09/29/2005 2:41 AM ET Giants overwhelmed by Padres Night of futility at plate bounces SF from NL West contention By Rich Draper / MLB.com SAN DIEGO -- The Giants' final hopes for a divisional title flickered and died -- well, maybe more like a fire being stamped out -- as they watched the San Diego Padres romp to the National League West crown in a 9-1 victory Wednesday night at PETCO Park. It was no shock for the San Franciscans -- they faced astronomical odds -- but the defeat was still a blow to the heart for a team that roared back from 11 games out of first before the midway point and made a gallant, if futile, final chase. Leave it to manager Felipe Alou, a baseball man for nearly half a century, to summarize a season that was going nowhere but ended going somewhere -- up the divisional ladder midway through the final week. The Giants were game, they were relentless, their spirits indomitable. And Alou loved them for that. "I'm smiling," were the first words out of Felipe's mustachioed mouth post-game. "I addressed the team, the trainers, the doctors and everybody, because I believe the effort was superb. A team that had to go through what it went through -- to be eliminated with four days to go, and be the last team eliminated. "I think the effort has to be appreciated," said Alou. "If you look at the record, we had a bad season, but when you look at the effort, we had a good season." The Giants played with pride, hustle and determination all season, said the skipper, despite injuries and inexplicable problems and losing streaks -- and the big man, Barry Bonds, being out for most of the campaign, and slugger Moises Alou gutting it out when bruised and battered, with catcher Mike Matheny seemingly playing every day, around the clock. "We could easily have given up, fighting the Rockies for last place," said Alou. "There were many fears -- below .500 was something I never thought would happen, but it did. Losing 100 games was a possibility, then 90 games. All of those terrible things were within reach -- not first place, but the grave was within reach many, many times. "But those guys made sure it didn't happen," he said. Even right-hander Jason Schmidt, who despite a still-injured groin started Wednesday's game as the Giants last great hope ... even he made sure it didn't happen. Schmidt said how his leg felt was irrelevant, but his mechanics were off this night and was rocked for six hits and four runs over only four innings -- strictly un-Schmidt like. Trailing 2-0 in the first, then 5-0 by the sixth, it was fairly hopeless, and there would be no unbelievable rerun of Colorado, when they stormed back from a 6-0 deficit to win, 7-6. A final three-run burst by the Padres in the seventh doomed the Giants for good. "The arm felt good, but mechanically I just couldn't get going," said Schmidt (12-7). "I couldn't line up my arm with the lower half and give myself a chance to throw strikes. That's the name of the game, and I just didn't do that." Was it a product of making only two starts since Sept. 9? "You can say whatever -- you hope you roll out of bed and throw as many strikes as you want to," said Schmidt, who praised his teammates for not giving up over the second half and the team winning eight of its last 11 games prior to Wednesday's contest. "We battled our butts off, the guys played hard and pitched hard and [did] everything," he said. "To get this far makes it that much tougher. The most disappointing time of the season is the day you get knocked out." Matheny, bone-tired like the rest of the players, said it was too soon to put the season in perspective, even with that final rush. Did the effort mean anything? "Not right now," he said. "Maybe later. But not right now. It's too early now. All you do is keep playing and don't think about other things except playing the game right." Veteran Scott Eyre wasn't in a chipper mood himself, but he still quipped the Giants could get a second-place check. The team is now tied for No. 2 with the Diamondbacks and will have a three-game showdown at SBC Park starting Friday. "Second place, obviously, is the first loser, but I'll still take the first loser as opposed to third place," said Eyre, buoyed somewhat by Alou's postgame address. "Felipe loves the game of baseball, plain and simple, and he admired the fact guys played hard every day for him." Rich Draper is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. -- 問我為何住西子灣頭 只因滄海是我的鄰居 余光中 作 --

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