Thursday, August 04, 2005

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

After today's fan-juicing win against the terrifying Rockies, I have to say I wish I had been at the ballpark, tossing wieners and empty beer cups into the air with the best of them. The late-game rally was a bit of vintage baseball, reminder of a time when the Giants could do this against far, far better teams.

All the hand slapping and knuckle smacking as each run came home just made me long for a better time. Which got me thinking...

What's going to happen in 2006? No, this isn't one of those "Who would win in a fight: Supergirl or Wonder Woman?" questions. I'm so far past my hopes-for-contention stage with the Giants that I'm taking intellectual solace in what's in store for next season.

As Orange & Black has pointed out on numerous occasions, trading blunders this year may compromise us for some time. Yes? And I read the other day that, for the record, Barry Bonds, does significantly alter the outcomes of games in which he's playing. Grissom—God bless him, his experience, and his tenacity—is going bye-bye. Are Durham and Snow not far behind (next season? offseason?).

Will the front office simply pray that a Bonds 2006 will erase memories of a Bondsless 2005? If so, what does that erasure entail? Leaking Aardsma and Williams out of the pitching staff? Creaky roster assignments like Sanchez and Winn? Doesn't the experience that Niekro and Ellison have amassed this season amount to something next year?

I'm just a silver-lining kind of guy. Somebody, anybody, help me believe again.

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