Game #147 Preview: 9/18, Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants

The La Russa Heartbreakometer

What is this?

Rubby De La Rosa RHP, 5-15, 4.27

Madison Bumgarner LHP, 4-11, 3.54

A.J. Pollock - CF	Angel Pagan - CF
Ender Inciarte - RF	Alejandro De Aza - LF
Paul Goldschmidt - 1B	Matt Duffy - 3B
Welington Castillo - C	Buster Posey - C
Aaron Hill - 2B	Brandon Belt - 1B
Yasmany Tomas - LF	Marlon Byrd - RF
Brandon Drury - 3B	Brandon Crawford - SS
Nick Ahmed - SS	Kelby Tomlinson - 2B
Rubby De La Rosa - RHP	Madison Bumgarner - LHP

The Giants' elimination number is currently 10; that number of Dodgers wins and/or Giants' losses will ensure the odd-season curse is perpetuated, and the World Series champions will be making nothing but tee reservations after the first week in October. If we presume an average of one is cut off that number every day, that would mean Los Angeles get to clinch in San Francisco, during the series that begins there on September 18. I'm not averse to that idea, mostly because it would be torture for Giants fans, who seem to love that kind of thing. I also like the idea of the Dodgers celebrating by leaping into McCovey Cove, and being eaten en masse by a school of passing Great Whites.

This poses a perplexing dilemma. For the more we beat the Giants this series, the more likely it will be that the Dodgers will clinch before they have to travel to San Francisco. For example, perhaps getting to celebrate against the opponents they get to play in a four-game set after the weekend. Who happen to be the Diamondbacks. So, the more we beat the Giants this weekend, the greater the chances of us having to watch the Dodgers celebrate in front of us during the Los Angeles series, rather than after we have safely left town and can go back to ignoring them entirely. Let's face it, La Russa's heart is on pretty shaky ground as is, courtesy of a weak performance over the part month.

Today we spin the Wheel O' De La Rosa, and see where it lands. It'll have to stop on something pretty good, since Bumgarner has won seven of his last eight starts, and the other was a 2-1 loss. Since the All-Star break, he is 9-2 with a 2.29 ERA, and has a good shot at winning 20 games, being two short. That's something the Giants haven't done since 1993, despite winning three World Series in the past five years. The bottom line here is probably, be prepared to lose this one, but as the first two paragraphs have laid out, that may not necessarily be a bad thing, unless you're the kind of sad, sick person that enjoys seeing Zack Greinke and Adrian Gonzalez hugging.