On a day when it was all about millionaires feeling like kids all over again, one fatherly figure got a little love from his children.
In the midst of champagne and Bud Light showers, players from the San Francisco Giants took a moment to thank their beliguered general manager Brian Sabean. But it probably wasn't the recognition the leader of the team wanted.
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Several Giants players cornered Sabean in the clubhouse Sunday and perceeded to commemorate his role in orchestrating the team's first return to the post season in six years by dosing him with adult beverages.
The shower was literally sticky but it was a metaphorical cleansing for the much maligned general manager. For years fans have called for Sabean's head -- or at least his firing -- for questionable moves such as over paying for pitcher Barry Zito and center fielder Aaron Rowand.
Perhaps the biggest complaint against Sabean, going back to even the days of Barry Bonds, was his failure to secure a big bat to push the Giants over the hump onto the next level.
Earlier this season, when the team looked like it was going nowhere, it was a regular occurance to hear fans call into local sports talk shows or turn to the Internet demanding that Sabean be shown the way back to the east coast.
But several of his brushstrokes were on display late in the season, keying the Giants push to the post season.
Sabean showed his brilliance through players he brought in through free agency, the draft and by trade transforming the roster.
Off season acquisitions such as Aubrey Huff had a career year for the team, while trading catcher Benji Molina opened the door for rookie Buster Posey to burst onto the national scene. But Sabean also struck gold by adding players in the middle of the season, including Juan Uribe.
Sabean's moves will be on full display as several national pundits are picking the team to knock off the Atlanta Braves for a National League Championship face off against the powerful Philadelphia Phillies.
But to get there, Sunday the players needed to get their general manager looking his playoff best. And that always starts with a champagne shower.
