© Richard Mackson | 2021 Jul 21
There’s that old saying: When someone shows you who they are, believe them.
(I’ve always found that saying daunting, by the way. Puts a lot of pressure on you to come through a lot. What if you’re having a bad day? Can we amend it to, “When someone shows you who they are, unless they’re having a bad day or didn’t get their nap yet, believe them.”)
At any rate, that brings us to the Giants — yet again.
The Jock Blog spent last week, prior to our Charlie Gitto’s-soaked sojourn to St. Louis, giving proper credence to Shawn Estes dropping the “nervous” word on the Giants’ second half.
After a dream start to 2021, we were within our rights to ask: Should we be nervous going forward?
Now, as Wilmer Flores continues to get high fives from a happy dugout probably right until the time you are reading this, we are changing the primary word in our Giants vocabulary.
“Nervous” — out.
“Pumped” — in.
This is written before the series finale in Dodger Stadium tonight, but it doesn’t matter.
The Giants have showed us who they are, and I am here to believe them.
Mind, losing two of three in St. Louis, no matter how good the Veal Nunzio was at Gitto’s, was daunting. The NL West lead was down to one game. A flight from hot St. Louis to loud Dodger Stadium awaited. Then, Duane Kuiper told us the Giants’ team hotel had a pipe burst, and there was no water or air conditioning at their expected residence. Traveling secretary Abe Silvestri had to scramble to find two hotels for 80 members of the traveling party, and he had to do it fast.
Uh, were the baseball gods speaking?
Those doomsday predictions about the Giants finally surrendering first place — for good — to the evil people in blue seemed inevitable.
Until the Giants showed us who they are.
That it was Buster Posey on Monday, smacking a two-run home run in the top of the 1st, shoving it right where the sun don’t shine on 50,000 fake-World-Series-celebratin’ Dodgers fans, set the perfect tone.
Not only were the Giants going to land some haymakers on the Dodgers, but Buster would lead the way — infuriating the fake-World-Series-celebrators.
That same Monday night, Wilmer Flores and Austin Slater chimed in — and so did Thairo Estrada, forcing a longtime Dodgers fan friend of mine to text me: “What’s a Thairo Estrada?”
Ha! Their befuddlement!
The 7-2 win featured 6 innings of shutout relief, and all of a sudden, the summer got better.
Until Tuesday night.
That was the night that re-awakened our fears. The 6-1 lead. The Chris Taylor home runs. John Brebbia. Chris Taylor’s face. And then . . . Tyler Rogers and the walk-walk-home run heard ‘round the NL West.
Some Giants fans freaked out.
This was a test of character, sports fans. And it would test you right up until Kenley Jansen toed the slab with a 2-1 lead in the 9th inning on Wednesday night.
And then, Buster Posey again. Pinch-hit single.
And then, the underrated Flores. The “Friends” guy. He said to Kenley Jansen and 50,000 fake-World-Series-celebratin’ fans: “How you doin’?”
And then, Tyler Rogers, the guy you all wanted DFA’ed. Giants win.
Nervous? Out.
Pumped? In.
Given a chance to show us who they were, Gabe’s Babes showed us bats, arms, pinch hits, camaraderie, belief, power and moxie for days.
Said Logan Webb, part of two Giants wins since the break: “There’s a lot of games left, a lot of work to do. But tonight showed the type of team that we are and the type of resiliency that we have as a group. And I don’t think that’s going away.”
Or, as the current AAA player Mauricio Dubon once said: “We don’t have any pricks.”
They will leave Dodger Stadium in first place. The trade deadline awaits Farhan Zaidi, which is like saying the recording studio awaits Stevie Wonder.
No more nerves. Pure adrenaline.