With all those Cubs and White Sox in the ballpark, it almost felt like home. But this is September, with too much at stake, so that disqualifies Chicago.
“No, this isn’t Chicago,” said Roberto Hernandez, just getting warmed up in a delirious locker room. “This is about winning and fun. The game is what matters here, not all that other crap.”
Thursday’s game, a classic, had just ended. The San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 on Brian Johnson’s line-drive home run in the 12th. It came on Mark Guthrie’s first pitch, it landed in the first row of the bleachers and it created a deadlock for first in the National League West.
“This was big,” gushed Johnson, an Oakland native whom the Giants got from the Tigers, who acquired him from the Padres. “Maybe even bigger than last night.”
More Top Picks Best Migraine Relief Caps For Headaches
Maybe. But Wednesday evening’s thriller was no slouch. The Giants, limping from a tough road trip, saw their ballpark full, and Barry Bonds electrified it with an upper-deck homer early for a 2-1 victory that Hernandez saved, brilliantly.
Everybody slept fast, and returned for a matinee before 52,140. Bonds went deep again for a 5-1 San Francisco lead, but the Dodgers tied it off Hernandez. So it was up to Rod Beck to pitch until Johnson hit a low line drive, below the swirling winds that had knocked down potential homers only moments earlier, one on either side.
“We pick each other up,” Hernandez went on. “Rod did it today, I did it yesterday. No egos here, no BS like there is with the White Sox. This is old-fashioned hardball here. I don’t know what they want in Chicago, but they worry about everything that isn’t important.”
What’s important to the Giants now is that they and the Dodgers have nine games each to play. Los Angeles, seven with Colorado, two with San Diego. San Francisco, seven with San Diego, two with Colorado. The White Sox, who traded Hernandez here in late July, report to spring training in February.
“Maybe it’s image they’re worried about there,” Hernandez said. “They want to win the public relations war with the Cubs, I guess. Who cares? The best PR is to win, but the Sox want you to sign autographs, not get ready to play.
“Day off there, just before they gave up. They wanted me to go someplace for autographs. I told them no. Suspend me or fine me. It’s all BS. Different rules for different guys, and the game doesn’t matter. Here it’s No. 1.”
In Chicago, the Giants would be loved, because they play one way, fast-forward. They would draw 3 million fans; they’re lucky to get half that in San Francisco.
“Perfect example, right there,” Hernandez said. “We’re averaging fewer fans than the White Sox. The ownership here is probably losing more money than the White Sox. But the owner here went out and got four pitchers anyway.”
One of them, Terry Mulholland, came from the Cubs, via waivers. How the Giants pulled that off, they’ll never know. But you can’t win the tournament if you don’t enter, and Brian Sabean, the Giants’ general manager, has a motto.
“I figure you’re going to be dead for a long time,” he said, “so you might as well take chances when you’re alive.”
The Giants opted to pitch to Mike Piazza, who now has 65 RBIs since the All-Star break, in the seventh with first base open, a strategy they rued when he singled for two runs. So it goes.
“Our manager, Dusty Baker, is in complete charge,” Hernandez said. “We aren’t concerned about Stupid Human Tricks Day or bringing your dog to the park. Here the game is the thing. Here, it’s winning. This is real baseball.”