Saturday, August 19, 2006

Okay, now I'm just confused

At the point last week when the Giants had lost 13 of 16 games and were playing the red-hot Dodgers, I put forth my theory on the ebb and flow of the Giants fortunes to my friend Lucky Luis as that series began. I told him that a sweep of the Dodgers was in the making -- not because of anything to do with the rivalry between the teams or because I thought the Giants were any better than the Dodgers, but because the Dodgers were red-hot and the Giants were ice-cold -- a reversal of fortunes was due each team.

Okay, I was wrong about that.

However, the Giants part of my ill-conceived theory is happening now. A sweep of the Padres and the taking of the first game vs. the Dodgers in this series has given them their second five-game winning streak of the year, the first of which was right before they proceeded to lose 13 of 16...meaning that if you combine all those streaks the Giants are 13-13 in their last 26.

The script now dictates that the Giants go ahead and sweep the Dodgers, more for confusion's sake than anything else. It would muddy up the division again, just when it looked like a clearer image was coming into focus. It looked like the Dodgers were putting themselves forth as the class of the division (right after it looked like they were putting themselves forth as the dregs of the division), and it looked like the Giants were putting themselves forth as the dregs of the division (right after it looked like they were putting themselves forth as the class of the division).

Confused? Yep. Ya oughta be, cuz I am, too.

What other division you've ever heard of has a team win five in a row to take the division lead, only to lose 13 of their next 16 and fall into last place, while the team that was in last place, losers of 13 of 14, turns around and wins 17 of 19 and takes the division lead?

How is it that the Giants have take seven of the last eight games vs. the Padres, yet the Padres are still two games ahead of them?

I'm wondering how the oddsmakers are figuring out any odds on any of these team in the NL West to win the pennant. Then again, I'm wondering why anyone would be silly enough to make a bet on which team is going to win this division.

UPDATE: Hm. I turn on the game, it's the 2nd inning, and it's 8-0 Dodgers with a man on 3rd and no outs. I'm guessing the theory is in a little danger of not becoming true. Shame 'bout that.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The season..the game...the blood pressure...the ebb and flow of each....maddening.
No sweep, but the Giants showed comeback po-tential...possibly a series win ..no, that was NOT designed to have a capital s back there...but that might be a possibility...a remote, terminally - lost - snowball possibility...