It was March of this year and spring training was just getting started. My friends and I decided we would take a trip down to Arizona and watch the development of our San Francisco Giants. We were as excited as could be, but during the four days we were down there our Giants did not fare well. So before going home we sought the advice of one of the local psychic reader so that we would know where to put our money, as we planned to return to California via a stop in Las Vegas.

The psychic was a ragged old lady, old enough to have personally known The Babe. Unfortunately she was perhaps the only soul in Arizona who knew nothing about baseball. We sat down and asked her to let us know what was in store for our Giants during the upcoming season. She asked what we intended to do with this information and when we told her we were going to use it to bet, she doubled the fee she was charging us. It was the VIG, she explained to us.

So we proceeded with the reading and as she gazed into her crystal ball, she gasped and gave us the extra money back. 

"You don't want to bet on the Giants, boys, as some very bad things are going to happen." 

Okay, she had us and we told her to proceed.

"Well, your first baseman will be one of the hottest homerun hitters in the league.  But he will go down with an injury and you will lose him for most of the season."  

Well, that's only a first baseman, we thought, and Posey can play first, so please go on.

"Your second baseman will be lost as well to injury, and you will not find an adequate replacement until late in the season when you bring up a player from the minor leagues to fill in."

Oh no, we figured, there goes our leadoff hitter.

"Your third baseman will be hitting in the low .200s for the first half of the year. He is dealing with outside issues."

Well, we thought, there goes our clean-up hitter, and we knew those issues were contract-extension related.

"Your left fielder will also be lost for the second half of the season with an injury. He may return sometime towards the end of the season. For the guy you play in center field, I predict a season-ending injury that will result in surgery. Don't expect to see him back." 

Well, there goes our leadoff hitters, we all thought.

"Your catcher will also go out with a season-ending injury."

We all held our breaths, not knowing if it was Posey or Sanchez. But if it was Sanchez, we were already moving Posey to cover first base for our lost first baseman. Now, no catcher as well.

It was becoming clear to us just what type of season we were headed for. But we wanted to know about our pitching before we headed out.

"Your two-time Cy Young winner will struggle so badly that you will remove him from your rotation and your perfect-game pitcher will also go down with an injury"  

Wow, we gasped. What could go worse ... ???

"I'm not entirely through," she said, as she gazed into her ball again.  "Your primary reliever will also struggle this season. And finally, I see two opponents who strengthen their teams, one based in your division from southern California and the other that has been to the NLCS four years in a row."

With that, she withdrew from her trance and asked if any of that was of any help. 

Thank you, dear woman, for all your time. We were going to bet on the Giants to go to the World Series but now, understanding all this, we think we'll just invest our money in a sure thing like roulette or craps.  "Thank you so much."

And that, my folks, is why "They Play The Game." All of these things did happen to our Giants during the season. And yet, through the passion of our players, coupled with the support of management and the ownership group, we find ourselves in our third World Series in five years. Go GIANTS!