I won't delude myself or be in denial about this. I knew way back in June that the Giants season was more or less done; a wash, not happening, or what have you. I won't say it didn't take me a long time to accept reality, because it did. And straight out of a horror movie, the Dodgers have made an incredible mid-season turnaround and look poised to win it all, mostly thanks to a guy named Yasiel Puig. Don Mattingly went from being on the chopping block in early June to being heralded as a genius in August. To make matters worse for this diehard Giants fan, I actually like Don Mattingly. He seems like a good guy and he was a fantastic player. But I digress.
If this season has taught me anything, it is to have perspective. Perspective can be a wonderful thing, if applied properly. The pedestal that Giants fans have stood on after winning 2 World Series titles in 3 years is still sturdy enough to stand on, new enough that it's not rusting yet. Hell, Giants fans can even dance on it when they say to Dodger fans: "Hey! Over here! When you win 2 World Series titles in 3 years, call me! When you win a World Series title and your catcher is NL MVP and wins the NL Batting Title in that same year, call me! When you get 2 home runs off Justin Verlander in the World Series, call me!" Okay, okay, maybe that's a bit much. But guess what? It's ALL TRUE. The Giants HAVE won 2 World Series titles in 3 years, the first one only having been 3 years ago. And that is an incredible thing, something worth hanging onto when your best hope the following season is not to be dead last in your division.
For me, this season makes me appreciate 2011 more than I had last year. Considering we were without Buster Posey for most of that season, I think the Giants were pretty damn competitive. The pitching staff had one of the lowest ERAs in the National League that year. This year? Fairly catastrophic from where I'm standing: seemingly endless injuries, most occurring one after the other; a less-than-stellar starting rotation; iffy defense. The things that Giants fans took for granted for so long now are no longer a given, like an excellent farm system and amazing, non-injury ridden pitching. So I will take this time to have some perspective and think back to the previous 3 seasons. And try not to delete my recording of Tim Lincecum's no-hitter from this year so I have something to hang my hat on as a Giants fan in 2013. And hope that the Dodgers do not indeed win it all this year, because I'm still holding out for a Pirates/A's World Series. You never know.
