Bochy’s the best. One loss doesn’t change that. And he’s the best with relief pitchers in the playoffs. One loss doesn’t change that.

But How many times is Bochy going to let Hunter Strickland throw fastballs to fastball eating left-handed power hitters?!?!?!

Exhale.

Now that I got that off my chest. Great game. Total classic which shows why October baseball can be really really exciting.

[Addendum: The usually exceptional Jonah Keri seems a bit hit and miss today with his “numbers” analysis of managerial decisions from last night. He’s right on Machi and Strickland. Those both seemed pretty obvious without numbers, and can’t get less obvious with. I’d have like to have seen more numbers with regards to the Peavy-Carpenter decision in the 4th. It wasn’t just about Peavy-Carpenter. It was the 4th inning. Bochy has 2 lefties–Lopez and Affeldt. If he uses Lopez in the 4th, how many situations are being created for later in the game where he has to use a righty against a lefty? And in the ninth, Keri doesn’t use numbers at all with regards to Romo, but I think he’s unfair nonetheless. Romo’s numbers post-all star break have been exceptional (1.80 era, .85 whip, 23 ks in 20 innings), as has his playoff experience thus far. AND, he’s got huge playoff experience. Petit has a single great performance in long relief, which deserves all the credit in the world, but getting 6 innings out between the 12th and 18th inning is easier than getting 3 outs in the 9th. I don’t see that as a situation where Bochy is trying to get cute with a lesser pitcher.]

Too bad no one is watching. And that’s because MLB would rather make money than let anyone watch. Why the f*** is this game on Fox sports 1. I went to watch the game at a bar tonight. They didn’t have it. Went to a second bar. They didn’t have it. Found it at a cheesy corporate restaurant which was blasting the volume on a 27-0 NFL game. [Respect to Victor Cruz].

Fox sports 1 absolutely sucks. Not only can’t anyone find it on their television, their studio crew really sucks. Gabe Kapler has to drink a few less red bulls. [this is why his baseball career sucked too. while everyone else was doing PEDs, he was downing red bulls and hit like zero homeruns]. And ESPN, which has been doing it all year, doesn’t have the games, so they don’t give it much attention.

How is it that corporate America hasn’t totally ruined sports. I mean, they have. College basketball is a sewer of corruption. College football is the part of the sewer where all the rats hang out. But why haven’t Americans gotten angrier about all the ways that corporations have destroyed their sports. In the two games in Washington, D.C., there were dozens of empty seats in the first few rows behind home plate. Likely because they were going for $20,000 a seat. No one cares. Now, we can’t even watch baseball without it being on an extra charge pay channel. It’s outrageous. And MLB will get away with it just like every other corporation does. What happened to the populists? Why don’t the 99% protest the corporate takeover of sports? Can’t some of the Tea Partiers stop worrying about Latino children and focus on the evil that is FOX and cable television? [FOX sports 1 is owned by the same people that own FOX news? I’m shocked.]

Here’s a list of the most improbable things that have happened to the Giants in the playoffs since 2010.

1. Barry Zito beating Cards in game 5 2012

2. Pablo Sandoval hitting 3 home runs off Justin Verlander in 2012.

3. Cody Ross hitting 2 home runs off Roy Halladay in 2010.

4. Barry Zito beating Justin Verlander in game 1 of WS 2012.

5. Edgar Renteria hitting a 3 run homer off of Cliff Lee in WS 2010.

6. Hunter Pence’s 3 hit single against Cards in 2012.

Add from tonight:

Juan Perez getting a hit off of Trevor Rosenthal.

Matt Duffy scoring from second on a wild pitch by Trevor Rosenthal.

I look forward to Tuesday. In addition to Molina being out, the Cardinals don’t have a closer with confidence. Can a team win the WS when their closer doesn’t have confidence? [Pausing to think for 5 seconds… No.]

>>>P

Photo Credit Thomas Huston