first and
only guy ever in
MLB named Noah)
and he is looking
like a real #2 in
the rotation.
Giants pitching is not
that hot ? Have you seen
the Dodgers pitching
recently ? Why do
you think at the
start of this week
(Sept 5-12)the
Dodgers are only 2 1/2
games on top of the
Giants ?

Dodgers pitching is
upside down,
their best pitcher always
starts the game in the
bullpen. Eric Gagné.
Gagné closing games is one
of the very best, maybe
Mariano Rivera(NY) is the
only one as automatic
as Gagné.

Then comes the Dodgers
Dominican thirdbaseman
Adrián Beltré, he is on
his way to 50 home runs
(nobody in Dodgers history
has hit 50 home runs)
ironically the Dodgers
during Spring Training
just about gave up on
him. He is having a
fantasy type of a season
and he is their MVP just
as Barry Bonds is
the Giants MVP.
Adrián Beltré is one
of a great crop of
thirdbasemen that
will become Free Agents
at the conclusion of
this season. Others:
Mike Lowell(Fla), Aramis
Ramírez(Cubs)and
Troy Glaus(Ana).
There should be no
doubt that the Dodgers
are going to try to
keep Beltré after
this type of season
maybe finally he is
the player they always
dreamed he was going
to be.

On Monday September
20th, Barry Bonds told
the Giants that he wants
the team to pick up his
option for 2005 before
the season ends. Maybe
by the time you read
this colum owner Peter
Magowan already did
it. There is no reason
why the Giants would
not pick up his option
for 2005. What are they
going to say to a guy that
is 55 home runs away
from Sports greatest
record? No we don’t
want you go to the Orioles !
Is there any player playing
today that brings more
fans to the parks than
Barry Bonds ? One of the
reasons the Giants are
one of the top draws
on the road is not
because people in
Chicago, Milwaukee
or New York want to
see Pedro Felíz…

Giants fan should
rejoice and enjoy
these days, because
one day Bonds is going
to say Adiós to baseball
(probably in SF)and
then reality will hit
hard, but Giant fans
should be pragmatic
and live in today’s
world not tomorrow
and today the San Francisco
Giants have a player that
someday could be called
the greatest ever.
Enjoy him ! A lot of
people hate Bonds,
there are many reasons
for that, he has not been
the “nicest guy”in the
world, but neither
was Ted Williams,
or Ty Cobb or many
other greats.

Giants fans have enjoyed
a great run. For the past
8 to 9 seasons teh Giants
have been in ‘the thick
pf things’and even won
a Penant and made it to
one World Series. Yes,
Brian Sabean has made
mistakes, like signing
Edgardo Alfonzo to a
multi-year deal for
$26 million or so)
-by the way San Diego
was also offering that
type of money for
Alfonzo. Joe Nathan
was with Giants all
the way, never really
amount to much. He left
for Minnesota and today
he is even better than
Eddie Guardado was
closing games for the
Twins. Who would have
thought of that ?

Pitching is a completely
different animal.
In the words of St Louis
and Oakland pitcher
Joaquin Andujar.
“There is one word
in the English language”
–you neverknow-

Recently at Safeco Field
in Seattle I was talking
with Bill King as the A’S
and Mariners were a couple
of hours away from
game time. We were
remembering when a
pitcher by the name of
Dennis Eckersley arrived
in Oakland. Eck didn’t
wanted to be a reliever !
Did you see who was
inducted this July in
Cooperstown !
Indeed, when it comes
to pitching Andujar was
right: -youneverknow-

The Giants and Dodgers
have to play 6 more
times during the
next 2 and a half
weeks. Three games
this weekend at
SBC Sept 24,25 and
26 and then three
more at the end of
the season at
Chávez Ravine,
aka Dodger Stadium
on October 1,2,3.
Felipe Alou told me
he is going for the
Division Title. Does
anybody here doubts
Felipe now ? I told
Felipe that If the
Giants win the
Division and he doesn’t
win Manager of the
Year US Congress should
open an investigation !

And Giants fans, one more
thing. If the team dies
and drops out of the
race in the last few
days, do not worry,
look at all the enjoyment
you have gotten this
season from a team that
nobody predicted(well
maybe a couple of
homer writers)was
going to make it to
the Postseason !

So Giant fans, enjoy it !
And remember what
pitcher Joaquin Andujar
once said about one
word in the English
language that is key
in baseball:
-you neverknow-.

See you at the Park !
————————————————————
Amaury Pi-González is on his 10th season as
Spanish play by play announcer for the
San Francisco Giants on KZSF 1370 AM
La Caliente and on his second season as
Spanish play by play for the Seattle
Mariners Spanish Radio Network,
see: www.spanishmariners.net a group
of 5 stations covering Washington State
according to latest Census wqith over
800,000 Latinos. Amaury was inducted
into the CSHO(Cuban Sports Hall of Fame0
in Miami in February 2004. Actually Amaury
is the Vice President for The Hispanic
Heritage Baseball Museum. A non profit
organization in San Francisco founded to
recognize and render tribute to Hispanic
players and their contributions to the
game of baseball.