Aug. 4, 2011
URBAN ARCHIVE
GIANTS PAGEGIANTS VIDEO
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Mychael Urban
CSNBayArea.com
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Much like the atmosphere surrounding last week's Biggest Series Ever in Philadelphia, this week's series between the Giants and Phillies brought with it a great deal of hype on both sides of the budding rivalry.Much of it, of course, came courtesy Uncle Chuck. The Phillies' down-home skipper, Charlie Manuel, lit a bit of a firestorm last week in the wake of his club being handcuffed by Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, calling the Giants' dynamic duo "good" but not "great." Lincecum fired back, in his laid-back way, suggesting there was a little NLCS-fueled "frustration" coming out in Manuel's comments. But try as the media did, the fire was extinguished awfully quickly early Thursday afternoon when Manuel backed way down from his comments and Giants manager Bruce Bochy refused to chew on any of the chum thrown his way.
Bochy did, however, throw a sweet little kidney shot when answering a question about Philly's Thursday starter, Cliff Lee, saying with a twinkle in his eye that Lee was "approaching greatness," but that was about it.As is always the case, all that matters is what happens on the field. Any breathless banter about "psychological warfare," as one scribe put it during Bochy's scrum, gives way -- right away -- to the battle being waged between the lines, and on Thursday it was clear that Lee was most ready to swap some paint.Madison Bumgarner did a fine and admirable job of rallying after yet another rocky first inning or two, but he needed a blown call by the third-base ump on a stolen-base attempt and a rocket of a line drive that turned into a double play to get out of the first inning unscathed and gave up back-to-back solo blasts to Philly's deadline answer to Carlos Beltran, a k a Hunter Pence, and John Mayberry in the second to put the Giants in a 2-0 hole.The way Lee was dealing, the hole must have felt like the kind of sinkhole that swallows garbage trucks for an appetizer before shifting its focus to nearby office buildings as an entree.Lee can be had, as evidenced by both his seven losses this season his two to the Giants in last year's World Series, but not when he's on as he was in the opener of the Biggest Series Ever For Real This Time. That offensive resurgence that newcomers Beltran, Jeff Keppinger and Orlando Cabrera so joyously led Wednesday afternoon in the glorious sunshine?Gone in the gloom of a more typical San Francisco summer backdrop, with a more typical showing -- or no-show -- from the men wielding wood.Make no mistake, though. This wasn't one of the garden-variety shutouts you've seen the Giants suffer at the hands of a decent pitcher having a good night, or even a good pitcher having a great night.This was a great pitcher having a phenomenal night, and as aggravating as it can be to hear Bochy and his boys offer the obligatory cap-tipping after an uninspiring night by the offense, this was the type of night on which you don't just tip your cap. You give Lee your cap and offer to buy him as many caps as he'd like -- on the lone condition that he not throw it back at you with the precision magnificent movement with which he was throwing his mind-bender curveball, low- to mid-90's heater and oh-stop-it-already changeup Thursday night.Approaching greatness? No. Lee got there. And then some.