Clinching My Teeth

Tonight was a game I had been looking forward to all season. Like many of the other fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks, I had anticipated that this series would be when the Diamondbacks would be able to clinch the National League West title for the second straight year. It seemed only appropriate that we should win it again as we were in San Francisco. But over the last couple of weeks, I have become more of a realist knowing that it would take a miracle for us to overcome the deficit that we now had against the Giants. I had somehow hoped though that the Giants would either win the pennant before the Diamondbacks came to town or at least have the decency to wait until after Arizona had left town. But here I sat, watching as the game progressed. With each passing out, it was apparent that everything this season was going the Giants way while the Diamondbacks found adversity at each corner. Before the game, the television announcers explained that the San Francisco Giants magic number was 1. Any combination of Giants win or an Arizona loss would give San Francisco the title. Great, the Diamondbacks would have to go 12-0 over the remainder of the season while the Giants would have to go 0-12 for us to have a chance. Those odds rank right up there with Rosanne winning Survivor II. Even though it seemed hopeless, I still found myself drawn to the game as I watched the Diamondbacks go ahead only to see the Giants tie the game. Back and forth these two teams battled. When the final out was recorded, the Giants had won and the Diamondbacks quest repeat as NL West champions ended. It's going to be a long night, I can tell already.