Photo Courtesy of cnnsi.com
The San Francisco Giants finished off the Texas Rangers 3 – 1 to win their first World Series title since 1958. It was a classic matchup with Cliff Lee vs. Tim Lincecum, and both pitchers were game as Lee pitched six scoreless innings before giving up a three run home run to Edgar Renteria. Tim Lincecum went eight innings, only giving up one run before giving way to Brian Wilson to get the final three outs for the team.
Edgar Renteria was named World Series MVP in what was probably his last season in Major League baseball, and his second World Series title was just a sweet as the first 
on he won with the Florida Marlins back in 1997. Renteria was a hitting monster in the series, and was a big reason the Giants out slugged the Rangers who coming into the series were regarded as the better hitting team.
The Giants story is a good one, because their win was probably as improbable as they come. No one had the Giants winning the World Series at the start of the playoffs, all of the talk was about the Yankees and the Phillies with their large payrolls. Even coming into the World Series not many people felt the Giants could generate enough offense to put the Rangers away, especially with them facing Cliff Lee on the mound. That is probably the story of the series if you think about it.
Cliff Lee coming into this World Series was the most dominating post season pitcher in the history of baseball, he boasted a 7 – 0 record and an ERA under 1.50 over those seven starts. He had almost risen to mythical proportions because of the way he had pitched in the post season, but the Giants set the tone in Game one. They roughed up Cliff Lee, and caused him to have his shortest outing ever in a post season game. After that game many people thought too many days off, or the fact that Lee was out of his routine were to blame for him not being as sharp as in the past.
Well the experts were almost right as Lee looked almost unbeatable as game five wore on, and if it were not for Tim Lincecum matching him on the other side the Rangers might have come away with a win. But the Giants broke through Lee’s veil of invincibility once again, and got the three runs they needed to put them ahead for good. It almost seems like the Giants are Cliff Lee’s kryptonite, normally when he is clutch against teams like the Yankees and Rays, the Giants got him for a total of nine runs between the two games.
You could see the Giants confidence rise as they went through each series, and by the time the World Series rolled around they looked like the best team in baseball. The solid pitching and consistent hitting with a closer who did not give up an earned run throughout the entire playoffs made this team a very hard one to keep from destiny. Congratulations to the Giants for winning, and the Texas Rangers for making it, baseball is more refreshing when the same teams are not in it every year.
