Let me be clear. I am not real big on athletes who bring God into the conversation after hitting the winning homer or scoring the winning touchdown. I don’t think God sits there on Game Day with a bowl of popcorn in front of his big screen TV with St. Peter to decide who he is going to let catch the big pass. I’m thinking he’s got other business occupying his mind besides multi-millionaire athletes such as starving children or victims of some catastrophe. But, before I lay myself to sleep tonight, I would like to give you a sneak preview of my little pre-bed prayer.

“Dear God: Thank you so much for Brian Wilson. That’s the Dodger pitcher, not the Beach Boy guy, though I am thankful for him and all those fine tunes which I heard over and over and over again from my teen sister’s record player back in the day. Anyway, I just wrote this book about the Giants-Dodgers rivalry, and I’m told that the more bitter the rivalry, the more books we might sell. Unfortunately, Brian was on his best behavior tweeting how much he adored the fans and mostly taking the high road about his sensitive departure from the Giants. Then, at the end of the Dodgers-Giants game the other night, there was The Beard chastising The Baer for not forking over his 2012 World Series ring. Never mind that the Giants president had already offered to drive the ring over to his house himself and kiss it, or something like that, but there was Wilson acting wilder than when he would start off the ninth by walking the bases loaded.

So, dear eternal Father, thank you for giving us this tantrum that is sure to rev up the rivalry and sell a few more books. And please, may the Dodgers re-sign Brian for next year so he can stir up enough interest in the rivalry for a second printing.

Amen.

The story was shocking and tragic. A Dodger and Giant fan get into a verbal confrontation. One pulls out a weapon, and the absurd scrap results in death. That’s what happened in July of 1938 when Giants fans, celebrating a win over the Dodgers at Ebbets Field, taunted Dodger fan Robert Joyce at a Brooklyn bar. Joyce left the bar to get a gun, and returned to fatally shoot Giants fan Frank Krug. No one ever learned. A Dodger and Giant fan got into a confrontation in 2003 outside Dodger Stadium. The Dodger fan went to his vehicle, grabbed a gun, and fired a shot that killed the Giants fan. Santa Cruz paramedic Bryan Stow was at Dodger Stadium on opening day in 2011 to watch his Giants play the Dodgers. Giants fans said later there was a bad vibe that night at the ballpark, and it culminated in Stow being severely injured in a parking lot assault after the game, according to police. That night, 89 people were arrested at Dodger Stadium for alcohol-related offenses. Just recently, on Sept. 25, a man with a Giants hat and a man with a Dodger jersey were enough to spark some verbal jabbing just blocks from AT&T Park, where the clubs had played that night. The stories conflict, but the Dodger fan ended up dead after being stabbed.

Incidents of fans spurred to do stupid things because they are caught up in the rivalry are plentiful. In 1971, a Dodgers-Giants game at Dodger Stadium was interrupted when fans threw cushions, a smoke bomb and a wine bottle on the field. When the Dodgers and Giants players almost came to blows at a game in 1987 at Candlestick Park, Giants fans were motivated enough to start throwing beer into the Dodger dugout. Dodgers players had to be restrained from climbing over the railing to get to the unruly spectators. A year later, the Giants and Dodgers played a doubleheader at Candlestick Park, where the final score read: 100 fans ejected, 18 arrested.

It’s unlikely that any of the perpetrators in the above events got up that morning wondering what kind of calamity they could cause today. Yet, there they were by night’s end, involved in altercations with strangers. In three of the four assault-type cases cited, weapons were used. Whatever happened to the old-fashioned fist-fight, a common occurrence, by the way, at Candlestick Park between fans of both teams? The other obvious ingredient is alcohol. Still, even if you’ve been drinking and carrying a weapon, there’s still needs to be something that instigates the violence. If you played word association with Giants-Dodgers, you’d likely get something like “intensity” and “confrontation.” That, as we know, has been part of the rivalry forever. My only guess is that these clashes are processed by those involved as sanitized violence, where you are fighting an enemy who, like a gang member, is wearing some colors that are invading your turf. These violent episodes remind me of road-rage incidents, where people who might not be thugs for a living suddenly turn into foaming-at-the mouth maniacs.

Solutions? The crowds have been dramatically calmer at comfortable AT&T Park, and security was especially charged up for the Dodgers series with security personnel using the wand for front and back checks of every spectator. I understand that security has been beefed up at Dodger Stadium since the Stow attack. I don’t know what else the clubs could do. This latest tragic death happened near the ballpark, but it could have happened anywhere in San Francisco. It really comes down to individuals being smart about the circumstances. I went to the tense Giants-Padres final game in 2010 with two friends who wore San Diego jerseys, one having the name of Giant enemy Mat Latos on the back. Giants fans would come up to us in taunting mode, but we all;would disarm them with our joking and laughter, and they would quickly become our friends. This rivalry can put people on the edge. But how many more violent episodes will it take to get the message across. When will they ever learn?

Brian Wilson was a good Giant. He pitched for the club for seven years. He appeared in 315 games and threw 320 innings. He had an ERA of 3.21, with 170 saves and 340 strikeouts. He recorded the last out of the 2010 World Series in 2010. It was the first franchise World Series title since 1954. He had a big role in raising the championship flag at opening day 2011. When Wilson entered the game in search of save at AT&T Park, the ballpark sound system  would crank up his “Jump Around” entrance song, and did any Giant fan not get revved up over that moment. Wilson’s jaunt from the bullpen to the mound was one of the magic moments of that season.

So why would local talk shows even be debating how Giants fans will react, assuming Wilson gets an appearance when the Dodgers come to town this week for three games, If he is not greeted with a standing ovation, then Giants fans should be ashamed. To Wilson’s credit, he has said the right things to the fans. A tweet following his signing with the Dodgers said, “It was an honor to pitch in front of you all these years.” And in fairness to Wilson, it wasn’t like he abandoned the Giants for Dodgers riches. It became pretty clear that Giants management was through with Wilson, possibly weary of the so-called act. The Dodgers were willing to take a chance on the Tommy John repaired pitcher, and who could blame Wilson for that. Memo to Giants fans: Stand and applaud the Beard on his first appearance, and then boo the blue uniform from that time on.

You’d think that with all the cash being thrown at Dodgers players these days, they could afford to build their own pools at their luxury homes. But, no! There they were breaking into the private property of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and jumping fully uniformed in to the Chase Field swimming hole. Wait, before we go on, can anyone explain why there is a swimming pool at a ballpark? Anyway, some of the Dodgers players jumped into the pool beyond the right-field fence as part of their celebration after clinching the NL West title. From the reaction of the D-Backs, you’d have thought the pool was filled with holy water. Arizona CEO Derrick Hall saw it as “disrespectful and classless.”

But the richest reaction of all came from Sen. John McCain, who in a tweet called the post-game plunge a “no-class act by a bunch of overpaid, immature, arrogant, spoiled brats.” Never mind for now about a member of Congress calling someone else overpaid. Assume for a moment that McCain is right that the Dodgers acted inappropriately and showed bad judgment. Then how is the gentleman from Arizona going to square ballplayer over-exuberance with his comments as a presidential candidate in Murrell, S.C., on April 17, 2007?  In response to a question about what to do with Iran, this  statesman sang “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” in how he would handle that nation. Sen. McCain, sometimes even “mature” politicians swing and miss.

I didn’t see the pool party live, but after hearing about it, I wondered who was involved. The stunner came when I saw the goofy photo of a drenched Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is young, but seems in full control. I bet he now looks at the picture, and wonders what he was thinking. I can imagine the dignified Sandy Koufax seeing the photo, and shaking he head in amazement. Let’s all agree: Koufax would not have jumped in. The scene made me wonder: If the Dodgers clinched at AT&T Park, would they all have jumped into McCovey Cove? And next year, if the D-Backs clinch the title at Dodger Stadium, how will they return the favor? Will they take over a Dodger Dog concession stand and start throwing around wieners? Will they storm Vin Scully’s broadcast booth? The stage is definitely set for some bad blood. Tip for Don Mattingly: When Dodgers meet hardball Kirk Gibson’s D-Backs for first time next year, don’t bat prized possession Yasiel Puig leadoff. I’m guessing the first Dodger batter might be going down.

Back in June 2013, when the Dodgers fell as far back as 9.5 games out of first, a fed-up caller to “Dodger Talk,” the team’s post-game show on 570 AM in Los Angeles, said the Dodgers needed to start playing “Bochy Ball.” You knew things had hit bottom when a Dodger fan urged his club to be like the Giants. It turned out, with the division now clinched,  that “Donny Ball” was good enough. Both brands of baseball worked: The Giants winning it all in 2012; the Dodgers winning the West in 2013. This raises the question of which team was better?

Here is an analysis of how those clubs would match up, using stats from those respective years, with who has advantage at each position:

C: Posey .336, 24 HR, 103 RBI; M. Ellis .234, 7, 45.  POSEY — MVP stats. 1B: Belt .275, 7, 56; Gonzalez .294, 21, 98. GONZALEZ — Consistent big-time slugger. 2B: Scutaro .362, 44 RBI, 61 games; A.J. Ellis .271, 6, 45. SCUTARO — They couldn’t get him out. 3B: Sandoval ,283, 12, 63; Uribe .273, 12, 48. SANDOVAL — Close call; Game 1 of World Series hard to ignore. SS: Crawford .248, 4, 45; Ramirez .343, 18, 53. RAMIREZ — In MVP conversation. LF: Blanco .244, 5, 34; Crawford .281, 5, 53. CRAWFORD — Makes better contact. CF: Pagan .288, 8, 56; Ethier .272, 12, 52. EVEN — Different styles, but each effective. RF: Pence .219,  7, 45; Puig .336, 17, 39. PUIG — Superstar in making?  STARTERS: Kershaw 14-9, 1.94; Greinke 15-3, 2.75; Ryu 13-7, 3.03; Nolasco 8-2, 2.63; Capuano 4-7, 4.34. Cain 16-5, 2.79; Bumgarner 16-11, 3.37; Vogelson 14-9, 3.37; Lincecum 10-15, 5.18; Zito 15-8, 4.15. EVEN — Rotations kept clubs in games. BULLPEN: Affeldt 2.70 (67 games); Lopez 2.50 (70); Casilla 2.84 (73). Howell 2.15 (63); Rodriquez 2.21 (74). GIANTS — More depth. CLOSER: Romo 1.79, 14 SV, 69 games; Jansen 1.98, 25 SV, 71 games. JANSEN — Just seems more durable. MANAGERS: Bochy (94-68); Mattingly (87-65 10 games to play). BOCHY — Two World Series in three years, but credit the smooth Mattingly for keeping cool when some were calling for his firing, and then overseeing a remarkable comeback.

The only real clear overall advantage is power. Dodgers of 2013 have hit 128; Giants of 2012 hit 103, last in league. The pitching staffs would make every game a tossup.

So, let the debate start on which version of the teams is better. And better yet, how about both clubs matching solid records in 2014 so the  matter could be determined on the field?

The Giants’ recent 19-3 pounding of the Dodgers wasn’t the first time that the 19-run mark had been reached in the rivalry. The Giants reached that total in San Francisco on April 16, 1962, in a 19-8 win. The Giants led 19-3 after eight but the Dodgers scored five in the ninth. The Giants had just 10 hits, but the Dodgers walked 10. Billy O’Dell went the distance, firing a 15-hitter. The Dodgers got their revenge eight years later, clobbering the Giants 19-3 on May 26, 1970. The Dodgers had 20 hits. Fortunately for the Giants, this was a down period for them and the rivalry, as only 7,428 were at Candlestick to witness the beating.

Neither team’s offensive outburst could top what the New York Giants did against the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 30, 1944, at the Polo Grounds. A combination of 18 hits and 17 walks resulted in a 26-8 Giants victory. Giants first baseman Phil Weintraub drove in 11 runs, Dodgers reliever Tommy Warren finished out the game, allowing 15 runs and 13 hits in five innings. Talk about taking one for the team.

The release of the tentative major league schedules Sept. 10 drew focus on how the seasons of the Dodgers and Giants would start.

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks will play the first ever regular season game in Australia when they hook up March 22-23 at the Sydney Cricket Grounds. These will be road games for the Dodgers and home games for the D-Backs. Will they build a pool in right field to actually make the D-Backs feel like they are home? The Dodgers then come home, play some exhibitions against the Angels, and then resume the season March 31 against San Diego.

The Giants open away against well-traveled Arizona April 1, who could already be leading them by a game if the D-Backs sweep in Australia. San Francisco will play its first 22 games against  West division foes. The Giants and Dodgers meet for the first time at the Dodgers second home opener home April 4.

But while attention to the early schedule is understandable, this year the most significant date on the Giants-Dodgers schedule will come Sept. 23 when the clubs meet for the 1,000th time since they arrived on the west coast in 1958. It would be too good a thing if both teams are in contention that day, but even if they are not, the historic number should bring special focus to that special day.

The Giants might be unwilling guests at the Dodgers’ division-clinching celebration when they play four games in Los Angeles starting Sept. 12. Before  tonight’s play, the Dodgers led second-place Arizona by 12 games. After that series, the Dodgers will have 13 to play; Arizona will have 14 to play. So if the Dodgers stay hot, and Arizona doesn’t rally, the Dodgers might have  the pleasure of clinching the west and having an on-the field celebration while the Giants watch. It will be interesting to see what Giants manager Bruce Bochy does with his pitching staff and lineup for those four games. If it means spoiling or at least delaying a party until the Giants leave town, you would expect that Bochy won’t put a Scottsdale spring training lineup out there for the Dodgers to run over. The Giants have little to play for, so keeping the Dodgers’ champagne on ice might be the best incentive.

The Giants and Dodgers franchises played their first regular season game on May 3, 1890. Since then, through the clubs’ last meeting July 7, they have gone head to head 2,368 times. The Giants have won 1,196 and the Dodgers 1,172, meaning the Giants hold a 24-game lead. To be fair, the West Coast Giants probably shouldn’t get too smug because they owe their advantage to the success of the New York Giants. From 1890 to 1957, the Giants led the Dodgers 722 to 671. But the Dodgers hold a 501-474 lead over the Giants from 1958 to 2013. Still, the Giants should have the overall lead when the teams meet for the 1,000th time on the West Coast at the end of the 2014 season. Interesting to see how much this season’s powerful Dodgers team can chip away at that 24-game lead as they meet the Giants seven times in September.

I first became familiar with legendary sports broadcaster Bill King when he was doing the Warriors basketball games on the radio. No need to spend money and buy a ticket. Bill gave you the best seat in the house with his beyond descriptive play-by-play account. When Bill was at the mic, even in such a fast-paced game like basketball, I felt I always knew where all 10 players were at any given time. That alone is genius, a word not that is not an exaggeration when used in the same sentence as Bill King. When he exclaimed, ‘Heartbreak roll,” you could see the ball spinning agonizingly around and out of the basket. My favorite part of the broadcasts came when the referees went astray, at least from the keen perspective of Bill. When the ref simply watched while an opposing player charged over a Warrior, an exasperated King would cry out, “He drew a complete mental blank!”

His work on Raiders games was equally brilliant. Again, it was his precision with words and obvious deep knowledge of the sports he covered that allowed him to paint a moving picture of what was going on down on the field. When wide receiver Warren Wells caught a last-second TD pass to beat the Jets in one of those typical Raider thrillers, I remember King saying if some script writer had come up with this ending, he’d be kicked out of Hollywood because it was so improbable, or something to that effect, but it captured the moment so accurately. I write about Bill King now because A’s announcer Ken Korach has written a book being released this week that tells the story of this unique and marvelous man. The title is “Holy Toledo: Lessons from Bill King, Renaissance Man of the Mic.” “Holy Toledo” was his trademark, used at the biggest moments in the biggest games.

Everyone knows Bill for his work broadcasting the Warriors, Raiders and A’s. But I also remember him for calling one of the biggest home runs in the 55 years of the Giants-Dodgers West Coast rivalry. The Giants entered the final scheduled game of the 1962 season one game behind the Dodgers. The Giants were home against Houston. In the fourth inning at Candlestick Park of a scoreless game, Giants catcher Ed Bailey drove a Turk Farrell pitch over the right field fence. With Lon Simmons gone that today to do 49ers football, substitute Bill King was in the booth with Russ Hodges, and made that dramatic call, which still remains alive today on the “Giants Win the Pennant’ album that can still be found online. By the way, Houston tied it 1-1, but Willie Mays won it for the Giants with a home run in the eighth. The Dodgers fell to St. Louis, forcing a playoff.

My congratulations to Ken for his book, and my thanks forever to Mr. Bill King for sharing his gift with us.