Congratulations to the Sharks for their first ever sweep of a playoff series. They defied expectations so well we don’t even know who to expect them to lose to in the next round yet. An amused ESPN announcer noted on Sportscenter that in each of the last three seasons, the team to defeat the Canucks in the playoffs went on to win the Cup. So they asked their hockey “expert” Barry Melrose if this makes the Sharks the favorite to win the cup.
Melrose said “No.” And that was the end of the segment.
Also, congrats to the Warriors for…um…making an indelible memory for Warriors fans? I don’t know. It’s one thing for an underdog to get convincingly blown out in the first game of a playoff series on the road. But to turn such a convincing win into a loss is much, much worse. Watching the Warriors play with a lead is like watching any NFL team employ the Prevent defense. It was a ridiculous effort on every front, including Klay Thompson foolishly fouling out, prompting announcer Chris Webber to jinxingly note that “They don’t need him anymore.”
Also, announcer Chris Webber? What?
Meanwhile, your San Francisco Giants lose two in a row to the Phillies. It’s hard to fault the Giants too much; they drew the two toughest members of the Philadelphia rotation, and got handcuffed. Let’s face it, the vaunted rotation of the Phillies never came to be after 2011, especially with Roy Halladay’s decent into where Tim Lincecum went last year. But they have some good pitchers still, and those pitchers beat the Giants. Two losses after a win streak isn’t too much to get up in arms about, and the losses were easy to lose sight of in the wake of non-baseball playoffs going on.
But it was a reminder: Good pitching wins, and right now the Giants don’t have good pitching.
Look, Bumgarner has enough credit built up this season to not get any grief for an off-day, but I think it’s clear that Lincecum’s problem go beyond having an inexperience Henry Sanchez catching him instead of Buster Posey. Which leaves us with the fact that no one has any clue why he is no longer a Cy Young contender. Add in that Matt Cain’s fly ball rate has turned into a home run vulnerability, and the Ryan Vogelsong is suddenly ordinary again, and you know where Giants fans are left at?
They left at the realization that Barry Zito’s vesting option getting vested is no longer a negative view of the future. Because none of the team’s young pitching stars in the minors will be ready for 2014.
It’s only May…it’s only May…
Discussion ¬
You must log in to post a comment.