Had to block a guy on Twitter today over the Giants.
Well, I didn’t *have* to. I chose to. Because sometimes it’s sort of fun.
Anyway, the gent’s offense was to send me a drawing of a giant middle finger. On a crude level, sort of funny, yes. A good bird-flip has always felt cathartic to most of us, I’m sure. I just reminded him to mind his manners, and blocked him for sport.
His point was that many at KNBR and the Giants fan base were disrespectful of the Cubs. I don’t think he was talking about your boy here specifically, as I have been in awe of the Cubs’ talent and youth since I watched them pummel the Giants into submission in a four-game sweep on the North side of Chicago back in 2015.
He wrote: “I thought the Bay Area would be happy with 3-in-6. WTF?”
Credit to the man for launching a Jock Blog.
He’s right.
How is it that Giants fans, who spent over 50 years waiting for a World Series in San Francisco, from Eisenhower to Obama, from Seals Stadium to AT&T Park, and are now flush with memories of THREE World Series parades since 2010, are so edgy and bitter over the Giants’ 20-29 start?
I know, I know. There is a “window” in the Bruce Bochy/Buster Posey/Madison Bumgarner Era — yes, I did say Madison Bumgarner — and every year should be treated as a championship opportunity. I get it.
And many fans look at an outfield that has trotted out Gorkys Hernandez, Chris Marrero, Jarrett Parker, Mac Williamson, Aaron Hill and a cast of forgettable thousands and think: “Championship opportunity? This outfield makes me pine for the days of Larry Herndon and Terry Whitfield.”
But this fan base is now a hungry fan base. Once you taste the filet mignon, it’s hard to go back to TV dinners. For the angrier fans, even worse is the belief that the front office is content to put that TV dinner in the oven, and didn’t have the energy to shop for the USDA choice.
The hope that one of their outfield prospects would morph into Adam Duvall has been just that — foiled hope. The hope that the core of young bullpen arms would morph into “Core Four, Part Deux” has also been just that — foiled hope.
Without a reliable bullpen, and with the lowest-scoring offense in baseball, the “hopes” for a playoff berth, which is the minimum fans seem to demand in this Bochy/Buster/Bum Era, is also appearing to be just that — foiled hope.
Three losses in a row at Wrigley have exposed their lack of power, their lack of relief, and their razor-thin margin for error, as evidenced by the angst caused by the called strike three against Joe Panik on Wednesday night.
By rights, we should be overjoyed that the Giants have taken fans to the mountaintop multiple times. By rights, we should be overjoyed the Giants have a ballpark experience among the best in baseball.
But human beings, by rights, are not rational creatures. Especially sports fans. Part of the deal, it seems, is the right to vent, bitch, moan and groan when your team loses three more games at Wrigley Field, their new house of horrors.
The Giants come home to play six games against the Braves and Nationals. They’re nine games under .500. The fan base is grumbling. Memorial Day weekend awaits, and no one is happy. The whole thing gets me so grumpy, I think I’ll head over to Twitter and look for someone else to block.