Reader Submission #3: Finally, it's starting to sink in

The following is a reader submission to The Dodgerhater by avid Giants fan and Dodgerhater reader Julian Perez. I thought it was appropriate to get other perspectives on what this World Series means to people.



Finally it's starting to sink in

Julian Perez


Wow! I’ve waited just about 25 years for a World Series championship to come home to the best city in the world, and it has finally happened. Now that the parade has taken place, it is finally sinking in that the San Francisco Giants are the 2010 World Series Champs! It still feels weird saying that.

I was initially in shock after watching Brian Wilson record the final out of game 5. I dropped to my knees, screaming toward the sky and shaking uncontrollably. Unfortunately I was not with anyone else to share the utter euphoria I felt, but I am sure that the rest of the Orange & Black nation was feeling the same way. The first person I called was my brother, who was in tears over the win.

Many Giants fans have been suffering since the team moved here in ’58 and I can only imagine how they must have felt. I spoke to a guy at Game 2 of the World Series who had been at the series in ’61, 89, and ’02 and felt the same heartbreak at the conclusion of each. To this day I still have never seen fully seen the final out of the 2002 World Series. I walked out of the room as soon as Kenny Lofton made contact and flip the channel anytime highlights of that series are on. But when Nelson Cruz struck swung and missed on that final pitch, it felt like a new beginning. A 54 year weight had been lifted off everyone’s shoulders. The demons have been banished. The scars left by things like Willie McCovey’s line drive and Dusty Baker giving Russ Ortiz the game ball in the six inning of Game 6 have been magically healed.

People outside of the Bay Area (and maybe Boston, Cleveland and Chicago) have no idea what this wait has been like! The last time the Giants won the series, my parents were 2 and 5 respectively. I keep hearing East Coast fans saying that we don’t know how to handle ourselves and that we’re acting like idiots out here. You know what I say to that?

“You guys wait 54 years and then let us know how it feels you spoiled douche bags.”

I am also getting sick and tired of the media completely hating on this band of “misfits” that screwed up television ratings for Fox. I don’t think the teams were as responsible as the consistently biased, horrible commentators. Maybe it was the fact that the games didn’t start till 8 o’clock on the Eastern Time Zone. I couldn’t believe the fact that ESPN, the self proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports” dedicated two slots of 30 second highlights the day after the win. It just proves that those executives are wearing blue and white pinstripes.

I even read an article on Deadspin.com the next day saying that San Francisco fans “don’t even know how to properly celebrate” because 5 people were arrested the night of game 5. Uh, last time I checked, when Boston won in 2004 there were riots in the streets and cars flipped over. That same year there were even worse riots in New York when the Yankees lost to the Sox in the ALCS. Wednesday’s celebration proved all those haters wrong! We know how to party, have fun, come together as one, and celebrate a world goddamn championship!

I would also like to congratulate and apologize to Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean. Those of you who read this blog as avidly as I do may remember I wrote an article ripping Sabean a new one for not getting a big bat after the trade deadline. Never in a million years did I think we would get to the playoffs--- let alone the World Series with the team we had at the deadline. Even during the waiver period, I was cursing the likes of Cody Ross and his 7 RBI’s over the last six weeks of the season.

I can admit when I’m wrong. Not only was I wrong, but I now have a whole new faith in Sabean and the entire front office of the Giants. They have put this team in a position to pitch their way back to the playoffs for years to come. Lincecum, Cain, and Bumgarner are all signed through at least next year and Jonathan Sanchez is arbitration eligible. It also makes me feel pretty good (and shitty at the same time) to know that a former CY Young winner is our #5 starter.

That being said, it is now time to wipe off the champagne, sleep off the hangovers from the amazing parade, and start thinking about the upcoming 2011 season.

This will not be close to the same team next year. Playoff hero Edgar Renteria will likely not be re-signed and Juan Uribe could likely be signed by another team after a career year. The Giants have said that re-signing Aubrey Huff is their #1 priority which is great, but where does he play next year? Do you put Pablo at 3rd again? Do they call up a guy like Brandon Belt to take over at first, or maybe give Ishikawa one more chance while having Huff in the outfield? What about Pat Burrell? It is hard to see him coming back.

Burrell most likely got his last hit as a Giant in the NLCS (0-13 in World Series). How about a guy like Jayson Werth hitting in the middle of the lineup with Buster and Huff?! A guy can dream can’t he? Either way it is obvious that a bat will be at the top of the list for the Giants during free-agency, but don’t be surprised if Jonathan Sanchez is pitching in a different uniform in 2011. There are talks of Dan Runzler being turned into a starter and the farm is packed with pitching talent. So it seems like the logical thing would be to trade Sanchez rather then pay him $5.5 million in arbitration next year for 8 BB a game.

Regardless of what the Giants do this off-season, we will always have this incredible, magical, and at many times torturous season in our minds and hearts forever. No person or team can ever take away the fact that the Giants are champions. Now it’s their turn to chase us for a crown! The wait is over and it was worth it! Black and Orange forever!!

P.S.: My friend, a hardcore Yankees fan, made a bet with me at the beginning of the playoffs that if the Giants won the whole thing that he would get Buster Posey’s number (28) tattooed on his leg. He has since told me that he intends to do it because it was a “man’s, man’s bet” so there will soon be pictures to follow.