Willie Mays passed away at 93 while the Giants were playing a ball game, which was somehow fitting. There is plenty of press about Willie’s records and longevity in the game.  I was privileged to see him for the first time in 1958 (as a 12-year-old) at the old Seals stadium when the Giants moved out here from New York. He was a rock for the team at the plate and in the field. He struck fear in every pitcher he ever faced and smiled while doing it. The Hall of Fame credentials, the Presidential Medal, and countless other honors are great, but he will forever be enshrined in the hearts of every Giants fan for the boundless joy he brought to the game. I am privileged to own a copy of the Catch signed by Willie – it’s hanging at the Palisades office. Say Hey, Willie.

It’s not going well right now for the G-Men as they just finished a 6-game losing streak against the Yankees and the Snakes (leavened by a convincing run outburst against the Snakes in the closing game of the series). It will not be any easier against the World Series winning Astros.  We’re 61 games into the season, meaning there are 99 games remaining on their schedule.  There is time.

The Giants’ series win (culminating in today’s second come from behind 9th Inning win), after a first game massive choke job that included a Doval meltdown and a Luciano glove made of stone, is in the running for the strangest series over the last few seasons.  But a series win is a series win, and the Giants are in no position to worry about style points; it’s a tough division and getting to .500 (they are close) has been a slog.

The G-Men are coming home after a road trip from hell (3 and 7).  They got swept by the Phillies, lost both catchers (Bailey to concussion and Murphy to a knee sprain], lost Solar to the DL and generally looked like Michael Keaton shedding body parts in Beetlejuice. Even taking 2 out of 3 from the Rockies wasn’t a high point because the Giants have yet to win 3 games in a row this season.

We are in the middle of the longest homestand of the year and the G-Men are 4 and 2 (2 and 2 against the Snakes and 2 out of 3 against the Mets) with the Mets on deck tomorrow and the Giants going with Blake Snell, who was absolutely hammered last Friday (17-1 loss) against the Snakes.  I was at the Friday Snell game and stayed until the bitter end – that is what we do in San Francisco even if the park is cold and a million seagulls circle the field looking for Alfred Hitchcock. The Irish coffees helped.