Country Strong
At one point during last night’s World Series Game 7, my son asked: “If the Giants win, can I stay up to see who gets the MVP?” I answered: “If the Giants win, you can stay up until Spring training.” Of course, after the Giants won an excellent and exciting series over the Royals, there was little doubt about the MVP. As Giants starter Tim Hudson (who was pulled after 28 pitches) explained: “As soon as I saw him warming up out there in the bullpen, I knew it was over.” The him was Madison Bumgarner. And it’s safe to say you will never see a pitching performance like that again.
+ “I didn’t know if he had enough left tonight. But I did know that boy would try to steal a steak off the devil’s plate.” Watching the game with Madison Bumgarner’s dad. After last night’s performance by the pitcher from Hickory, North Carolina (who once gave his wife a cow as a present), I love these country-isms and I listened to country music on the way to my office. I may be a Jewish vegetarian from the big city, but today, I Thank God I’m a Country Boy. (Speaking of which, someone stole a bust of John Denver.)
+ Bumgarner was legendary. But Joe Panik made the play of the night.
+ The game was played in Kansas City. But the postgame was held in “a van down by the river.” Somehow, a Chevrolet zone manager from Louisburg tasked with delivering the MVP trophy (and a Chevy truck) became the hero of the night. Did he look more like Rob Ford or Chris Farley? He actually looked like most of us would if asked to speak in front of millions of people. And surprise: The truck that Chevy presented to the MVP has already been recalled.
+ And finally, the rich, middle class, and poor in San Francisco finally found something around which they can unify: A burning Muni bus. (If you’re a fan “celebrating” harder than the players, there might be a problem…)