Bumgarner: 'No panic' as Giants face elimination
It was quiet inside the home clubhouse at AT&T Park on Sunday as the San Francisco Giants - mired a two-game hole in their best-of-five division series matchup with the Chicago Cubs - prepared for what could be their final game of 2016.
Madison Bumgarner, the ineffable left-hander tasked with keeping the Giants' season alive Monday night, was totally cool with that.
"It's pretty impressive, especially with the young guys that we have," Bumgarner told Daniel Brown of The Mercury News. "They kind of followed suit pretty easily. And it’s just a really good vibe that everyone puts off there. There's definitely no panic."
Though the odds are definitely stacked against San Francisco, panicking ahead of a Bumgarner start in the postseason is kind of foolish. Unequivocally the greatest postseason pitcher of his generation, the 27-year-old boasts a 1.94 ERA over 13 starts and two relief appearances in the playoffs. His latest masterpiece, a nine-inning blanking of the New York Mets in Wednesday's wild-card game, made him the first pitcher in history with multiple complete-game shutouts in sudden-death contests. When their backs are against the wall, the dude just always comes through. Joe Maddon, the Cubs' second-year manager, knows this.
"I look at it as: Wow. It's just like Bob Gibson did. It’s like what Sandy Koufax did, and maybe Whitey Ford," Maddon said. "I hope the kids that are really watching right now understand how good this guy is, and (his place in) baseball history."
Beyond Bumgarner? Well, as Buster Posey noted, the Giants will cross that bridge when they get there. After all, Posey's epic grand slam in Game 5 of the 2012 National League Division Series wouldn't have happened without a pivotal Scott Rolen error in extra innings two days earlier, with the Giants down two games to none.
"There's no need to look further than Monday," Posey said. "We've been able to do that. We caught a break in that Game 3 at Cincinnati. Hopefully, maybe we'll catch another break and see what happens."