My buddy Mac got the Negative Nancy award last night when he sent me this text:
“any chance hampton doesn’t shut us down?”
I’m not saying I didn’t agree with the message when Mac sent it to me about 45 minutes before first pitch yesterday. And he was proven right when the Giants looked as pathetic as ever against Hampton, who missed 2006, 2007 and all of 2008 until less than two weeks ago.
But no Nancys today.
Similar to a Valtrex commercial, “It’s a brand new day!” Forget the fog that’s blanketing San Francisco as I type this. Forget 18 games under .500, 11.5 games behind in the standings or that Fred Lewis’ homer last night was the first for the Giants in August (after hitting 8 in July).
None of that matters, because in two hours I will be at Mays Field watching Tim Lincecum! You know you probably aren’t going to see a no-hitter or even a complete game shutout when Lincecum pitches, due to the oft-mentioned pitch count issue. But just watching Lincecum at all is a gift, especially during a Giants season with about as much excitement as a mid-season episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond”
Anyway, I better get going if I want to take the dog out for her morning business before catching the bus. I’ll have a full report on the game at some point after the game ends (how’s that for a promise?). And if
this afternoon you hear somebody from the bleachers yelling, “Lincecum needs to be protected! Don’t overextend his arm and cut his career short! It’s best to be cautious at a time like this!” … it might be me.