San Francisco Giants: Forcing late start on Monday–fair or foul?
By Jason Burke
The San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers are not fans of one another. The two clubs have been rivals dating back to their time in New York, so was the decision by the Giants to begin play around 11 p.m. local time fair game, or just a jerk move?
By the time Monday’s game got underway everyone was hoping to be home, or at least not in the ballpark. As someone that has spent some time in the San Francisco press box, I feel for those that had to stay to cover this game when they really didn’t have to.
The only thing the San Francisco Giants are playing for this year is to avoid losing 100 games–but if that’s what it takes to earn the top pick in next year’s draft, then they could always be worse. The Los Angeles Dodgers went from being hyped as the best team of all time to hoping to collect another eight wins to reach 100. They had lost ten in a row entering play on Monday night/Tuesday morning and the extra day off could have done them some good.
According to Giants Team President, however, playing on Thursday, a travel day, was not an option.
Rivalry or no, the decision should have been left up to the Dodgers. They are the team that has something left to play for this season, and it would be a shame if this decision somehow further derailed the Dodgers.
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At the same time, this decision to play could end up being a spark for Los Angeles if they were to win (they currently tied 4-4), so they could be doing the team a favor.
If this was earlier in the year, this wouldn’t have been a big deal whatsoever, but with the regular season winding down, open dates, while still available, are less readily available. If this were earlier in the season, choosing to start a game so late wouldn’t have been such a big deal, either.
Of course, it’s not like the Dodgers should be expecting hand-outs from the Giants this late in the season, especially if they’re already struggling. There would be nothing worse for the Giants than if the Dodgers won the World Series this, or in any other season. It would essentially be giving away their bragging rights over their neighbors to the south.
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As Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out via Twitter, the good news for the Dodgers was that their magic number fell to ten during the rain delay.
I’m curious what you guys think. Was this fair by the Giants, or should they have been a little more accommodating to their rivals? Let us know what you think in the comments below! While you’re at it, let us know if you think the Dodgers will win another game this season.