The Texas Rangers will be fac ing a much different team than the Yankees in the World Series.
This one has pitching, and plenty of it.
Giants general manager Brian Sabean was still fighting for his team long after the Giants vanquished the Phillies in six games in the NLCS, setting up this fascinating World Series matchup between the Giants and Rangers that begins Wednesday at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
While champagne was popping all around in the Giants clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park early Sunday morning after the Giants’ dramatic 3-2 clinching victory over the Phillies, Sabean said his team wasn’t getting the credit it deserved.
“We pitched well,” he said bluntly. “I’m a little bit frustrated we didn’t get more credit in this series for pitching well, and that being the compliment, not, ‘What the [heck] happened to their hitting?’ We shut them down, that’s the bottom line.”
The Giants’ home-grown starters, led by Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, and closer Brian Wilson and setup man Javier Lopez were too much for the Phillies to handle. The Phillies hit only .216 in the series. NLCS MVP Cody Ross, a castoff from the Marlins, had as many home runs as the entire Phillies team, three. Wilson, who could have been the MVP, did not allow a run in each of his four appearances, spread over five innings, as he picked up a win and three saves.
This Giants win was a victory for old-school baseball. Bruce Bochy managed with his heart, his gut, and his soul.
“He is the most understated, underrated manager in baseball,” Sabean said. “He really has a great way in the clubhouse, whether it’s behind closed doors or mixing with the guys on the plane. I can’t tell you how much I love the relationship I have with him and moreso being able to do this together.”
Sabean worked for the Yankees in the late ’80s and early ’90s and was there when the Core Four — Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte — came aboard. He learned many lessons during that time. The biggest, he said, was: “Worry about today, your own job and nobody else’s and you’ll be fine.”
He built the Giants that went to the 2002 World Series, but those were the Barry Bonds Giants. This team has no superstars and no super egos.
“In ’02 we were kind of defined by a different element — power and the Bonds era,” Sabean said. “Now we’ve distanced ourselves from that and we’ve gotten to a point where it ‘takes a village,’ it takes a whole team to win a series.
“Again, I go back to the pitching. When you have that as your foundation, and you play above-average defense, that’s why we got to the Promised Land.”
The pressure was on Sabean to trade one of his good young pitchers for hitting, but he never did.
“We never wavered,” he said. “We weren’t going to trade them because we knew we couldn’t replace them.
“I think this team is going to be one of the most popular teams in Giants history. They’re very endearing to the fans. It’s a unique group.”
When Sabean was asked if this team is more fun than the 2002 team, he replied: “I think so because this is a batboy-to-ownership type of organization. We put our egos aside and do the best job we can.”
Giants third base coach Tim Flannery may have put it best: “These guys honor the game. They play together. They’re just a bunch of street fighters. They don’t know anything about stats. They don’t even know where to find that stuff. They just come and play hard, play to win and expect to win. This might be one of the last pockets of old-school baseball. People better take a good look at it because it might be disappearing.”
Baseball is played here.