Giants nightmare: Brian Wilson clincher at AT&T
The Giants and Dodgers play seven times in September – four in Los Angeles Sept. 12-15, and three in San Francisco Sept. 24-26. The Giants clearly won’t be a contender, but if Arizona can stay in the race, the Giants could have a chance to play the spoiler role.
Spoiler games have been as much a part of the rivalry as have been showdowns where both teams were competing for the post-season late in the year. Probably the biggest such moment came when Joe Morgan’s homer in 1982 helped the Giants eliminate the Dodgers the day after Los Angeles ended their season. The Giants laughed when they knocked the Dodgers out of the race in 1991, only to see the Dodgers return the volley on the last day of the season in 1993. Most recently, the Giants ended the Dodgers’ slim wild-card hopes by eliminating them in the next to last game in 2012.
Perhaps the rivalry’s biggest spoiler payback of all time came in 1934 when Giants manager Bill Terry’s insult of the Dodgers turned to red meat for the Dodgers and their fans, culminating in Brooklyn eliminating New York on the final game of the season.
If the Dodgers don’t run away with the West flag, the games at AT&T in the last week of the season could give the Giants a chance to hurt the Dodgers’ chances. Of course, that also means there possibly could be a scenario where the Dodgers could clinch the division with Brian Wilson on the mound going for the save. If you are a member of Giants management, that would be a case of “fear the scenario.”
Joe Konte 