2014 World Series thread

So happy for Affeldt. He really saved the Giants' skin with the effort he gave this whole postseason. Fitting he gets the win for Game 7.

 

Now at two hours since the end, I've finally calmed down about sending Gordon or not. They made the smart play -- I still would have liked to have forced the Giants to make the throw, the catch and the tag. But he would have been out if executed properly.

That being said, what a ride we've been on in my house for weeks. Son and I had a long talk about the World Series as he was pretty bummed out with the loss. Still, we've built lifelong memories of seeing the WC game and two World Series games.

We will always have this fall.

 

Exmedia, that's what it is all about right there. Your boy has memories he will tell his grad kids. You're doing it right, pops. I really hope KC makes it back next year just for you guys.

 

Thanks. I hope that he always looks back on this fall the way I do for the 1980 and 1985 playoff runs. Perhaps it's the Kansas City guy in me but I don't expect a World Series every year.

That's what made 2014 so special for all of us. This was about 99.4% unexpected. Sure, we had heard the Royals as a "trendy pick" for the last four years but, until mid-September, we were all convinced the collapse was just a three-game losing streak away.

Only that didn't happen.

Yet I also know that the innocence for Royals fans is now lost with this team.

Expectations will hit in 2015. Ticket prices and parking will probably go up. Anything less than 92 wins may be considered a failure. If the Royals start out 22-29, the vultures will circle.

You only get to have a "breakout season" once with the same group of players.

That's what made this year so unforgettable. It definitely had a "Bad News Bears" feel to it, almost right down to Gordon getting thrown out at home plate for the last out... if he were sent.

I'm losing my son, a little more each day, as he progresses through middle school. This transition is a bear but I recognize it. I just want his memory of this fall to always linger in the next few years when things do get bumpy.

 

I don't want to start a thread, but does this cement Bochy's Hall credentials?

 

From the AP gamer:

Bochy became the 10th manager to win three World Series titles – the other nine are all in the Hall of Fame.

Not that it's automatic, but I say yes. Bochy has done a hell of a job with the Giants, and he also got the Padres – the Padres! – to the World Series.

 

It's funny, once the Giants hit their swoon in June that continued into July, I didn't think there was any way they were getting back to the playoffs let alone the series. When Cain and Pagan went down for the season, I was packing it in. It didn't help that Timmy imploded and the offense disappeared.

When the Giants got into the playoffs, I was only confident about the Pirates game because of Bumgarner. The whole rest of the way, I kept expecting it to end, but it didn't. I expected it to end in 2010 just because the Giants weren't supposed to be there and because 2002 broke my heart. In 2012, it almost did end six times. This year because of the road the Giants took to get there, the lack of a real No. 2, my confidence wasn't high.

And when it came down to the Royals, I can honestly say I wish it wasn't the Giants playing you guys because I so badly wanted to root for ya. I kept telling everyone I would be OK if the Giants lost because I can't hate the Royals.

Then I read your story: your Dad calling unexpectedly; your son joining the both of you. The just unbelievable Disneyesk story you all shared was touching.

I have to be honest one more time, the last line you wrote here brought a few tears to the eyes. I know the year after is tough to go back. But it isn't impossible. The core is there and your pen is there. You probably need a DH and some rotation help, but the Royals are right there. I want to believe that, anyway. I really do because of fans like you who have sons writing memories they will one day realize are so special.

 

It's always sad seeing a team fall one victory short after a season and postseason like the Royals had. They made believers out of everyone, that's for sure.

I felt the same way when Butler lost to Duke.
It was right there for Butler, too. So damn close.

 

Even if he had lost, the fact that he has two titles, and counting, to go with two Series losses, one in a Game 7 and previously to a team viewed as one of the most dominant ever in the 98 Yanks, would have been enough.
Every manager that has won four pennants, regardless of titles, has been elected.

From an overall wins standpoint as well, he's 18th going into next season and by the second week of 2015 he will pass Ralph Houk. By the end of the season he should be past Dusty Baker. The top 11 in wins are in the Hall, the first not in is Gene Mauch with 1,902 wins and a losing record, plus no pennants. Two of the others in front of him might be inducted before Bochy retires -- Lou Piniella and Jim Leyland. I feel much better about Leyand than Piniella getting in.

If the magic number is 2,000 wins as a manager, Bochy just needs to be .500 for the next five seasons to get there.

 

That's what I meant to say.

 

Yes.

In 2010, I was so happy they had won one in my lifetime. But now, three in five years? I'm speechless. Nothing special about this bunch, just 25 guys pulling together every night to win a ballgame. Makes all those years freezing my ass off at Candlestick worth it.

 

Yes and I think he was already a lock. This run has just been incredible. There's something about Bochy. You just feel like he's going to manage the Giants through anything. Even during that awful 5-18 slump, he remained steady at the helm of the ship.