SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS (again)!!!!!

Pictured:  The San Francisco Giants celebrate their second World Series championship in three years.

I know, I know.  If there was a time to update the blog, it's after my favorite baseball team wins the World Series.  However, don't take that as meaning I was any less excited about it.

I have to say... it's really, really awesome to see the Giants win another World Series title.  It's really cool to rack up another championship and now be able to say that I have seen my team win two of them.

This year's World Champion San Francisco Giants took a bit of different road than in 2010.  The 2010 version was in a dogfight in the regular season down to the very last day, when they finally beat the San Diego Padres to clinch the division (in one of my all-time favorite games).  That team played some tightly contested playoff games, but never came across an elimination game.

The 2012 version did it differently.  They clinched the West with a win over the Padres again, but it wasn't San Diego that was chasing them.  And it also came with several games to go in the regular season.  The playoffs, however, were not easy with the Giants successfully staving off six elimination games before sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.

There were so many great moments and games for Giants fans, but I'll focus on a few games that I particularly enjoyed.   Game 5 of the Division Series in Cincinnati is one for the ages for me just because of how intense that bottom of the 9th inning was.  Everything was on the line and Sergio Romo was in to try and close it down.  The Reds, however, had scored one run already to trim what had earlier in the game been a 6-0 deficit to 6-4.  Plus, they had 2 runners on base, meaning a home run would end the Giants' season (I was very aware of this as I watched).

With one out, Romo faced Reds slugger Jay Bruce who just kept fouling off pitch after pitch after pitch.  Just the anticipation for each pitch was beyond intense.  And to have so many fouled off in a row was quite something.  Thankfully Romo got Bruce to fly out to left field and struck out Scott Rolen to end it.

I also really enjoyed Barry Zito erasing the painful ghosts of years past with the Giants by going 7 2/3 shutout innings in Game 5 in St. Louis with Giants trailing the Cardinals 3 games to 1.  I've been a Zito fan for a while; he seems like a good guy and to try his best so it was really awesome to see him pitch so well on such a big stage.  It was also nice to see him outpitch Justin Verlander in Game 1 of the World Series.

Of course Game 4 of the World Series was a joy to watch.  It's less stressful when your team is up 3 games to none, but it's still a game you'd like to see your team win.  In what was a very entertaining back-and-forth game, the Giants pulled it out in 10 innings.  One of my favorite things to see was the joy on Buster Posey's face after strike three was called (of course all the guys wearing orange and black seemed to be pretty happy, too).  That's what it's all about, right there.  All hail the World Champion San Francisco Giants!

Musings on the World Champion Giants' recent play

Hasn't been a good month for me on the blogging circuit. Apologies to those of you who check it on a regular basis. I will be better about this in the future. Anyway, the World Champion San Francisco Giants (8-7) lost in 12 innings today to the Arizona Diamondbacks (6-8). It was a tough loss to swallow as the Giants really should have won the game. I'm pleased they won 2 of 3 in the series, but it feels like they let the finale slip away.

Next up is a big series with the Colorado Rockies (12-3). Big for April, anyway. Still, it could kind of serve as a measuring stick for the Giants. The Rockies have been red hot to start the year and look like a very dangerous team, particularly on offense. Troy Tulowitzki has particularly had a strong start and could very well have an MVP caliber season. Fortunately for the Giants, they have the front end of their rotation lined up for the series with Lincecum, Sanchez and Cain schedule to pitch. Game times are 6:40, 6:40 and 1:10 p.m. MT Monday through Wednesday and can be seen on Root Sports in the rocky mountain region. Outside of my region, it's MLB Extra Innings or mlb.tv.

I think the Giants have been playing much better since that first road trip of the year, as is evidenced by having a four game winning streak that was snapped today. I think they will be fine, but I sure hope the Rockies cool down a little bit before too long. I'm excited to see how the Giants handle this road series and I'll be tweeting updates throughout it.

The Giants win the World Series!

Pictured: The 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants.

The San Francisco Giants won the World Series tonight, beating the Texas Rangers by a score of 3-1! The Giants won the series 4 games to 1. What an awesome feeling this is! It's great to have my favorite team win its first World Series since 1954. I'm so happy about all this right now. It's still pretty surreal.

Edgar Renteria was named World Series MVP and for good reason. Renteria hit a three-run home run off of Cliff Lee in the seventh inning tonight to break a scoreless tie and put the Giants ahead for good. I sort of screamed I was so excited when that ball went out. Renteria further solidified his reputation as a clutch player. And let's not forget that he hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against the Braves to tie the game in the Giants' home opener this year (which they won in extra innings). So in a way it's kind of full circle. Renteria didn't have the best year of his career and didn't really even play that much down the stretch. But what a World Series he had. I'm glad he was in the lineup and I'm glad he was on my team.

Not to be lost in all this was how well Tim Lincecum pitched tonight, throwing eight innings of 1-run baseball and recording ten strikeouts. It was a masterful performance on the biggest of stages. Lincecum showed why he has won the last two Cy Young Awards and why he is the ace of the staff. Brian Wilson continued his excellent postseason with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to officially clinch the championship.

The Giants' pitching was really a big story this series. You heard a lot about the Rangers offense and how potent it was and for good reason, but people overlooked how good this pitching staff really is. The rotation is great and what really set this group apart from other playoff teams was its dynamic bullpen. The old baseball saying is that good pitching beats good hitting and you saw that in this World Series.

Well, that's all for now, but I'll leave you with this thought: The San Francisco Giants are World Champions! Yes!