Don’t Take It Personally San Francisco, It’s Just Baseball

The Giants and their fans are poor sports. I mean, we beat them fair and square on the field of battle, and they’re still crying foul. Look it’s over, you got beat, now just let it go. But of course we know they just can’t. Now they are crying for Puig to be hit because they’re poor losers.

The Dodgers just finished a three game series against the Giants at At&t Park. Or as I like to call it, the Phone book, or Phony Book Park. I only say that all in good natured fun of course. The Dodgers won two out of three, winning the series. Friday night’s game was a blowout. The Dodgers hammered the Giants 10-2. Matt Cain got lit up like a Christmas tree, and former Giant now Dodger Juan Uribe, who is having a resurgent year, drove in seven of the ten runs, with a three-hit performance. If cain is pitching like this you would think the Giants have bigger things to worry about than Yasiel Puig’s bat flips, but apparently no.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) prepares to deliver a pitch against the San Francisco Giants in the seventh inning at AT&T Park.

Saturday afternoon’s game was the game the Dodgers lost 4-2 to Madison Bumgarner. The Dodgers could only muster two runs on four hits against the left hander, resulting in a series tie at the time. This was the game the Giants made the lineup blunder, batting out of order. The Dodgers and manager Don Mattingly caught the mistake, and the Giants were penalized by having a Buster Posey RBI double nullified. It was pretty hilarious.

At the end of that game, Giant’s closer Sergio Romo, who we know by now is very emotional, made a gesture at Yasiel Puig, and Hanley Ramirez after the game. Romo had just pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the Giants who had just won the game, and as the teams were walking off the field, Romo made a mock I see you gesture.

Now remember this, because it’s important. In the third and final game, the rubber match, the Dodgers won 4-1. Sunday’s game was a pitching duel between Clayton Kershaw and surprisingly tough spot starter Chad Gaudin. Both pitchers locked horns for eight frames, as the game stayed tied at 1-1 until the ninth inning.

In the top of the ninth, the Giants brought in Romo to hold the tie. Yasiel Puig came to the plate, and he had been struggling. Since his crash into the Coors Field wall, Puig had whiffed in seven of his last nine at-bats. Gaudin seemed to have been able to figure out the rookie sensation by giving him a steady diet of sliders and breaking balls low and away, which the impetuous rookie couldn’t stop from flailing at.

This time Puig was ready when he stroked a solid line drive single to left, to start the Dodger’s eventual game winning rally. Puig after getting the hit accidentally flipped his bat on the way to first. We’ll get back to that in a second.

After Puig got his hit, Adrian Gonzalez smoked a one-hop smash to first base. Buster Posey was playing at first on this day, and he was unable to come up with the grounder cleanly. The ball was headed into the hole between first and second, and Posey tried to back hand the ball with his glove. The ball bounced off his glove, and he picked it up, trying to cut down Puig at second, threw wide and offline, allowing Puig to advance to third. After Hanley tapped out to Romo, and Ethier was intentionally walked to load the bases, that brought up Uribe with A.J. Ellis on deck. Uribe whiffed going after a couple of sliders low and away, seemingly giving into Romo’s trickery. It didn’t fool A.J. though. Oh no it didn’t. With two outs and the bases still loaded, A.J. slammed an 0-1 hanging slider to the deepest part of the ball park, over center fielder Andres Torres’s head for a three-run double. The bases cleared, the Dodgers went up 4-1, and the Dodger dugout exploded into celebration. It was beautiful. Poetic justice.

Kershaw’s dominance,Puig’s incredible talent, and A.J.’s double made me do this….

The Dodgers would go onto win 4-1, as A.J.’s bases clearing double was the death blow. In case you were wondering, the rest of the league was only 3 for 29 against Romo with the bases loaded.

The Dodgers won the series 2-1, and it didn’t take long for the Giants and their fans to start whining and complaining about Puig, Hanley and Mattingly. After the series was over, the discussion turned to whether or not Puig should be thrown at.

This is totally ridiculous. As a formal response I would like to say this isn’t necessary. Puig didn’t do his bat flip on purpose, or towards the Giants or anyone in particular. He’s just a super young and talented and immature, and impetuous head strong player. The Giants take everything so personally. It’s nothing against you specifically Giants. Yeesh! Calm it down. You lost fair and square. Accept that.

Hanley Ramirez has been doing his I see you glasses before he was a Dodger. That originated when he was in Miami, he just called it something different. It’s just something fun he likes to do when he gets a hit. Don’t take it personal San Francisco.

Complaining about Mattingly trying to help his team win games is stupid. Mattingly made the mistake of asking for an instant replay on a Hanley long foul drive. To the ire of Giant fans, the umpires obliged Mattingly, as that is the rule and the Dodger’s right to have the play looked at. Hey you never know, and it doesn’t hurt to ask. But god forbid he do that.  If the shoe was on the other foot then it’s a different story. If Posey hit that long foul ball, or Sandoval, and Bochy didn’t ask for an instant replay Phone book park would have gone up in smoke. There might have been a riot with pitchforks.

The Point being made here is the Giants are poor sports. Calling for Puig to be hit and all. Look, I don’t want anyone getting hit. I don’t want the Dodgers to get hit, or hit anyone. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt, I am sick of the brawls this season.

Do you think Giant fans would want Stephen Fife to be throwing at Buster Posey? No I am sure not. So let’s just keep this thing on the field where it belongs. You don’t like Puig’s aggressive style of play? Then prove it on the field by beating the Dodgers between the lines.

Don’t get upset by a young player being impetuous, and acting like a 22 year old acts. Is Puig immature? Sure he is, I mean he’s 22 years old. He’s only been playing for a month. He has a lot to learn about the game, and he’s going to learn it over the course of his long successful career. But he’s also incredibly talented and can beat you in many different ways. He is a complete player with all the tools in the world.

Just don’t be poor losers San Francisco. If you want to be upset at something, perhaps you can be upset at Clayton Kershaw’s dominance over the Giants. Kershaw had only allowed five earned runs at At&t Park ever. The run he allowed yesterday was the sixth. That means his ERA was 0.73 in his starts at San Francisco coming into the Sunday game. That is some serious owning. Be upset at A.J. Ellis’s beautiful three-run double in the top of the ninth, that gave the Dodgers the 4-1 win. Which is the equivalent to this….

No No No! Giants. No No No!

Let’s just keep the rivalry between the diamond where it belongs. No need for “chin music” or anything like that. There’s a difference between pitching inside and head hunting. No head hunting. Pitching inside is ok, even a little chin music is fine, as long as it’s nowhere near the head. No more brawls.

Giant fans are so fickle aren’t they? They’ve won two championships in three years and yet they still complain. Just don’t take it personal San Francisco, it’s only Baseball. What I am really trying to say is…..neener neener neener Giants. We’ll see you in September.