The Giants win the pennant

The San Francisco Giants are one of my least favorite teams in all of baseball. But my dislike for the Cardinals runs deeper.

I was so disinterested in the National League Championship Series, initially, that I didn’t even bother watching the first three games. I half-heartedly watched Game 4 and Game 5. But the Giants heart and excellent play in Game 6 moved me, and I was fully on their side for the clincher.

So it was a sweet sight to behold tonight as the Giants crushed the Cardinals, coming back from three games to one and winning Game 7.

When the monsoon arrived over the bay area for the ninth inning I was shouting at the TV, to the pitchers, “Just throw strikes! End this thing and let’s go home!” (Check out this guy's blog for some good photos and commentary of the scene)

The umpires weren’t stopping that game for nothing. And the slowed images of the falling rain drenching the Giants players as they amped up for the post-game celebration were pure art.

Finally, Matt Holliday – of all people – popped the ball to your NLCS MVP Marco Scutero -- of all people – putting an interesting end to the series after the two were involved in arguably the signature play of the series.

After the game, I also spotted this on Twitter, acknowledging another interesting twist considering how the Cardinals beat the Braves and made it as far as they did …

That rules. RT @mlbbowman: Cardinals end their season with an infield fly.

Meanwhile, my beloved Prince Fielder, Jason Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, Jim Leyland and the rest of my beloved Detroit Tigers are back in the World Series after sweeping the Yankees. ... There's no doubt that series was over the moment Derek Jeter fell hurt. While I hated to see that, I loved every other minute of watching the Yankees' collapse, especially the at-bats involving Alex Rodriguez.

I just hope in this World Series that the Tigers pitchers remember how to throw to first base.

Despite the Yankees' collapse, bravo to Joe Girardi who argued -- very well -- that the timing for increased instant replay is better than ever. ...

"In this day and age when we have instant replay available to us, it has to change. These (umpires) are under tremendous amounts of pressure. It is a tough call for him because the tag is underneath and it's hard for him to see. And it takes more time to argue and get upset than (to) get the call right."

"There is too much at stake, and the technology is available. That's what our country has done. We have evolved technology to make things better."

The Yankees were on the wrong side of a couple bad calls in the ALCS, and I can't help but wonder if the Braves season wouldhave ended differently if that infamous infield fly was reviewed immediately.

Good reads ...
a Giants Rebuilt Nearly From Scratch
a On a National Stage After Years in the Wilderness
a Tigers Have Ace, but Giants Are Resilient
a Led by pitchers like Scherzer, eyes of Tigers on World Series title
a For Yankees, Thrilling Rally Ends Badly
a Yankees’ Old Ways Catch Up to Them
a No Tony. No Albert. No problem.
a What Business Leaders Can Learn from the St. Louis Cardinals
a Andre Dawson emerges from the ivy and into the spotlight ... I do enjoy this commercial.