Am I high or did Bengie Molina just steal a base?

I SWEAR I've never used a hallucinogenic... but I my eyes are telling me that Bengie Molina stole a base... and my brain can't handle that.

Maybe I dropped acid earlier today and didn't know it.

If he did steal that base, it takes the sting out of the triple he hit against the Red Sox last July.

Then again, maybe I'm high.

I'll ask the dragon I am sitting next to if he saw it too.

The Rangers matched their greatest post season ever

The Rangers went into today's game with a grand total of one post season win in their history.
Now they have two.

To understand how insane that is to double a team's post season success in one day, just imagine if the Yankees played a post season game... and in the process won the World Series 27 times in that day.

Thus the storied history of the Rangers just got some story to it!

Equally nutty... the Rangers scored more than twice as many runs in today's game as they scored in the 1998 and 1999 Division Series combined.

Actually Bengie Molina matched the post season home run and RBI totals of the 1998 and 1999 squads today.

This is why they got Cliff Lee. So much for home field advantage in the Division Series.

Now don't forget. They won Game 1 in 1996 against the Yankees as well... and they didn't win another post season game until this afternoon.

Game 2 is arguably the biggest game in the history of the Rangers.

And let me ask again... are you excited, Rangers fans?

No person I'd rather watch a clinching with than Poppy

My dad was in town this weekend and we watched a lot of baseball. That wasn't the original plan... the plan was we'd watch his Giants clinch on Friday night and spend the rest of the weekend in L.A. County with my kids.

As it turned out Cain got bombed and Barry Zito blew his chance to redeem his contract in the eyes of Giants fans.

So we were glued to the set today... and watching a game with my dad is an experience.

Sometimes he doesn't move. You wonder if he is asleep. Then when Guillen grounds out you just hear a "JE-sus... swinging on the first pitch." And then you know my dad hasn't missed a pitch.

Or then comes his predictions.
When Miguel Tejada came up in a key spot today, he grumbled "This is it... he's about to hit the home run that will haunt us forever." Then with added emphasis pointed at the screen... as if I were about to miss his seer like abilities.

Tejada grounded out.

Later when Aubrey Huff came up in a critical situation, he said "Watch. He's about to hit the home run that will forever cement his legend."

He also grounded out.

Back when Bonds was with the Giants, every time a pitcher threw to him, my dad would say "Gone."

And when the odds caught up to him and Bonds DID hit a homer, my dad would turn to me and say "I called it."

I would reply "You call EVERY pitch."

My dad would have it off and say "admit it... I called it."

And I couldn't deny it. I am thrilled for my dad this year. He follows the Giants closer than anyone who isn't currently employed by KNBR.

I remember in 2008 I was driving home and listening to a Giants/Dodgers game late in the season. The Giants were 100% out of it and it was a week night. Bengie Molina homered for the Giants and I called my dad.

He picked up the phone. He didn't even say "Hello?" He just said "How about Bengie Molina?"

Dedication to a team... my dad has it.

So I'm glad we could see the Giants win the West.

But today my dad asked me "if I can get World Series tickets, will you fly up?"

He's already past Atlanta, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.

Let's go Giants. My dad has paid enough dues watching this team to finally see another World Series title.

And I have a feeling he has many more predictions to make this post season.

Did the Giants trade their ace away?

When the Giants dealt Bengie Molina to the Rangers, it looked like a straight forward deal that helped both teams, both directly and indirectly.

The Rangers got a steady defensive catcher in Molina and the least likely cycle in baseball history.

Texas had a 3 1/2 game lead when he arrived. They have an 8 game lead now.

The Giants landed Chris Ray who gives San Francisco much needed bullpen depth. And the trade also opened a spot in the lineup for Buster Posey, who has given the Giants a much needed bat and right now looks like he will win the Rookie of the Year over the more publicized Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg.

So it was a perfect trade for the Giants too... right?
Or was it disastrous?

As the Giants are in contention for the Wild Card and hovering around the NL West lead, the main element that makes people think they would be solid in the post season is Franchise, the Freak... call him what you will.

Tim Lincecum is the key for the Giants hopes.

The idea of him pitching twice in a best of 5 series should all but clinch a Division Series.

Seeing him pitch in an NLCS has images of pennants dancing in the Giants head.

And dare anyone dream him starting a deciding game of the World Series?

It would inspire more confidence than Livan Hernandez, I would boldly assert.

But will it?

Did you see Lincecum pitch last night against the Cardinals?

He was ordinary... and this isn't one isolated start.

He has three straight BAD losses (including 2 where he didn't last past 4 innings.) He has rarely been dominant as of late and actually got my dad to say "They should sit him."

SIT LINCECUM? The Franchise?

Well maybe he also enjoyed throwing to Bengie Molina.
With Molina as his regular catcher, he was 49-19 and won a pair of Cy Young Awards.

Since then he is a sub .500 pitcher with an ERA approaching 5.

If the answer to his downturn was his pitching to Molina, then this trade that looked so good on first and second glance might be one of the damaging trades in Giants history (yes worse than Liriano and Nathan for A. J. Pierzinski!)

Now of course there are flaws with this theory. His last game caught by Molina was a blow out by the Red Sox and he has thrown a couple of dominating games without him.

But something is wrong with Lincecum... and Giants fans are starting to freak out about the Freak!