Giants won 3-0 on a Pablo Sandoval sac fly (Buster Posey scored the run) and a Juan Uribe 2-run HR (Sandoval was on base).

The game is on right now on ESPN2! Go watch!

Here’s the lineup:

1. Aaron Rowand, CF

2. Freddy Sanchez, 2B

3. Aubrey Huff, 1B

4. Buster Posey, C

5. Jose Guillan, RF

6. Cody Ross, LF

7. Juan Uribe, 3B

8. Edgar Renteria, SS

9. Matt Cain, RHP

Let’s see if this lineup can get it done behind Matt Cain.

UPDATE: Apparently the haircut is a “minor trim” according to eyewitness reports. There will hopefully be before and after photos to make the comparison.

If anyone out there who’s reading this (… anyone?) wants to send in their own memories of the season, feel free to leave them in the comments. I’ll get them and add them to my list.

Happy September, Giants fans!… and BEAT LA!

Friday, September 3rd: Barry Zito (8-10, 4.07 ERA) v. Chad Billingsley (10-8, 3.73 ERA) @ 7:10PM PT

Saturday, September 4th: Matt Cain (10-10, 3.11 ERA) v. Ted Lilly (5-1, 3.29 ERA) @ 7:10PM PT

Sunday, September 5th: Jonathan Sanchez (9-8, 3.54 ERA) v. Hiroki Kuroda (10-11, 3.39 ERA) @ 5:00PM PT

The Sunday game is on ESPN2 as part of their Sunday Night Baseball series. They’re following the Giants as they make a playoff run in this last full month of the season. This is also good because those of you (like me) who are not in the Bay Area at the moment (and don’t have the money for an expensive cable channel – or your cable provider doesn’t carry said channel), we get to watch the game!

And what’s better than a Giants/Dodgers rivalry series? Nothing. Not even a Red Sox/Yankee series. The Giants/Dodgers rivalry is the longest standing rivalry in baseball history – dating back to the 19th century when both teams were in New York (the Giants in Manhattan, and the Dodgers in Brooklyn). And there’s your fun fact for today.

(FF – that’s Fun Fact – #2: The New York Mets are an expansion team founded after the Giants and the Dodgers left New York for California. The Mets took one color from each leaving team to make their team colors – the orange from the Giants and the blue from the Dodgers.)

Starting with Timmy…

Tim Lincecum – “Electric Feel” by MGMT (formally “Light My Fire” by The Doors)

Brian Wilson – “Jump Around” by House of Pain

Pablo Sandoval – “Sube y Baja” by Consculluela

Barry Zito – “Little Secrets” by Passion Pit

Jonathan Sanchez – “Hasta Abajo” by Don Omar

Freddy Sanchez – “Homecoming” by Kanye West

Jeremy Affeldt – “Fireproof” by Pillar

Matt Cain – “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by the Scorpions

Aaron Rowand – “Diesel Power” by Prodigy

Sergio Romo – “Intergalactic” by Beastie Boys

Nate Schierholtz – “Holy Mountains” by System of a Down

Travis Ishikawa – “Ignition” by Toby Mac

Edgar Renteria – “The Boss” by Rick Ross

Dan Runzler – “It’s Tricky” by Run DMC

Eli Whiteside – “The Ocean” by Led Zeppelin

Brandon Medders – “Another Brick in the Wall” by Korn

Aubrey Huff – “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees (formally “So Hot” by Kid Rock)

Of course, these all might be different now. I think Freddy Sanchez’s is different and he’s using Juan Uribe’s old walk up song of “I Know You Want Me” by Pitbull.

He went 8 innings with 9 strikeouts, and most importantly, the win.

Here’s the song:

Much better, Timmy. While I enjoy The Doors on occasion, it was WAY too obvious of a reference to his off-season escapades.

I’ve never thrown at anybody intentionally. You can throw in the region of somebody intentionally… Yes, I believe in the purpose pitch.

That is Tim Lincecum talking about the purpose pitch. The purpose pitch has been called many things from “chin music” to the “brush back.” While I’m not a big believer in beaning batters or throwing at someone intentionally, I do believe in the purpose pitch. Pitchers usually do have very good aim. Some will deny this, but come on, they’re professionals, they know what they’re doing. They can paint the corners of the strike zone if they wanted to. The umpires, not the pitchers, decide if a pitch is a strike.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t think some beanings aren’t accidents. I think that is very true. Pitches do get wild and unfortunately some hit batters. There’s not a lot that can be done about that. The retaliation pitch is, of course, intentional. However, retaliation pitches that hit the batter should hit a spot that won’t cause much injury to the player.

It always makes me a little uncomfortable to watch players get the brush back. However, I do believe that pitchers are entitled to protect their strike zone – especially if a batter is crowding it. The batter assumes the risk of getting the brush back if they’re crowding the plate – and rightfully so. But intentionally trying to hurt a player is crossing the line. Everyone loves a good bench clearing, but no one wants to see anyone get hurt badly. Just watching the passion and the fire that the players have with a good bench clearing is enough.

A good Giants/Dodgers rivalry game is always a good stage for a bench clearing. Pablo Sandoval being hit by a Dodgers pitcher last August caused the benches to clear in an already emotionally charged game. That was the same game that Tim Lincecum pitched into the ninth, left the game, and unleashed a tirade of words at the umpires the second he stepped foot into the dugout. Bruce Bochy and Ron Wotus were both ejected from the game and Tim Flannery took over. Juan Uribe also hit a tenth inning 2 run shot to left field to win it for the Giants.

And the tension all started after Eugenio Velez upended Dodgers’ catcher Russell Martin at the plate when sliding into home and getting back up. The move seemed to be an accident but caused enough tension in the final game of a poorly officiated series to boil over. A Dodgers’ pitcher threw at Sandoval, Martin got in the way between Sandoval’s words and the pitcher, and the fight was on. No one was hurt, but there was some pushing and shoving, a few words thrown from both sides, and the fans found a renewed passion in that game.

But isn’t that the fun of baseball? The ignited passion from a team because one of their players gets hurt or almost gets hurt? The fans can become more into it than the players. While I do believe that no player should ever intentionally be hurt by another player, I do believe in the purpose pitch and a good bench clearing every now and again.