There’s at least ONE family in the Bay Area not excited about tonight

The Giants are on the verge of clinching the National League pennant in what would have to be considered one of the greatest upsets in the Wild Card era.

The Bay Area is going nuts and is partially in shock as Tim Lincecum will take the mound with a chance to not only win the Pennant, but set up the rotation while the Rangers and Yankees will battle deep into the weekend.

You would think that the whole Bay Area, which hasn’t seen a pro champion since the 49ers beat the Chargers in the 1995 Super Bowl, would be thrilled.

Ahhh… you forget the power of venom.
Lest we forget the Oakland A’s fans. And when you think A’s fans, you SHOULD be thinking of Don Marquez, friend to Sully Baseball, author of the wonderful book Generation A’s Fans and part of a gigantic family of rabid Oakland fans.

They are A’s fans and Giants HATERS.

(It is safe to say that NONE of them own one of those Half A’s Half Giants hats that made the rounds in 1989.

And one thing Don and his family seem to love is the fact that the World Series title count in the Bay Area is A’s 4 and Giants 0.

(4 to 0 was also the result when the A’s and Giants squared off in the 1989 World Series.)

In the book he describes how he and some members of his family went to AT&T Park and asked security where they kept the World Series trophies for the San Francisco Giants.

Good solid venom.

And now he is feeling like that ultimate bragging right could be slipping away.

And he isn’t happy about it.

Hang in there Don.

I guess it is the same as if you were a Yankee fan in 2004, realizing the days of chanting 19-18 were coming to a close.

He laments upon this potentially dark day in Athletics Nation today.

It is worth a read.

So is his book.

Off sync with the Giants and my parents

I called my parents the second Juan Uribe won the game for the Giants last night to get their thoughts on the Giants somehow taking a 3-1 lead.

SULLY:
Some game! Up 3-1!

SULLY’S DAD:
I love it.

SULLY’S MOM:
It’s great but watching it out of sync is driving me crazy.

SULLY:
(As confused as you)
Wait. Are you watching it live or on DVR? Do you not know how it ends?

SULLY’S MOM:
Oh we watched the ending. But it’s all out of sync because Poppy has the radio on.

SULLY’S DAD:
I have to hear Kruk and Kuip.

(Kruk and Kuip refer to Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper, the wonderful Giants announcers on KNBR.)

SULLY:
But dad… if you are listening to the radio, you are hearing it before you are seeing it.

SULLY’S DAD:
The delay isn’t bad.

SULLY’S MOM:
It’s AWFUL. It’s 30 seconds.

SULLY’S DAD:
It’s NOT 30 seconds. It’s about 11 seconds.

SULLY:
11 seconds? It might as well be a minute! You could be hearing “Long drive and it is GONE!” while the visual is the pitcher picking up the rosin bag.

SULLY’S MOM:
It drives me crazy.

SULLY’S DAD:
I just can’t take Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

SULLY:
I know it is rough. I had to hear them call two Red Sox World Series titles. But you’ve got to bite the bullet on this and watch it live.

SULLY’S MOM:
Thank you!

SULLY’S DAD:
But baseball is basically a lot of talk and a highlight here and there. So most of the time it is fine to be out of sync. It only affects it on the big plays.

SULLY’S MOM:
Yeah, it only is annoying at the most exciting moments of the game.

SULLY:
Dad. Why don’t you go into the living room and listen to KNBR and let mom watch the game without her feeling like she is watching a Godzilla movie?

SULLY’S DAD:
Maybe I will.

Today I found out that my dad “figured out how to get the radio in sync with the TV.” I am sure it will work fine.

So Poppy… if you want to see the end of the game with the KNBR guys in SYNC… CLICK HERE.

And if you want to share my mom’s experience, watch this movie:

A mystery that will perplex scientists and historians for generations to come

Why the hell did Roy Oswalt throw Juan Uribe an off speed pitch?
Seriously… the guy has a busted wrist and looked overpowered on the first few pitches. He wasn’t going to get around on one of those fastballs.

And oh yeah, the winning run was on third with less than 2 outs.
I would call that a situation where you needed a strikeout.

Off speed pitch… deep fly to left… and somehow the Giants with the makeshift lineup consisting of guys with torn biceps, hurt wrists and the 16th caller on KNBR are one win away from the World Series.

Seriously?
An off speed pitch?