Discover: The San Francisco Panda

Today's Lineup – World Series Edition

…or nine stories from around the Majors you may have missed today.

Folks in San Francisco may read this article and start encouraging Jeremy Affeldt to spend more alone time with his wife.

Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News leads his World Series Game 1 story with this sentence: "In case Yankees fans forgot, this is what a power-hitting third baseman looks like." Dagger!

Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press – you know that guy – writes about the Giants' big inning that toppled the Tigers.

MLB will honor surviving World War II ballplayers tonight before Game 2. Great story, that's why it's in the clean-up spot on this lineup!

The Sporting News writer Anthony Witrado says the Giants should have added the Melk Man to their World Series roster.

This Associated Press article breaks down the hairiness of the World Series.

Detroit businesses are readying for World Series games at Comerica Park.

Among notes and "flukes" from the San Francisco Chronicle: Barry Zito is only the fourth pitcher to get a hit of Justin Verlander. Well, ok, but Verlander pitches mostly to American League teams, which, you know, has the designated hitter rule. Just sayin'.

Huffington Post has a collection of World Series quotes for ya.

Panda-monium

Photo: Associated Press

If you were one of those people who thought the Tigers and Justin Verlander would be too much to handle for the slightly light-hitting San Francisco Giants last night… well, I hate to say it, but I told you so.

Oh, wait. I didn't actually write on this blog that I thought the Giants had a great shot in Game 1 because that little-team-that-can from San Francisco is riding a big rail car of momentum.

I admit, I'm not entirely convinced that momentum exists in baseball, but it sure did look like it last night, with the Giants, fresh off dismantling the St. Louis Cardinals with a three-game winning streak… a dominating winning streak, at that.

And you also have to believe the Giants feed off that frenzied AT&T Park crowd, right?

 And if you don't think that's important, ask Justin Verlander, who during a visit to the mound from pitching coach Jeff Jones in the third inning, told Jones all he was doing was getting the "crowd all riled up."

And don't tell me those Tigers weren't rusty. It doesn't matter how many so-called games you play on off days against your instructional team, it's tough to roar like a tiger again after a long lay off. Six days, my friend. Six days!

And then there's Panda! Oh, what a night for Pablo Sandoval.

Three homers in one World Series game, and two off Verlander. Only Babe Ruth (twice), Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols, who did it last year, have pulled off such an accomplishment on the big stage.

Verlander may me dating Kate Upton, but the Panda may get the ring.

Going Back to Cali

No comeback for the Cardinals this Friday night! Barry Zito just made sure of that. The San Francisco Giants' hurler threw 7 2/3 innings of shutout baseball to keep his team alive with a 5-zip win in St. Louis in Game 5 of the NLCS.

Zito also had an RBI in the Giants breakout 4-run fourth inning. Pablo Sandoval, who was 2-for-4 at the plate, hit a solo homer in the top of the 8^th.

Game 6 is Sunday night in San Francisco. The Cardinals lead the best-of-seven series, 3-2.

Wait! You Were Watching Football?

If you were one of those people who chose to watch football over the National League Championship Series Game 4 last night, Kung Fu Panda says shame on you.

UPDATE:

Quote of the Day: My pal Chad in Johnson City, Tenn. – hey, Tim McCarver mentioned the JC on the Fox broadcast last night – asked about the photo above: "Can I get that as a Fathead?"