Revenge for 2010 incoming
Back in 2010, I worked with this guy Eric from San Francisco. Eric was, in words he himself would understand, hella aight. He was as nice a dude as you’ll find. But he was a diehard Giants fan, and goddamn did I hate his face that year. It looked a lot like this:
I didn’t work with Eric anymore in 2012 or 2014, but I’m sure I would have hated his face then too—but maybe not as much, because 2010 was especially hurtful. It wasn’t until the middle of this season and the Giants weren’t going away that I pieced together the link between that first 21st century Giants title and the Padres’ season that wasn’t supposed to be. But shit. They were one and the same.
It wasn’t like both teams were supposed to be solid to great that year, like in 2021. We were supposed to be flaming garbage. And the Giants were supposed to be alright, but not WS favorites exactly. From the Bleacher Report 2010 MLB preview:
4. San Francisco Giants: 82-80
Much like the NL Central, the top four teams in the NL West all have a shot at the playoffs. With Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, how could they not be serious playoff contenders? Also, Barry Zito started to show signs of improvement last season. If Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner both live up to the hype this season, the Giants could be the National League's most dangerous team. Adding Mark DeRosa should also help.
5. San Diego Padres: 63-99
The Padres are just flat out bad. There's no way around it. Adrian Gonzalez should be gone by the All-Star Break, making their most dangerous hitter... Kyle Blanks. Not exactly the best hitter in baseball.
Kyle Blanks was never the best player in baseball. It’s a fact. But I love me some Kyle Blanks.
Kyle Blanks sucked that year. But Adrian didn’t get traded, he was one of the best players in the league, Aaron Cunningham, David Eckstein and the gang were doing their thing and the pitching staff (which had Jon Garland on it!) was the best in the league, and by August 25th, the Friars were 76-49 and 6.5 games up on the Giants.
They lost the next ten games.
The last series of the year was against the Giants. The Pads entered the series three games back of San Francisco. Tim Stauffer and Clayton Richard outdueled Tim Cain and Barry Zito in the first two games to bring the division title down to a final game, but you know the rest.
I’ve got my eye on August 25th, 2021, before the Dads host the Dodgers for a mid-week series.
If we’re within 6.5 games, or even 8, considering we’ve still got 6 more against the Giants, I say it’s revenge time for 2010.