Cocky Posey stumbles?
You know what they say.
"Shit happens!"
Unfortunately, that was the fate that befell the Giants yesterday, as gung-ho sports enthusiasts gazed on in shock and awe from their perches around the country.
Gosh, where have I heard that expression before?
Uh-huh!
The World Champions slipped, and fell from grace (momentarily, in the scheme of things, at least), and ended up soiling their normally-pristine Black & Orange uniforms in the struggle to defend their coveted title.
The Giants were not only off to a poor start (in a game where they suffered embarrassing stumbles) - but, like it or not - managed to set the tone for the upcoming season (judging by laments heard around the country from fans and sports reporters alike at the close of the game).
The general consensus?
Miguel Tejada - at age 36 (soon to turn 37) - is over-the-hill!
Posey was too cocky to recognize the obvious.
The Giants lacked strut and swagger on the field yesterday.
The Giants performance in a nutshell?
Sloppy! Sloppy! Sloppy!
And, if that flack wasn't bad enough for Frisco's celebrated heroes, there were also other stinging assessments floating about.
The Giants can't hit!
One astute observed tired to put some perspective on the opener.
"It was all about the Dodger's winning and not about the Giants losing."
Even so - the Network airwaves were awash with a blow-by-blow account of the rough 'n tumble plays (which cinched it for the Dodgers) with a major focus on the nasty goofs (unforgivable?) that clearly spelled-out pending doom for the Giants in a frightful end scenario.
Most argued that Tim Lincecum pitched well, though.
"The Dodger's pitcher (23-year-old Clayton Kershaw) was just better."
Indeed!
Tim held his ground, in spite of a miserable defense, that continued to plague the team throughout the exciting afternoon match.
"It's just one game," the freak noted calmly for the record.
"So much emphasis is placed on the opener. Games like this are going to happen."
"There are 106 games to go," Aubrey Huff shrugged seemingly nonplussed, when he was cornered by probing reporters anxious to scoop up every delicious detail.
One player griped about the backlash.
"It's not what you've done for us. But, what have you done for us lately."
A handful of compassionate onlookers attempted to toss the blame on the "twilight" game.
"It's tough for any team to play so late in the day."
On occasion, the shadows appeared to run some interference, though the players never cried-the-blues over the alleged problem caused by the "freak" of nature.
One Dodger fan was adamant about the reasons for the Giants' humbling loss.
"They didn't have a chance. The Dodgers are a better team."
Brandon Belt was a stand-out in his first opener in the big leagues, however.
The kid - who just signed a contract for approximately $414,000.00 - admitted there was a lot of tension to deal with.
"Quite an adrenalin rush," he fessed up, in so many words.
But, the down-to-earth athlete shrugged it off, bottom line.
No problem.
It was a matter of clearing his head and focusing on the game.
The packed stands on his virgin run didn't strike terror in him, that's for sure.
The rookie stood confident at bat and took his best shot when the opportunity arose.
The Dodger's Kershaw - a pal from school - gave kudos.
"He (Belt) has a great eye."
And, it served him well yesterday at Dodger Stadium.
Belt's first hit was an infield single with two outs in the second - which was summarily credited - when the home team failed to make the play on the grounder to first.
When the media swarmed him in the locker room, he casually chewed on tobacco (gum?), and waxed philosophical about what went down.
"Tim was just a hard-luck loser," he stated matter-of-fact.
For the first time - up-close-and-personal - I noticed Belt's full sensual lips and a quiet masculinity that shone through.
Yup!
The 1st baseman has the complete package - enough to thrill fans and win hearts over - alright!
In contrast, Buster Posey faced awkward moments in front of the prying press, who were out for a quote in the aftermath of an alleged slip-up on his end.
Posey snapped a throw that sailed left and shot past Pablo Sandoval allowing a Dodger player to trot to home plate to score the first point for the home team.
Though most thought that Posey's throw was off, Sandoval asserted that was not the case, in fact.
According to the supportive Giant, Kemp ran into his glove as he tried to catch the ball - at which point - the play went awry.
Posey explained it this way.
"The ball was in the dirt. His head was down. I thought there was a play."
Bottom line?
"It was instinctual."
Sports journalists wondered aloud if Posey would be so bold in the future.
At this juncture, the Tom Cruise film - Top Gun - sprang to mind.
In that blockbuster hit, Cruise played a pilot who loses his confidence, when an error in judgment results in the death of a pal in the cockpit.
Will Posey snap back or languish in upcoming games because of deep-rooted doubts?
In the locker-room, his body language spoke volumes.
For instance - when quizzed by the press - he often looked away, stared at the floor, or self-consciously reached back with one hand and scratched his neck nervously.
Wounded?
Meanwhile, one sports analyst compared the "opener" to the Beatles phenomenon.
"When a new album came out, fans excitedly opened up the LP, and analyzed all the lyrics to uncover their true meaning. It's the same thing here. The Giants are being scrutinized too closely," he concluded.
"But, the Beatles never wrote a bad song," another scoffed!
Meanwhile, there is obvious concern in the front office, especially in lieu of Barry Zito's recent car accident in Los Angeles.
The pitcher was stopped at a red light when he was broadsided at the front passenger side of his Bentley.
The fender-bender resulted in an injury to his neck and shoulder.
"Zito has a fragile psyche. There is always something getting in the way," one seasoned pro argued.
Another, was quick to write Zito off.
"The Giants don't need Barry to win the championship," he quipped.
So, the spotlight turned on Brian Wilson, who showed up in the Bull Pen yesterday.
"He showed a lot of juice," one onlooker noted for the record.
But, one former player cautioned about the perils of heading back to the field, before an oblique muscle is fully healed.
"He may be pushing it."
So, quite a few questions remained unanswered at press time, which warrant a response.
What is the game plan ahead for the Giants (who - like Zito's Bentley - got dinged yesterday)?
By the way, I was predicting a win yesterday for the Giants, because I thought the champs were capable of beating the Dodgers.
However, there is a problem which often surfaces with forecasts that may affect players in one of two ways, naturally.
A "win" prediction may cause the players to go into the match without a proper focus (too confident, they subsequently, end up losing the game) or prone to worry under pressure that they may jinx the outcome.
So, I consulted an "Oracle" I recently stumbled across lately in a book on Buddhist wisdom.
The subject selects a number from 1-100, then reads an appropriate passage, which is divined.
When I meditated on the Giants, and asked for guidance from the Oracle, this was the reply.
Passage No. 20
AFTER THE GREYWhen the teeming rain stops, the clear sky is a joy -
Jade-hare moon and gold bird sun slowly, slowly brighten
The tangled times are gone, the joy-time is to come -
And with just one leap you can clear the Dragon Gate again
Prophecies of the Goddess of CompassionYou figure it out!
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Belt has keen eye for fast balls!
