The Giants performance this year is made more painful by the presence of so many teams in late-season pennant races. Every division is hotly contested, often by more than two teams. It’s like hockey: if you’re not in contention this year, you must really suck.
The largest gap between first and second place is the five games that separate the Yankees and Red Sox in the A.L. East, and that gap feels more like a sliver of daylight given the bathyspheric pressure surrounding every game at the Fens or in the Bronx.
Taking off my Giants hat and putting on my generic baseball cap, I declare this one of the best years in a long time. For my own sanity, I have to. I noticed the other day I’ve been mildly depressed all month. The relentless summer fog? Not sleeping well? Wait — it oddly coincides with the Giants going 4–12 in August. Maybe I should talk to my therapist. Is it the feelings of low self-worth, doc, or is it the Giants’ futility in scoring runners from third with less than two outs?
My outlook on life will turn sunnier if the Dodgers continue to make their embarrassing plunge in the standings. Ned Colletti traded the underrated Wilson Betemit for a fungible reliever, Scott Proctor; he bolstered his horribly sagging offense with — whoop! — Mark Sweeney. That’s all, folks. Credit Ned at least for not trading some of his best prospects for short-term help.
So with the Giants cemented in the cellar and the Dodgers in free-fall, what else can I root for?
* Yankees-Sox down to the wire. I used to root harder for the Sox, but they’ve basically become Evil Empire Lite. Now I just want something weird and dramatic to happen.
* Cubs in the playoffs. Whether they win the NL Central or nab the wild-card spot, I want to see more October ball at Wrigley.
* Phillies overtake Mets and Braves. Justin Verlander v. Ryan Howard in the World Series. Wouldn’t that be fun?
* Ichiro! in the playoffs.
Do you have a second– or third-favorite team you want to see in the playoffs? Discuss.
