Giants Victory--Appeal to a Higher Authority

ADVERTISEMENT--Ward Industries Celebrates the Bush Presidents Honored in Texas By Throwing Out the First Baseball--Get Your Lithograph of the Historic Event Today While Forgetting Who Got Us Into Iraqi and this Economic Mess--To ORDER YOURS TODAY, send your donation to: TEE-TIME PARTY, PO Box 666, Battle Creek, Michigan
*******************************************

Not taking any chances needing a Giants Victory--something important was needed. Hmmmm...maybe I'll pass on the suggestions in the giveaway at the ballpark that made the sudden jump from talking about the Giants "don't expect a cakewalk, but win or lose our Giants will give their all..." to "there's someone else who gave his all, and he suffered far more than we can even imagine."So they suddenly roll in some tearful story about someone named ME-SSIAH. But I am going to appeal to a higher authority also......and pray to Zeus or Hephaestus.

Pulling out all the stops, more drastic spiritual action needed--so Kung Fu Panda needed a ride up Mt Diablo and go up 3000'. And it worked as Pablo Panda Sandoval had his first multi RBI game since August 24, got the early go ahead RBI, and as the ump blew the first call got two doubles in one at bat--now that's a miracle.

All of this praying worked as THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT. Now they have to play the Texas Rangers, whose fans were the loudest when Josh Hamilton thanked their lord and savior jesus christ--jeesus, fans more obnoxious than the Philly fans.

If now baseball insists on a prayer--God Bless Amercia--during every game--the SF way is the way it should be sung. (Philly Inquirer photo)

The Texas Rangers do scare me, they (even apart from Bengie connection) remind me of the 2002 California Angels--an AL team with speed that plays NL aggressive baseball. Unlike the 2002 Giants team, where everyone waited for Barry Bonds or Jeff Kent to carry the offense--the 2010 band of "offensive misfits" seemingly have someone different come through every night. And the Giants have the deepest pitching staff I ever saw (Barry Zito is the best #5 starter in baseball, OK overpaid but still the best #5 starter.) But though the Rangers can run rings around the Giants, the Ranger pitching after Cliff Lee is spotty, and Vlad will have to play the field in the 4 games in San Francisco. The Giants in 7!

(Maybe Mazda Miata/ Amechi Pizza shill Ralph Barbieri will now stop whining about how they have to move the fences in at Pac Bell Park)

*******POPULATION BASE AND BASEBALL SUCCESS*******

Of course I should be worried--and not because they have me-siaah on their side. They have the population. Since the strike (no world series, 1994) the BIG MARKET team is 11-3 in the World Series (not counting 2000 where the Yankees played the Mets, though with more fans the Yankees should be considered having the bigger market.)

In fact, despite Commissioner Bud's glee over the years pointing to the A's or Twins as small market teams doing great, and there is parody (thank you jesus) in baseball, the big market teams dominate. Combining 2008-2009 and doing a correlation of wins plus playoff wins magnified against metro population, in the AL the relationship between population and wins is .74, in the NL it is .36 and combined it is .55. What this means as for both leagues combined, the size of a market (eg. attendance, tv $$$$, revenue) accounted for 30% of wins. So while there are obviously big market teams (Mets, Mets, Mets) that show how to throw money away, if you spend efficiently the big market teams (Yankees, with 65% of the New York fan base have a population base of 13,000,000 while Kansas City has a population base of a whole 2,000,000--or 15% of the Yankee market!) have a huge advantage.

So the Dallas Metroplex area has 6.4 million and the Giants (getting .65 of the Bay Area fan base as its a two team market and they are the dominant team) have a population base of 4.6 million. No added points for percentage of folks praying to a higher authority.