And so, they're the Giants of baseball, the first San Francisco treat since the franchise moved in 1958. The Giants won the World Series because they played five great games. Their pitching was masterful, allowing five runs in the last four games; their defense sublime and their hitting sufficient.
The only shame was that the dogpile occurred in Dallas rather than in the Bay area. After about the first 23 seconds it looked as if the players didn't know whom to hug.
As Joe Buck aptly pointed out, this squad had accomplished what Barry and Bobby Bonds, Jeff Kent, Juan Marichal, Rob Nenn, Will Clark and other great Giant players had failed to. But looking into that quivering mass of celebrating humanity, I had to wonder about some of the participants.
Does Pat Burrell return home with any sense of accomplishment? The guy was a wind farm in the Series, fanning in 11 of 13 times at bat. Burrell saved his career in a couple of hundred swings with San Fran, but may have jeopardized all that with his World Series futility. Now a free agent, Burrell cost the Giants four runs in just four games (not including his Game 4 benching).
How about Mike Fontenot, is he celebrating his great achievement? A solid middle-infielder with the woebegone Cubs, Fontenot came to the Giants and promptly sat on the bench. He didn't see a single pitch in the World Series. What can he tell his homeys in Slidell -- "I'm a world champ"?
Or Barry Zito? The free agent bust-o-rama was left off the post-season roster but will still get a ring along with his millions. Will he wear it with pride? Will he include a World Series title on his post-playing curriculum vitae? He'd better decide, because that time is nigh.
I feel good about the Giants' championship, even though they weren't the best team in baseball. It's a nice prize for the city, which hasn't had much to cheer about in sports for a while. Though the series wasn't particularly exciting or memorable, it was very well-played and leads us to another exciting hot stove season.
Hey, don't put away the mitt!
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