Ratto: Giants down, but not out

Aug. 16, 2011
RATTO ARCHIVE
GIANTS PAGEGIANTS VIDEO

Ray Ratto
CSNBayArea.com
If theres something worse than Tuesday for the Giants, I want to see it. Desperately so.And take that look off your faces. I like schadenfreude like the next six or seven people, but Tuesday was a 30-cart pileup, and its going to be a long time before we see a 31-car wreck. Tuesday was a special day, just for the height and heat of the flames.But Tuesday is also the day that the bandwagon cleared out. To lose 20 percent of your team, to have to play a game without your starting pitcher, your best reliever, two or three outfielders and an infielder, and to have another infielder play on one leg, to go into extra innings and lose --- that, children, is a sign from God.What its a sign of is still an open question, though. You see, the cosmic math kills the Giants. This is how they die -- by roster erosion, bats with Dutch elm disease, and the First Law of Overachieving, which is You dont get to do that forever.And the math of destiny burns the corpse. Arizona looks like the 2010 Giants, and so does Milwaukee. Theres only so much destiny to go around in any given year.URBAN: Only way to go for Giants is up
But the basic math keeps them alive. Fifty games left to close a gap of 3games, against a team that looks better than it actually is -- sure beats being the Padres, Jack.And basic math is unromantic, and has no destiny about it. Basic math is about grinding, and one thing we know is that the Giants did their best grinding a year ago when they looked dead.Are they capable of that again? Logic says no, because they were healthy last year, all their deals worked out (except Jose Guillen, which was just a matter of throwing one last hundred on the pass line for the hell of it on your way out of the casino), and were averaging more than a run more per game. They were a better team by any standard.But they could still fake their way back into the race, as ridiculous as that sounds. It merely requires that the fan base fall back in love with players it has decided to dislike.Like Jonathan Sanchez, who a week ago would have been praised for spraining his ankle and going on the disabled list. Or Aubrey Huff, who has been Public Enemy No. 2 for much of the year. Like Miguel Tejada, who is being held responsible for stifling the dreams of a .195 hitter (Brandon Crawford). Like Aaron Rowand, who has been routinely crucified on a cross made of contract paper. Maybe even (gasp, cough, choke) Barry Zito, who has mastered the art of being most important when he is furthest away.RELATED: Again? Braves walk off on Giants for 2-1 win
The Giants have reached the all-hands-on-deck stage of a very weird season. Theyre out of margin for error. They are profoundly short-stacked, and the time for doubling-up is, well, now. And sometimes that level of desperation brings out the best in a player.Like Pablo Sandoval, who tried to eat his way out of baseball in 2010 two double pandas with cheese at a time, and a year later has bored his way into the deepest recesses of Brian Sabeans heart.Typically, desperation is usually well-founded, though. You wait long enough to get your act together, then you look up and the play has closed. The Giants best play here may actually be to understand that nobody believes in them anymore. The magic of the trophy marketing, the relentless preening about 56 years and all that, the were-stars-because-we-say-so aspects of their being -- all are gone now, as is common with the fifth best record in the Nati . . .Wait, fifth-best? One spot from wild-card contention? Seriously?Well, that is a conundrum -- particularly when based on run differential they should actually be behind both Colorado and San Diego, and in 10th. And based on runs scored, they should be 29th, and desperately holding off Seattle for relegation to the Pacific Coast League. Hell, by that standard, this is a great year.But it isnt. Tuesday was the sort of day that convinces most right-thinking people that the horse has died and a hole must be dug. As a result, we will now see if the Giants are as swashbuckling from a prone position as they were last year as a live underdog. Trust us, this is way harder.And if you bring up the word torture again, especially since Tuesday makes the worst day last year seem like the company picnic in St. Barts, we will drive to your home and show you what torture actually is. One roofing nail at a time.Ray Ratto is a columnist for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.com.