I would have been mildly surprised if, before the series, you told me that the Giants would be up 2-0. I would have been a bit more surprised if you would have told me that the Giants would be up 2-0 because Cliff Lee got lit up in Game 1. But I would have been most surprised if you told me that a big part of the Giants being up 2-0 was because Edgar Renteria has been playing incredible baseball. Really, that wouldn’t have computed.
As you saw last night, Renteria hit a solo homer off C.J. Wilson in the fifth inning and hit a two-run single in the eighth. On Wednesday he was one for three and scored a couple of runs. Each night he played some pretty darn solid shortstop, with the only blemish being a dropped throw when Buster Posey tried to cut down a runner last night.
More than anything, though, is that he has looked downright spry out there. Intense, even. I don’t mean to disparage him or anything, but “intense” is not a word you could have used to describe Renteria’s play for the past several years. He’s a guy who has talked openly of retirement recently. Who has business and charitable interests in Colombia that occupy him more and more as time goes on (he really is a big deal there). He sat an awful lot in the second half of the season and it would have surprised no one if he all but disappeared as the playoffs got underway.
But he hasn’t. He’s been pretty awesome, actually. And I suppose him sitting so much in the second half has a lot to do with that. I mean, those [ahem] “35-year-old” bones probably needed the rest. And even if Bruce Bochy never figured that Renteria was going to be an important part of the Giants’ championship push, the rest has done them wonders.
Renteria may still retire after this season. But if he does, it’s nice to see him go out looking a bit more like the exciting player we met as a Florida Marlin than the aging vet he has appeared to be these past few years.