Am I high or did Bengie Molina just steal a base?

I SWEAR I've never used a hallucinogenic... but I my eyes are telling me that Bengie Molina stole a base... and my brain can't handle that.

Maybe I dropped acid earlier today and didn't know it.

If he did steal that base, it takes the sting out of the triple he hit against the Red Sox last July.

Then again, maybe I'm high.

I'll ask the dragon I am sitting next to if he saw it too.

The Rangers matched their greatest post season ever

The Rangers went into today's game with a grand total of one post season win in their history.
Now they have two.

To understand how insane that is to double a team's post season success in one day, just imagine if the Yankees played a post season game... and in the process won the World Series 27 times in that day.

Thus the storied history of the Rangers just got some story to it!

Equally nutty... the Rangers scored more than twice as many runs in today's game as they scored in the 1998 and 1999 Division Series combined.

Actually Bengie Molina matched the post season home run and RBI totals of the 1998 and 1999 squads today.

This is why they got Cliff Lee. So much for home field advantage in the Division Series.

Now don't forget. They won Game 1 in 1996 against the Yankees as well... and they didn't win another post season game until this afternoon.

Game 2 is arguably the biggest game in the history of the Rangers.

And let me ask again... are you excited, Rangers fans?

No person I'd rather watch a clinching with than Poppy

My dad was in town this weekend and we watched a lot of baseball. That wasn't the original plan... the plan was we'd watch his Giants clinch on Friday night and spend the rest of the weekend in L.A. County with my kids.

As it turned out Cain got bombed and Barry Zito blew his chance to redeem his contract in the eyes of Giants fans.

So we were glued to the set today... and watching a game with my dad is an experience.

Sometimes he doesn't move. You wonder if he is asleep. Then when Guillen grounds out you just hear a "JE-sus... swinging on the first pitch." And then you know my dad hasn't missed a pitch.

Or then comes his predictions.
When Miguel Tejada came up in a key spot today, he grumbled "This is it... he's about to hit the home run that will haunt us forever." Then with added emphasis pointed at the screen... as if I were about to miss his seer like abilities.

Tejada grounded out.

Later when Aubrey Huff came up in a critical situation, he said "Watch. He's about to hit the home run that will forever cement his legend."

He also grounded out.

Back when Bonds was with the Giants, every time a pitcher threw to him, my dad would say "Gone."

And when the odds caught up to him and Bonds DID hit a homer, my dad would turn to me and say "I called it."

I would reply "You call EVERY pitch."

My dad would have it off and say "admit it... I called it."

And I couldn't deny it. I am thrilled for my dad this year. He follows the Giants closer than anyone who isn't currently employed by KNBR.

I remember in 2008 I was driving home and listening to a Giants/Dodgers game late in the season. The Giants were 100% out of it and it was a week night. Bengie Molina homered for the Giants and I called my dad.

He picked up the phone. He didn't even say "Hello?" He just said "How about Bengie Molina?"

Dedication to a team... my dad has it.

So I'm glad we could see the Giants win the West.

But today my dad asked me "if I can get World Series tickets, will you fly up?"

He's already past Atlanta, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.

Let's go Giants. My dad has paid enough dues watching this team to finally see another World Series title.

And I have a feeling he has many more predictions to make this post season.

Did the Giants trade their ace away?

When the Giants dealt Bengie Molina to the Rangers, it looked like a straight forward deal that helped both teams, both directly and indirectly.

The Rangers got a steady defensive catcher in Molina and the least likely cycle in baseball history.

Texas had a 3 1/2 game lead when he arrived. They have an 8 game lead now.

The Giants landed Chris Ray who gives San Francisco much needed bullpen depth. And the trade also opened a spot in the lineup for Buster Posey, who has given the Giants a much needed bat and right now looks like he will win the Rookie of the Year over the more publicized Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg.

So it was a perfect trade for the Giants too... right?
Or was it disastrous?

As the Giants are in contention for the Wild Card and hovering around the NL West lead, the main element that makes people think they would be solid in the post season is Franchise, the Freak... call him what you will.

Tim Lincecum is the key for the Giants hopes.

The idea of him pitching twice in a best of 5 series should all but clinch a Division Series.

Seeing him pitch in an NLCS has images of pennants dancing in the Giants head.

And dare anyone dream him starting a deciding game of the World Series?

It would inspire more confidence than Livan Hernandez, I would boldly assert.

But will it?

Did you see Lincecum pitch last night against the Cardinals?

He was ordinary... and this isn't one isolated start.

He has three straight BAD losses (including 2 where he didn't last past 4 innings.) He has rarely been dominant as of late and actually got my dad to say "They should sit him."

SIT LINCECUM? The Franchise?

Well maybe he also enjoyed throwing to Bengie Molina.
With Molina as his regular catcher, he was 49-19 and won a pair of Cy Young Awards.

Since then he is a sub .500 pitcher with an ERA approaching 5.

If the answer to his downturn was his pitching to Molina, then this trade that looked so good on first and second glance might be one of the damaging trades in Giants history (yes worse than Liriano and Nathan for A. J. Pierzinski!)

Now of course there are flaws with this theory. His last game caught by Molina was a blow out by the Red Sox and he has thrown a couple of dominating games without him.

But something is wrong with Lincecum... and Giants fans are starting to freak out about the Freak!

Did the Giants trade their ace away?

When the Giants dealt Bengie Molina to the Rangers, it looked like a straight forward deal that helped both teams, both directly and indirectly.

The Rangers got a steady defensive catcher in Molina and the least likely cycle in baseball history.

Texas had a 3 1/2 game lead when he arrived. They have an 8 game lead now.

The Giants landed Chris Ray who gives San Francisco much needed bullpen depth. And the trade also opened a spot in the lineup for Buster Posey, who has given the Giants a much needed bat and right now looks like he will win the Rookie of the Year over the more publicized Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg.

So it was a perfect trade for the Giants too... right?
Or was it disastrous?

As the Giants are in contention for the Wild Card and hovering around the NL West lead, the main element that makes people think they would be solid in the post season is Franchise, the Freak... call him what you will.

Tim Lincecum is the key for the Giants hopes.

The idea of him pitching twice in a best of 5 series should all but clinch a Division Series.

Seeing him pitch in an NLCS has images of pennants dancing in the Giants head.

And dare anyone dream him starting a deciding game of the World Series?

It would inspire more confidence than Livan Hernandez, I would boldly assert.

But will it?

Did you see Lincecum pitch last night against the Cardinals?

He was ordinary... and this isn't one isolated start.

He has three straight BAD losses (including 2 where he didn't last past 4 innings.) He has rarely been dominant as of late and actually got my dad to say "They should sit him."

SIT LINCECUM? The Franchise?

Well maybe he also enjoyed throwing to Bengie Molina.
With Molina as his regular catcher, he was 49-19 and won a pair of Cy Young Awards.

Since then he is a sub .500 pitcher with an ERA approaching 5.

If the answer to his downturn was his pitching to Molina, then this trade that looked so good on first and second glance might be one of the damaging trades in Giants history (yes worse than Liriano and Nathan for A. J. Pierzinski!)

Now of course there are flaws with this theory. His last game caught by Molina was a blow out by the Red Sox and he has thrown a couple of dominating games without him.

But something is wrong with Lincecum... and Giants fans are starting to freak out about the Freak!

I predicted Bengie Molina's triple

Last night was a super rotten night for the Red Sox and their fans... but I at least had a prediction come true and had at least something fun happen in an ugly loss.

My wife and kids are up north for a few days so living like a bachelor, I decided to swing by Sonny McLean's in Santa Monica and watch the Red Sox game with my people.

The Sox were tied when I showed up and in the middle of a rain delay. Then Beltre homered for the Sox and briefly there was a lead.

And then I got some company.

My good friend, writer for the Santa Monica Free Press and former 5th grade classmate Kenny Mack arrived.

And the second he showed up, the Red Sox blew the lead.

He blamed himself.

I just relay the facts.

The game was ugly for so many reasons... not the least of which was the number of players wearing #50 and higher.

With all the injuries on the team it looked like a split squad spring training game.

There were too many Eric Pattersons, Kevin Cashes, Ryan Shealys, Felix Doubronts, Fernando Cabreras and Dustin Richardsons for my taste.

I kept thinking "Where's Beckett? Pedroia? Buchholz? Ellsbury? Varitek? Martinez?" and expecting the answer to be "Oh they are on the squad playing in Jupiter."

The Sox put a few feeble rallies together but couldn't cut the lead down.

And up stepped Bengie Molina.

His Grand Slam turned a tie game into a 4 run hole and by the look of how his uniform fit, he had also experienced a few Denny's Grand Slams since coming over from San Francisco.

The NESN broadcast showed he had doubled, singled and hit the grand slam.

I said "Watch. He's hitting a triple here."

Kenny witnessed it. As did the people at the bar.

Now last year I wrote about Bengie Molina's ability to triples. He had 5 career triples (in 4,997 plate appearances) going into that at bat.

"He's going to do it" I yelled.

And then it happened... a drive to center field into the triangle... a place where anyone could run out a triple.

And it bounced off of Patterson's glove in centerfield and it was off to the races with Molina.

I think James Caan in Misery would have been lighter on his feet than Molina.

And there he was on third.

And I called it.

Now granted I was calling it somewhat tongue in cheek. But hey! I'll take the credit.

The only question was was the official scorer going to call it an error or a triple. Kenny was convinced it should be called an error.

I kept thinking "Come on scorekeeper! Give him the triple!"

And he did.

I thought of the scene in 1776 when the anonymous Judge Wilson realizes his yes or no vote would determine whether or not America would have its independence. He votes yes because he couldn't take the responsibility of saying no.

That was the scorekeeper. He didn't want the responsibility of denying Bengie Molina the triple and the cycle.

(Trust me that analogy makes perfect sense.)

Oh well... this season is slowly inching towards "Lost cause ville"

Go to 5:00 of this clip and keep in mind that one "no" vote from a state would kill the Independence movement. It's a great (albeit not letterboxed) scene. Then you will see how brilliant my analogy is.

(Trust me.)

I predicted Bengie Molina's triple

Last night was a super rotten night for the Red Sox and their fans... but I at least had a prediction come true and had at least something fun happen in an ugly loss.

My wife and kids are up north for a few days so living like a bachelor, I decided to swing by Sonny McLean's in Santa Monica and watch the Red Sox game with my people.

The Sox were tied when I showed up and in the middle of a rain delay. Then Beltre homered for the Sox and briefly there was a lead.

And then I got some company.

My good friend, writer for the Santa Monica Free Press and former 5th grade classmate Kenny Mack arrived.

And the second he showed up, the Red Sox blew the lead.

He blamed himself.

I just relay the facts.

The game was ugly for so many reasons... not the least of which was the number of players wearing #50 and higher.

With all the injuries on the team it looked like a split squad spring training game.

There were too many Eric Pattersons, Kevin Cashes, Ryan Shealys, Felix Doubronts, Fernando Cabreras and Dustin Richardsons for my taste.

I kept thinking "Where's Beckett? Pedroia? Buchholz? Ellsbury? Varitek? Martinez?" and expecting the answer to be "Oh they are on the squad playing in Jupiter."

The Sox put a few feeble rallies together but couldn't cut the lead down.

And up stepped Bengie Molina.

His Grand Slam turned a tie game into a 4 run hole and by the look of how his uniform fit, he had also experienced a few Denny's Grand Slams since coming over from San Francisco.

The NESN broadcast showed he had doubled, singled and hit the grand slam.

I said "Watch. He's hitting a triple here."

Kenny witnessed it. As did the people at the bar.

Now last year I wrote about Bengie Molina's ability to triples. He had 5 career triples (in 4,997 plate appearances) going into that at bat.

"He's going to do it" I yelled.

And then it happened... a drive to center field into the triangle... a place where anyone could run out a triple.

And it bounced off of Patterson's glove in centerfield and it was off to the races with Molina.

I think James Caan in Misery would have been lighter on his feet than Molina.

And there he was on third.

And I called it.

Now granted I was calling it somewhat tongue in cheek. But hey! I'll take the credit.

The only question was was the official scorer going to call it an error or a triple. Kenny was convinced it should be called an error.

I kept thinking "Come on scorekeeper! Give him the triple!"

And he did.

I thought of the scene in 1776 when the anonymous Judge Wilson realizes his yes or no vote would determine whether or not America would have its independence. He votes yes because he couldn't take the responsibility of saying no.

That was the scorekeeper. He didn't want the responsibility of denying Bengie Molina the triple and the cycle.

(Trust me that analogy makes perfect sense.)

Oh well... this season is slowly inching towards "Lost cause ville"

Go to 5:00 of this clip and keep in mind that one "no" vote from a state would kill the Independence movement. It's a great (albeit not letterboxed) scene. Then you will see how brilliant my analogy is.

(Trust me.)

Bengie Molina is no dummy

Molina resigned with the Giants today and just about every report calls the move a surprise.

He's been negotiating with the Mets for what seems like all off season and his going to Queens seemed like a mere formality.

Instead he is heading back to China Basin for another year in Black and Orange.

Why is this a surprise?

If he were going to spend the year in a pitchers ballpark for a team in transition, why not go to the team whose front office ISN'T in turmoil?

Why not go to the team that ISN'T fighting with its star centerfielder over surgery?

Why not go to the team whose owner DIDN'T lose tons of money with Bernie Madoff?

Why not stay with the team whose geographical rival ISN'T the World Champions but instead is a team that plays in a football stadium and doesn't even broadcast all of their games?

Why not go to the team whose assistant GM ISN'T ripping his shirt off and picking fights with minor leaguers?

Why not go to the team that ISN'T playing in the same division as the two time defending National League Champs?

Why not go to the team that DOES have the 2 time defending Cy Young winner? His pot fine is paid. All is good.

In the end, staying with the Giants shouldn't have been a surprise at all.

Bengie Molina is no dummy. He knows the Mets are falling apart.

Maybe he read my post about the Mets needing to dismantle the team and decided to stay by the Bay.

Oh let me think that.

Welcome to the pennant race, Pablo Sandoval

I'm going to try and not go TOO nuts over Pablo Sandoval's 2 out, 3 run, come from behind walk off homer to win the game for the Giants last night.

It was against the Nationals... a team that is so bad that they made the Marlins look like the 1984 Tigers when they faced off.

And it was off of Joe Beimel... a pitcher so stupid he got into a bar fight before a playoff game and had to be removed from the post season roster while with Los Angeles.

But this is a critical time for the Giants. They are on a three game winning streak including a pair of thrillers. They are only two back of the Dodgers in the loss column and the Dodgers are in a bad spot without #99. 

And I don't mean Barbara Beldon.

The Giants are unlike most teams in baseball. So many are searching for pitching... the Giants have a rotation that might be good enough to win the pennant, especially if Barry Zito continues to finally earn his money.

Seriously, what team wouldn't want a rotation of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and an improved Barry Zito. Randy Johnson is the #4.

Their bullpen is adequate but not great.

But their lineup is scary... for Giants fans.

I have been saying to my dad, as big a Giants fan as you will meet, that they need to pick up a bat now.

Not at the July deadline.

Not at the All Star Break.

NOW! Before you finish reading this sentence, the Giants should pick up a first baseman or an outfielder.

This is the best chance that they will have all year to catch up to the Dodgers. The Rockies and Padres are in disarray and who knows what is happening in Arizona.

The Giants can make this a race.

Which brings us to Pablo Sandoval. The rookie third baseman has a chance to emerge as the centerpiece of the lineup. And the Giants desperately need someone NOT named Bengie Molina to carry the weight of the offense.

And maybe last night was the beginning of the Sandoval era. Maybe last night he served notice that the Giants are going to score some runs and become a pennant contender.

Or maybe he hit a homer off of an overrated Washington Nationals pitcher.

Triple Take

Bengie Molina tripled last night. That was more stunning than the Arlen Specter defection.

Glaciers can outrun Bengie Molina.

I would expect Spider-Man 2 star ALFRED Molina to get a triple before Bengie Molina.

He's not a lock to score if he is on third with two outs and the hitter gets a double.

And he got three bags? I don't care how badly Juan Pierre played it... I can't imagine LUPUS playing a flyball poorly enough for Molina to hit a triple.

Here's what's even more stunning:

It's not his first career triple.

He hit two in 2000 with the Angels.

One on May 30th, 2000 in Cleveland. He tripled to left center off of Dave Burba. Richie Sexson was in left and Kenny Lofton in center. 

Then on September 7th, 2000 in Detroit, he tripled to left center in the 9th off of Doug Brocail. Bobby Higginson was in left and Rich Becker was in center.

He hit one in 2006 while with the Blue Jays.

On August 17, 2006 at Tampa, Molina tripled to right in the second inning off of Scott Kazmir. Russell Branyan was the right fielder.

Then on May 23, 2007 as a member of the Giants, he tripled to right center field off of Houston's Rick White at AT&T Park. Hunter Pence was the centerfielder and Orlando Palmeiro was in right.

And then last night.

So let Sully Baseball salute Bengie Molina. You are only 304 triples behind Hall of Famer Sam Crawford's all time career mark.

As for Juan Pierre, Hunter Pence, Orlando Palmeiro, Russell Branyan, Rich Becker, Bobby Higginson, Richie Sexson and Kenny Lofton, the outfielders who let Bengie leg out three... I hope you are all proud!

Maybe my dad is right... Tim Lincecum might be the Cy Young Winner

This August, my dad and I were talking about what a great year Tim Lincecum was having.

My dad said "He's the Cy Young winner."
I countered "He'll get some votes, but Webb is winning it."

My dad just responded "He should win it" and continued eating his cereal.

Now it must be noted that my dad is the single most optimistic Giants fan you will ever meet.

Last year with the Giants dead in the water, he still mapped out ways the Giants could win the west.

And you will never meet a bigger defender of Barry Bonds.
OK, maybe Greg Anderson was a bigger defender of Bonds.
But for all the people who defended Bonds and DIDN'T go to jail, my dad is right up there.

So I took dad's take on Tim Lincecum as a bit of Giants fan bias.
Sure Lincecum was 14-3 with a 2.48 ERA for the Giants and he was having a great year.

But at that time Webb was 19-4 with a 2.74 ERA. He was not only going to be the first 20 game winner in the NL since Dontrelle Willis won 22 in 2005... but looked to be on pace to win 25 or more, which hasn't been done in the NL since Steve Carlton in 1972.

Plus he was the ace of the first place Diamondbacks (they would pull ahead to a 4 1/2 game lead in late August) and seemed poised to win his second Cy Young in three years.

Clearly Webb had it locked up.

Well since then, Webb lost two critical games to the Dodgers.
And they weren't pitchers duels.
On the last day of August with a chance to put LA away, the ace of the staff got crushed. The D'Backs were down 4 before they even came to bat and Webb couldn't get out of the 4th.

A week later, Webb got crushed by the Dodgers again. This time it cost the Diamondbacks the lead in the NL West... and by the looks of it, it looks like they fell from first place for good.

Ace pitchers don't take you OUT of the pennant race.

All the while Lincecum has brought his record up to 17-3.
He has the lowest ERA among NL Starters.
He has struck out the most batters.
He has the lowest batting average against among NL starters.
He has a better Walks and Hits per innings pitched ratio than Webb.
He has pitched the 4th most innings of any NL pitcher.

The only major category that Webb has him beat is wins... but Linecum has had no offense behind him. When Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand lead your team with 13 homers, you know you have moved on from the Bonds era.

And besides Brian Wilson (who has been up and down) the bullpen, consisting of the Jack Taschners, Tyler Walkers and Alex Hinshaws of the world don't exactly strike fear in the hearts of mortal men.

He has 5 no decisions this year where he pitched 7 innings or more. Throw 2 of those in his win collumn and he'd be talked about as a 20 game winner.

So maybe my dad was right.
Maybe Lincecum is being penalized for playing on a bad team while Webb, who pitched the D'Backs out of this race, has thrown 2 good games since the LA beating and will probably claim the prize.

But they should listen to my dad.

Also a note on my dad, who is as good a baseball fan as you will meet... he loves to call home runs before they are hit.

The pitcher goes into his wind up and he'll say "It's gone."
Most of the time the pitch is taken, fouled off, popped up... anything but a homer.

But every once in a while my dad will say "it's gone" and the batter hits it out.
My dad will turn to me and say "I called it."

And you can't deny that he did...