Heartbreak in Texas, Euphoria in San Fran, November 1, 2010

The 2010 World Series is in the books. Five games. Scores of 11-7, 9-0, 4-2, 4-0, and 3-1. The National League Champion San Francisco Giants, 6 games out in their division in the last week of August, thumped the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, surprised the Philadelphia Phillies with their fight in the NLCS, and just plain outpitched the American League Texas Rangers in this series.

I haven't made a post since the end of Game Two, when the Giants led the series 2-0 after a horrific bullpen implosion by the Rangers.

Texas won Game Three behind the sure and steady arm of Colby "The Yankee Killer" Lewis, though he gave up a pair of late solo home runs (Cody Ross and Andre Torres). The big hit in that game was a three-run homer by Rangers rookie first baseman Mitch Moreland. Josh Hamilton also hit a home run in that game, his only significant contribution of the series.

San Francisco won Game Four behind a spectacular pitching performance. It wasn't Tim Lincecum on the mound. It wasn't Mr. 0.00, Matt Cain. 21-year-old Madison Bumgarner became the second-youngest pitcher to throw eight shutout innings in a World Series game (Jim Palmer of the Orioles in Game 2 of the 1966 World Series). Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer, rookie sensation Buster Posey smacked a solo shot to center, and the Giants were one win away.

In Game Five, the Freak Tim Lincecum pitched his best game since his first career postseason start, his 14-K two-hitter in Atlanta in Game One of the NLDS. Lincecum as nearly as good here, giving up just three hits and walking one, striking out ten, making at least one sterling defensive play, and hiccupping just once, on a two-out seventh inning home run to Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz. That, though, came just a few minutes after Giants' shortstop Edgar Renteria smashed a stadium-silencing three-run homer off Rangers' ace Cliff Lee, who lost his second straight World Series start after beginning his career with 7 straight postseason wins (including two wins in last year's World Series). That homer was set up by consecutive singles by Cody Ross and Juan Uribe. Giants closer Brian Wilson (FEAR THE BEARD) struck out Hamilton looking on a belt-high fastball on the outside corner, got Vladimir Guerrero to ground sharply to third, then struck out Cruz swinging, and the Giants erupted. Leading the charge out of the dugout to the mound celebration was outfielder Pat Burrell, who had a hideous series (1o strikeouts).

The series MVP award could easily have gone to Cain, Bumgarner, Lincecum, Ross, or Huff, but was awarded to Edgar Renteria, who hit two home runs in the series and had several other big hits after a season in which he was on the DL three times and barely played. Renteria has been shuttled around from team to team, was the last out of the 2004 World Series when he played for the Cardinals, but once, long ago, smacked a Game 7-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning for the Florida Marlins against the Cleveland Indians. He was 21 at the time. He joins an incredible exclusive fraternity of players who have game-winning RBIs in two World Series clinching-games: (ready for this?) Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra. You've heard of them, right?

This was the Giants' organization's sixth World Series, first since 1954 (a la Willie Mays' famous catch), when they beat the 111-win Cleveland Indians, and the first since moving to San Francisco in 1958. They lost the 7-game 1961 series to the Yankees, the 4-game 1989 series to the A's, and the 7-game 2002 series to the Angels.

For the Texas Rangers, who had a great postseason run in eliminating the beasts of the AL East (the Rays and defending world champion Yankees), it was a disappointing series in which their best pitcher failed and their offense ran into a buzzsaw of moving pitches.

Time to close the door on the 2010 Major League Baseball season (except for the major awards). Congratulations, Giants.