Giants Have Reached World Series in Zombie-Like Manner

Oct 22, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro (19) holds the MVP trophy after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 9-0 in game seven of the 2012 NLCS to advance to the world series at AT

In 2010, the Giants’ motto was “torture.” In 2011 — when Buster went down — they died. Now, in 2012, San Francisco has become The Walking Dead. How many times have we heard that the Giants’ season has expired? The men in the halloween colors have been buried more times than I can count, but those who continue to doubt should know; the dead have risen.

The cats from the motor city have the reigning Cy Young and MVP, Justin Verlander. They have the probable 2012 AL MVP and Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera. They pulled in one the biggest free agents when they signed the fearsome Prince Fielder for over a hundred million to man first. They have all of this, and they have breakout star Austin Jackson in center. On the flip side, though, their bullpen has been shaky. But Giants fans will be given a pass if former Diamondback Jose Valverde still scares them a little bit. To top it off, the men under the old English D’s are led in battle by 1997 World Series Champion manager Jim Leyland. The Tigers were pushed all year by the Chicago White Sox, but much like the black and orange, they pulled away late. They were taken through five games in round one by the A’s, but then destroyed the Yankees in a four game sweep. By all means the American League Champions are the single most daunting team the Giants will face this season.

So at this point you may be asking yourself; what hope do the Giants have against such a foe? Recent history doesn’t tell us much, but what it does tell us is that we have plenty to be optimistic about. The only time the Giants hitters faced Verlander this season was in the All Star game. With a chance to get homefield advantage in the World Series, Pablo Sandoval hit a three run triple off of the Detroit ace. Oh, and Matt Cain was great.

The Giants have been The Zombies since Melky Cabrera was taken off their roster for cheating. They were left without the man with the highest batting average in the league and most people declared that their heartbeat had stopped. Even though the Giants had traded for Hunter Pence, at best he could just replace the Melk-Man. No one believed that he would be enough to hold-off the ultra-rich Dodgers. And what happened? The Giants over-ran the barricades in the NL West.

The Giants then fought back from down 0-2 to Cincinnati to tie the NLDS, before likely NL MVP, Buster Posey, hit one of the most dramatic home runs in Giants history. The stage was set for the “champs-versus-champs” match up.

When Matt Holliday ran over Marco Scutaro in game two, many feared he would be lost for the rest of the playoffs. But like the rest of his teammates, when he was feared gone, he came back even scarier. The Giants were once again behind the eight ball, down 1-3 in the series, but Scutaro (later declared NLCS MVP), Barry Zito, and Ryan Vogelsong would not let the season end. Scutaro hit over .500, and the Cards only scored one run over the last three games. As the pouring rain painted a backdrop of drama wrapped in destiny, San Francisco defiantly pried the National League title from the Cardinals’ cold, dead fingers. They told the rest of the NL that the dead would rise again.

The Giants have dealt with being the underdogs all season. They were dead when they lost the Beard. They were dead when Lincecum struggled. They were dead when the Dodgers bought the Boston Red Sox. They were dead when it turned out Melky was a cheater. By all accounts, they were just plain dead this entire postseason. And yet they came back, snatching the figurative brains of victory from the listless skulls of unsuspecting opponents. And yes, the Tigers look better on paper; yes, the Giants march into the Game One with almost no rest, facing the daunting prospect of a Verlander versus Zito opening challenge, but in a strange way this is how I want it. Because the Giants work best when they’re fighting for their playoff lives. They just keep coming at you. Detroit be warned — the Giants may look harmless, but they are a zombie horde that will only stop when there is no one else in their way.