The San Francisco Giants are champions of the world after knocking out the Texas Rangers 3-1 to win the World Series 4-1.

For the second time in the series, San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum outdueled the Texas ace Cliff Lee.

The Giants took the lead on a 3-Run HR by Edgar Renteria off Lee in the 7^th. Nelson Cruz answered with a solo shot in the bottom of the 7^th off Lincecum.

Lincecum was dominant in Game 5, with 3 Hits and 10 K’s in 8 IP.

In the playoffs, Lincy defeated Derek Lowe, Roy Halladay, and Cliff Lee.

The Texas offense, all series was dismal. Josh Hamilton went 2 for 20. Vladimir Guerrero had a slash line of .071/.125/.071. The Rangers as a team batted .189 with a .232 OBP.

1B Mike Moreland was the only one with a semblance of offense going .452/.533/.769.

Giants SS Edgar Renteria captured the MVP award, after going .429/.467/.643 with 2 HR and 6 RBI.

Renteria joins Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, and Lou Gehrig as the only players to have the World Series winning hit in two different World Series.

The Giants offense, considered to be the weak link on the team, exploded for 20 Runs in the first two games.

Aubrey Huff went .357/.438/.714 with 4 RBI.

The Giants got a gem from rookie Madison Bumgarner in Game 4, firing 8 shutout innings. In Game 2, Matt Cain threw 7.2 scoreless.

In Cliff Lee’s two World Series starts, he took his first (and second) postseason losses with a 6.94 ERA.

The Giants won their first title since 1954, and first since moving out west.

When the Giants last won the World Series in 1954: Gas was $.21, top song was “Hey There” by Rosemary Clooney, and President was Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower

Starting back in 1883 through 1957 some of the best to ever walk onto a baseball field walked onto that field wearing a Giants uniform. Legends such as Christy Mathewson (373-188, 2.13 ERA and 79 shutouts), Carl Hubbell (best known for mastering the screwball and for fanning Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Simmons and Cronin in succession in the 1934 All-Star Game), Mel Ott (the 1^st NLer to surpass 500 HR‘s), Bill Terry (341 career BA and the last NLer to hit over 400), ‘Iron Man’ Joe McGinnity (246 wins in 10 years) and Roger Connor (baseball’s original HR king) all played for the Giants.

They were managed by John McGraw, the 2^nd winningest mgr ever. McGraw compiled a .586 winning percentage over 33 years. In 1904 the Giants won the pennant but McGraw refused to let his team play in the World Series. The American League was ‘inferior’ as he put it and they didn’t deserve to be on the same field with his team.

In 1951, the Giants trailed the Dodgers by 13 ½ games on August 11. Although Brooklyn played well down the stretch (26-22) the Giants took it to another level, playing an unfathomable 841, going 37-7. It was arguably the greatest comeback ever. It culminated with Bobby Thomson’s HR in a playoff game against Brooklyn to determine the pennant. Thomson’s HR is considered the greatest ever in Baseball history. Russ Hodges’ cry of ‘The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!’ has gone down as perhaps the most memorable line ever spoken by a broadcaster.

Willie Mays catch in 1954 is the best and most famous defensive play in World Series history.

It was October 1956 and as usual, Brooklyn was battling the Yankees in the Fall Classic. But as the Yankees prevailed in 7 games there was a storm brewing. Rumors were intensifying that the Dodgers as well as the Giants were considering moving.

Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley was seeking a new home. Ebbets Field, while beloved by faithful fans, was becoming run down. The surrounding neighborhood was unsafe. In spite of the teams unparalleled success throughout the 1950’s the small stadium rarely sold out.

O’Malley was butting heads with Robert Moses, the construction coordinator for the city. O’Malley set his sights on a plot of land at the Brooklyn waterfront. Moses, however, had the power to condemn the land. And he did just that. Instead, he tried to bully O’Malley into moving to Flushing Meadows. O’Malley was irate and began looking elsewhere. The exact spot that Moses had in mind would later be the site of Shea.

O’Malley was heavily courted by city officials from Los Angeles. At the time baseball did not extend beyond St. Louis and it would be too costly to fly to California for just one team. O’Malley needed someone else to move.

Enter Horace Stoneham, principal owner of the Giants. Stoneham was also looking for a new home. Their stadium, the Polo Grounds, was also badly in need of repair and Stoneham, like O’Malley, was getting nowhere with city officials. He had been leaning towards moving his Giants to Minneapolis. However, he was being enticed by officials from San Francisco. That, along with O’Malley’s skill of persuasion, convinced Stoneham to head west.

When the Giants Board of Directors voted, there were only two individuals who voted for them to stay put: Joan Whitney Payson and M. Donald Grant.

Grant would become the Chairman of the Mets. It was he who was the driving force in bringing Gil Hodges ‘home to New York’ in 1968 to manage.

Joan Payson would become the first principal owner of the Mets. But she never stopped loving her Giants. It was she who was very influential in the design of the ‘NY’ logo on the Mets cap. As a tribute to the city’s baseball heritage, she wanted to use the exact same NY insignia as her Giants wore-Giant orange but now on a Dodger blue background. It was also Payson who was prominent behind the Mets getting Willie Mays in 1972. She was determined to have her idol finish out his career in the city he started.

In spite of many great players playing in San Francisco, a championship has alluded them. Only the Cubs and Indians have gone longer without winning.

As an organization the Giants have won 21 pennants, but 17 came in NY. They’ve won 8 World Series but all of those were in NY as well.

In 2002, they lost the World Series in 7 games to the Angels. In 62, they again lost in 7 games, this time to the Yankees. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the 9^th in game 7, the Giants put the tying and winning runs in scoring position but Willie McCovey lined out to end the series.

In 1989 they got swept by their cross-bay rivals, the A’s. But that series was more remembered for the massive 7.1 earthquake that hit the Bay Area. The quake hit at rush hour, 5:04 pm. 63 people were killed that day. But many had left work early and were in Candlestick Park or at home preparing for Game 3. Had the Giants not been in the World Series experts calculate the death toll would have been between 400-500.

Since moving west the Giants have had 9 MVP’s and 4 Rookie of the Year’s. In 1981 they became the first team in the NL to hire an African-American manager. 2 of the top 4 HR hitters of all time, 3 of the top 18, all played in SF.

The NY/SF Giants have won more games then any other team. They have 28 players enshrined in Cooperstown, also more then any other team.

Some of the biggest stars of the last half century have been San Francisco Giants. Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Gaylord Perry, Will Clark, the Alou brothers, Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent have all played for this team. In spite of this, the Giants have yet to win a Series.

Based on that, it’s almost hard to imagine them winning it all with Posey, Lincecum and Huff. It’s hard to believe that Matt Cain can do what Marichal couldn’t. But isn’t that what makes this game great?

It’s World Series time. Welcome to October…

Texas Rangers

The Rangers rotation is anchored by mid-season acquisition, and playoff ace, Cliff Lee. After Lee is CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, and Tommy Hunter. Lewis has a 1.45 playoff ERA with 18 K’s in 18.2 IP. Wilson is 1-1 in three starts with a 3.93 playoff ERA. Lee has been his usual outstanding self. In three starts, Lee has pitched 24 IP with only 2 Earned Runs and an absurd 34:1 K:BB ratio. 34 to 1!!!

However, Tommy Hunter is the weak link in the rotation. He’s made two starts, never lasting longer than 4 IP. He still gets the K’s (12 in 7.1 IP), but has a bad WHIP (1.50) and ERA (6.14).

The closer is the electric Neftali Feliz.

You’ve probably heard of the Rangers offense. Leadoff man Elvis Andrus, 3B Michael Young, MVP Josh Hamilton, Who’s Your Vladdy, Boomstick, Ian Kinsler, Bengie Molina, 1B Mitch Moreland, and either David (don’t call me Daniel) Murphy or Frenchy.

I won’t go too in depth, but this offense is seriously freakin good.

The Rangers are in the World Series for the first time in franchise history; 39 seasons in Texas, 11 in Washington. The trades that were made this season were made with the intent that there was no tomorrow, which because of the ownership situation, there wasn’t. That’s why they were willing to deal Justin Smoak and Blake Beaven for Lee, and steal him out from under the Yankees. That may have won them the ALCS. It’s World Series or bust for the Rangers.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants win with pitching, pitching, pitching, and enough offense to take the lead. Timmy “The Freak” Lincecum anchors the rotation with Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and Madison Bumgarner. For the past two years, the Giants have had a reputation as “The Team No One Wants To Make The Playoffs” because of their rotation. Lincy has been what you would expect. Cain’s shutout in Game 3 against Cole Hamels gave the Giants the series lead they would not relinquish. Bumgarner and Sanchez can really rack up K’s, but they also give up runs. Sanchez did not make it out of the 3^rd in Game 6. He could be the Giants weak link.

The closer is Brian Wilson and his beard.

The lineup is a collection of misfits that somehow work well together. Andres Torres (6^th in the league in Defensive WAR), Freddy Sanchez, Aubrey Huff (4^th in the NL in WAR among position players…seriously the biggest bargain of the 2009 offseason), ROY candidate Buster Posey, mid-season pickup Pat Burrell, mid-season pickup Cody NLCS MVP Ross, Kung Fu Panda, mid-season pickup Mike Fontenot, Juan Uribe, and Edgar “I’ve been around forever but I’m only 33” Renteria. The lineup doesn’t pack the punch that the boys from Arlington have, but it’s a group of players peaking at the right time. All of these pickups and signings have done well since coming to San Fran.

The Giants have not won a World Series since moving out West, 53 seasons.

Fun Factoids

Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee were the two Cy Young winners in 08. The last time that the two respective Cy Young’s from the same year have faced in the World Series was 2001 (Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson, who both won it in 2001 and matched up that October/November).

Bengie Molina started his year by the bay, but was traded to Texas.

The first interleague game ever was between the Giants and Rangers in Arlington.

Hey Beltran-bashers, next time you want to bring up that called strike, just remember that both LCS’s this year ended with called strikes on the losing team’s biggest sluggers. On pitches that weren’t as nasty as Wainwright’s curve.

Either Guillermo Mota or Frenchy will be a World Champion soon.

Questions To Chew On

Who will win the series?

How many games?

MVP?

Who wins Game 1, Cliff Lee or Tim Lincecum?

Should Cliff Lee throw Games 1, 4, and 7?

Should Lincecum?

For Fun: Comparing the cities, who is the cooler law-enforcer, Walker Texas Ranger or Dirty Harry?

According to an Associated Press report, San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges following a traffic stop in his home state.

Washington State Patrol spokesman Steve Schatzel said Thursday that the 2008 Cy Young Award winner and former University of Washington star was pulled over for speeding on Interstate 5 in the town of Hazel Dell, about four miles north of the Oregon border, on Oct. 30.

An officer approached Lincecum’s 2006 Mercedes and smelled marijuana as the pitcher rolled down his window. Schatzel said Lincecum immediately complied with a request to hand over the drug and a marijuana pipe from the car’s center console.

The amount measured was 3.3 grams. Schatzel said police consider that a small amount for personal use, well below the maximum of 40 grams before possession is classified differently and carries a more severe penalty.

Lincecum was fined a total of $622 for driving at 74 mph in a 60 mph zone, and for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Both are misdemeanors.

The Giants have yet to comment on the situation, but clearly the thought of their prized young pitcher speeding while smoking pot must have them in a tizzy. Especially when Lincecum is due to receive a huge arbitration award in a few months. Lincecum went 15-7 in 2009, with a 2.48 ERA in 32 starts.

Today we will take a look at the award races across Major League Baseball and my picks.

National League MVP: Albert Pujols has had this award sealed since June, and there is no other player as all-around offensively accomplished. Could have had a shot at the triple crown if Hanley didn’t run away with Avg.

Verdict : Albert Pujols

American League MVP: The two best offensive players in the American League have been Mark Teixiera and Joe Mauer. Teixiera is tied for the lead in HR (with Carlos Pena who hasn’t played since August) and leads RBI’s. Mauer finally found his power as unleashed 28 HR’s and 95 RBI, but he decisively leads the league in Avg., OBP, SLG, and OPS.  Mauer leads Tex by 71 points in Avg., while Tex leads Mauer by 11 HR and 26 RBI. The month of April was a wash for both of them, but Tex’s team is the best in the AL, and Mauer’s is fighting for the playoffs.

Verdict: Mark Teixiera

National League Cy Young: Adam Wainwright’s Wins/K/ERA (rank in parenthesis) line looks like 19(1^st)/204(4^th)/2.58(3^rd). Fellow Cardinal and former winner Chris Carpenter has 17(2^nd)/144(25^th)/2.24(1^st). Defending winner Tim Lincecum has 15(4^th)/261(1^st)/2.48(2^nd). This really could go any way. If it were Game Seven of the World Series, I’d be confident in any of them. Lincecum is hurt because his wins are less than the two Cards, but he’s actually had a better season this year than his Cy Young year last year.

Verdict: Tim Lincecum

American League Cy Young: CC Sabathia is the only one with a chance at 20 wins, as he has 19 with one start left. However his peripherals don’t match up to the Greinke, King Felix, or Roy Halladay. Verlander leads K’s by 20+ over Greinke(237), but his ERA is considerably worse. The two all around best pitchers are Felix Hernandez and Zack Greinke. Greinke has 17 wins with one start left and leads the Majors with a 2.06 ERA. Felix has 18 wins with one start left with 211 K’s(4^th) and a 2.48 ERA(2^nd).

Verdict: Zach Greinke.

National League Rookie of the Year: Let’s start with hitters. Chris Coghlan (FLA) leads Runs, Avg., OBP, and OPS. Everth Cabrera (SD) and Dexter Fowler (COL) have 20+ Steals, and Andrew McCutchen (PIT) has double digit HR’s and SB’s. Among pitchers, Tommy Hanson (ATL) and JA Happ (PHI) have both had great seasons and similar numbers, though Hanson had 36 fewer innings than Happ.

Verdict: Chris Coghlan

American League Rookie of the Year: Ricky Romero (TOR), Rick Porcello (DET), and Jeff Niemann (TB) had the best seasons among starters. Gordon Beckham (CHI) had the best all around year among hitters, though Matt Wieters (BAL) lead batting avg., and Elvis Andrus (TEX) and Chris Getz (CHI) both finished with 20+ SB’s.

Verdict: Gordon Beckham

NL Manager of the Year: Jim Tracy took over a Colorado team that was headed for a high draft pick at the end of May. Now, they’re heading to the playoffs, and have a chance at stealing the division.

Verdict: Jim Tracy

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Girardi does have the highest paid team, but they have the best record by 8 games over anyone else.

Verdict: Joe Girardi

Till Next Time