Oh…hello! I’m still here. It’s been quite a year, and, as you can tell, writing for the blog has not been a top priority. Or any sort of priority.

But then back in July I said to myself: “Self. If the Giants somehow get into the playoffs, that will be the sign to bring the Monk back.” And then about two weeks later it became obvious that this was going to happen. It just was a matter of Division Champs or Wild Card, and somehow, someway, this club just kept winning (107 freaking times) and hung on long enough to beat the Dodgers by a game.

The reward: a brutal 5 game series against…oh…the Dodgers. Great.

More on that in a moment. I do not have the time for a full season recap, but I want to point out this line from one of the last posts I wrote at the end of 2020: the mission is clear: get some pitchers and pray for Buster’s return!

What a brilliant, prophetic line (winky-face emoji)!

Obviously, this season has been about so many awesome things, but funny, isn’t it, how Buster came back, the Giants took some gambles on pitchers that REALLY paid off, and here we are: 107 wins, easy peasy.

And, like I said, the reward for the greatest season in Franchise history (and I mean franchise: NY and SF) is a brutal 5 game series against the Dodgers.

It doesn’t seem fair, and it also seems perfect. Destined even.

This has been brewing for a while. These teams have been very good for over a decade and ever since the league introduced the wild card in 1995, this scenario has been looming. A crushing postseason disappointment of epic proportions, never felt by any of us before, or a euphoric fandom experience the likes of which few get to experience. That’s what we face in the coming week. This is what a rivalry is all about. Ask Red Sox fans. They’ve been on either side of this, and it’s nuts.

My quick take: I fully expect this to go all five games. The key to me is the Giants need to get 3 good starts. 3 good turns by starting pitchers and no big Kapler blunders, and we’re good.

Post-Season Predictions:

Because this has never happened before, and because I don’t know how to handle it, I’m not picking the Dodgers or Giants, I’m just going to go ahead and pick Tampa to win the whole thing and leave it there. Watch out for the Rays, and good luck everyone: be kind to your hearts for the next week, we are in uncharted territory!