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Such Great Heights

World Series Trophy, world famous beard

Well Bay Area, did we save a pat on our back for anyone else? While we were celebrating the Giants World Series by shouting Kuiper’s call, “For the first time in 52 years…!” for the past 5 months, the rest of baseball was getting better. While we were sewing World Series patches on the sleeve of Miguel Tejada’s jersey, other teams were sewing the targets onto our backs. And while we were laughing at Brian Wilson dressed as a pipe-smoking sailor or negotiating free Showtime with Comcast, other baseball teams were acquiring talent, or simply fine-tuning their own. The Dodgers Matt Kemp moved out of LA to focus more on baseball, the Phillies memorialized Juan Uribe’s game-winning playoff homerun against them vowing ‘never again’, and the Rockies locked up Tulowitzki and MVP candidate Carlos Gonzalez.

All this basking in the self-produced sunlight (because face it, no one else in the country cares the Giants won it all last year) – it all sort of bit us in the butt last weekend. Three of the four opening games against the Dodgers were nationally televised, and we flopped on the field. After whining about the east coast bias, we finally got ESPN love (twice) and lost both games in self-inflicting fashion. Lincecum was out-dueled by Kershaw, Posey played like a little-leaguer, Tejada killed a rally, and Huff dove in right field and missed, looking like the kid in Sandlot when he’s finally invited to play.

And you can tell us not to read too much into it (looking at you Damon Bruce and Mike Krukow), but how much needs to happen like this before we admit to ourselves that maybe we should have had a clean break from the 2010 season somewhere around spring training starting up? Instead of Brian Murphy pumping rays of sunshine for five months on KNBR and the Giants planning give-away promotions with the 2010 World Series logo on them well into the summer of 2011, maybe we should look around the team and see the reality of the situation.

Aubrey Huff is our right fielder. His knees touch when he runs. The first baseman is like an uncoordinated giraffe out there. The Panda still swings at crap in the dirt and over his head, he just does it 40 pounds lighter. There’s a reason no one wanted Miguel Tejada. Fragile Fred just got a new contract. 3 games into the season. Our bullpen is a liability and showed signs of this all spring.

Instead, I’m told by fans to not worry, it is early.

Okay, tell me when it is time to sweat these things. I’ll jump back on the 2010 World Series bandwagon that still rides up and down 101 today and put blind faith into Brian Wilson’s beard, Huff’s rally thong, and Cody Ross’s smile.

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