SAN FRANCISCO — As the summer wore on and the stakes got higher, things got personal in the National League West.
The Padres, having passed on Pat Burrell only to see him turn into a key figure in the Giants’ season, were looking for a hitter. And they thought they found him when they claimed Cody Ross on waivers from the Marlins.
But the Giants beat them to him. The same Giants who, given the five outfielders on their roster, didn’t have a discernible need or spot for Ross.
But they kept him away from the Padres.
Ross was well aware of the politics involved. Yes, he acknowledged, he felt like a pawn in a chess game, but he had no choice but to leave Florida.
“The way the whole thing went down, it was awkward,” Ross said. “It was an emotional roller coaster. I went from being really sad to leave my teammates in Florida to being super excited to get here and be a part of a team that had a chance to get to the postseason.”
They got to the postseason, all right. And Ross, a kid from New Mexico who once wanted to be a rodeo clown, has carried them on his shoulders ever since their arrival.
He went into Game 3 with four of the Giants’ five postseason home runs, three of which broke up no-hitters. Of his seven postseason hits, five had tied the game or put the Giants ahead. Sure enough, it was Ross who gave the Giants the lead in Game 3 with a fourth-inning run-scoring single off Cole Hamels.
It’s been a story line that no one, Ross included, saw coming. He assumed he would be a spot starter and pinch hitter after leaving the Marlins. And now here he is, a folk hero in the Bay Area with a YouTube rap song to prove it.
“I try to reflect back and appreciate it as much as I can,” Ross said. “At the end of the day, I sit there and think to myself, ‘All right, that’s enough of that. Let’s start focusing on what we have to do tomorrow.’ “
Money matters.
It didn’t involve one of the Rockies’ own players, but, then again, it did. The Dodgers agreeing to a three-year deal with Ted Lilly didn’t help the Rockies’ efforts to retain Jorge De La Rosa.
Lilly dropping out of the free-agent class leaves De La Rosa as the most attractive Plan B for teams looking for a quality lefty but unable to pay Yankee money to Cliff Lee. If several teams chase him, a three-year deal doesn’t figure to get it done.
The most intriguing question at this point is whether a team will step up with a five-year offer. Could happen. De La Rosa, at 29, is 5 years younger than Lilly.
Footnotes.
Anyone seen Ryan Howard lately? He’s homerless since Sept. 25. . . . Howard spent time last winter working on hitting with Barry Bonds, who received a raucous ovation before throwing out one of the ceremonial first pitches. . . . Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino, when asked by a reporter how many of the National League’s top pitchers were in this series: “Maybe it’s six out of 15. I mean, you got (Ubaldo) Jimenez, of course, and Josh Johnson and, let’s see, who else? Maybe it’s six out of 10. These guys are pretty good.” . . . Eric Young is on the verge of completing his NL West journey. E.Y., who played for the Rockies, Dodgers, Giants and Padres, is expected to be named the Diamondbacks’ first-base coach.
