About Last Night's Phillies-Giants Game

Last night's Phillies-Giants game was undoubtedly a classic. Both Cliff Lee and Matt Cain pitched brilliantly and both last into the ninth inning (Lee pitched in the 10th). You can read about all the numbers and what these two did last night that was so impressive here by Jayson Stark. What I want to talk about is that last night's game was not only my favorite type of game but the reason why I love baseball.

Let me first explain why I love the kind of games that the Giants-Phillies had last night. I loved last night's game because it was shot, sweet, and clean. Last night's game started around 7:15PT and ended at around 9:30 meaning that game lasted for about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Now let's do a little experiment. Watch one of the Red Sox-Yankees games this weekend. I would go so far to guarantee that none of those games are even into the 7th inning in 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Yes I know the Red Sox-Yankees can score a lot of runs and prolong innings. That doesn't mean they are the funniest games to watch. Those games are more like watching a Manny Pacquiao fight. A lot of punches are thrown, but it isn't the cleanest fight to watch and no knockouts are thrown.

That's why I will always take a 1-0 game with both pitchers throwing well over a 10-9 slugfest. Pitching dual's are clean and quick to the point. One knockout punch is all what is needed. Give me last night's Phillies-Giants game over any Red Sox-Yankees game that will be played this year.

The other thing I want to talk about is that last night's game is the reason why I love baseball. Baseball like last night's game is a lot like playoff hockey. You're at the edge of your seat all night and one single mistake could cost a team (last night it was Ty Wigginton's error in the 11th). And like a tied game in hockey, when the home team is batting in extras you're always waiting for that moment of jubilation.

It was a pleasure to watch last night's game even if the Giants had lost. I got to see two great pitchers go at each other like skilled middleweight fighters. This weekend I'll watch two heavyweights stumble and bumble in their fight in Boston. Long live the pitching dual.