NEW YORK -- So is this what it was like to watch Christy Mathewson work his magic in the chill of October? Or Carl Hubbell? Or Grover Cleveland Alexander?Is this what it looks like when a man is turning himself into a legend before our eyes, one dominating shutout inning at a time, October after October after October?All we have is the record books to tell us what the old-time legends looked like. Rod Carew Jersey . But luckily, we have our very own eyeballs to tell us what Madison Bumgarner looks like when October arrives, and seasons and legacies are on the line. And once again Wednesday night, he headed for the mound in a winner-take-all postseason baseball game -- and rewrote baseball history for about the 17th time.I dont think we think about the history of it all, said his shortstop, Brandon Crawford, on another epic MadBum October evening. Weve almost come to expect it.Hey, at this point, hasnt everyone? The San Francisco Giants are alive and breathing today, heading for Chicago to take on the Cubs, because of course they are -- and because it all looked verrrry familiar.They live on thanks to another four-hit Madison Bumgarner shutout special, a storybook swing of the bat by an instant folk hero named Conor Gillaspie and a 3-0 win over the New York Mets in a National League wild-card game that wont soon be forgotten.And neither, obviously, will the winning pitcher. Because hes about as special as it gets.Its supposed to be harder to impose your will on these October baseball games than Madison Bumgarner makes it look. But when the champagne bottles had all been emptied late Wednesday evening, here was just the latest compendium of what this man has been able to accomplish when the only thing riding on these games is pretty much everything:? He has now spent 23 innings on the mound in winner-take-all baseball games. And he has hung a zero on the scoreboard in all 23 of them. Yep, that would be a record.? He has thrown complete-game shutouts in two of those games -- the 2014 wild-card game and this one. Ready for the complete list of all pitchers in history who have thrown multiple shutouts in winner-take-all postseason games? Here it comes: There is Madison Bumgarner. ... And, well, thats it.? Bumgarner has now made 13 postseason starts in his career. He forgot to allow a run in six of them. You should know that only one other pitcher in history has made six scoreless postseason starts over the course of his career. And that was Tom Glavine. Who made nearly three times as many starts (35) as Bumgarner has made.Well sprinkle in more of these astonishing tidbits as we go along. But first, take a moment to let all that sink in, because nobody should take any of this for granted -- even though his teammates, at this point, are working hard to make him think they are.He just went out there and did what everybody expected, his first baseman, Brandon Belt, deadpanned afterward. Its almost boring. He really needs to do something a little different next time. Id like to see him hit a home run or something. How about hitting a home run in a playoff game. Heck, anybody can do it in a regular-season game.Well, as a matter of fact, Bumgarner almost did that Wednesday, too. In the third inning of this game, he stepped in there to face fire-spitting Mets ace Noah Syndergaard -- a man who had just finished striking out the previous four hitters hed faced -- and crushed the second-hardest-hit ball Syndergaard allowed all night. He just made the mistake of hitting it to deep left-center field, where home runs at Citi Field go to die.He got back to the dugout after that one, and he was mad, said his buddy, Jake Peavy. He said, Man, I hit that good.But when we think back on MadBums mano a mano with Syndergaard, it wont be either ones hitting that we remember. It will be their monumental reenactment of the last postseason elimination game in which both starting pitchers spun at least seven shutout innings: Jack Morris versus John Smoltz, in the iconic seventh game of the 1991 World Series.Not that either Bumgarner or Syndergaard has any recollection of that game -- since Bumgarner was 2 years old at the time and Syndergaard had yet to experience his rookie year on Planet Earth. But thats what this game had the feel of for those of us who did remember it, as the donuts kept mounting on the board, one after another.You know, we talk a lot in [Giants] history about the famous game with Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn, said Giants general manager Bobby Evans, conjuring up the memory of a fabled 16-inning 1-0 game between those two Hall of Famers in 1963. It ended on a Willie Mays walk-off home run in the bottom of the 16th -- off Spahn, of course.I used to sit in the room when I first got here and hear the stories of that game, Evans went on. And thats what this one felt like to me -- what [longtime Giants executives] Dick Tidrow and Jack Hiatt used to describe about that Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn game.Sure, that works, too. Except for the fact that there was no chance of these two starters going 16, obviously. Unless, that is, that Bumgarner planned on doing that. And you couldnt put it past him at this point. But regardless, his team needed every ounce of brilliance he had in him on this night -- because Syndergaard was his usual electric self, firing seven overpowering innings of two-hit, 10-strikeout baseball.Syndergaard was unbelievable, said Buster Posey. But there was such a calmness in our dugout. And I think its safe to say Bum deserves a lot of credit for that.Yeah, that seems safe, all right. Imagine what its like for these men to play behind this guy after all the miracles theyve seen him perform, after all the history theyve seen him make, after all the rings he has put on their fingers. To take the field on a game of this magnitude, knowing Bumgarner is on the mound, is just a feeling of total confidence, Belt said. It doesnt get any better than that. Its just fun.But for these even-year Giants, the best part of that fun is in complementing the brilliance of their ace with an almost undefinable knack for finding ways to win October classics like this one. So say hello to Conor Gillaspie, a man who was playing in this game only because (A) the Giants dealt away their third baseman, Matt Duffy, at the trading deadline, (B) the guy who replaced him, Eduardo Nunez, wasnt healthy enough to make the postseason roster and (C) Travis Ishikawa and Willie Mays werent in uniform anymore.So of course Gillaspie hammered a three-run, ninth-inning home run off a man who had allowed exactly one home run all year (Mets closer Jeurys Familia). And of course, he roared around the bases, pumping both fists, as the oxygen seemed to drain out of Citi Field. And of course, when that joyous trot was over, Madison Bumgarner looked at him and said: Conor, I appreciate the hell out of that.Asked afterward about that classically polite MadBum greeting, and if it was true hed really told the hero du jour he appreciated that mighty blast, Bumgarner said, in that low-key way of his: Im sure everybody does.OK, try to argue with that, huh? But its also true that when the starting pitcher never gives up a run, he makes all those unlikely heroes possible. And thats the specialty of Madison Bumgarners house.He has now pitched in eight postseason road games. The Giants have won all eight of them. He has worked 53? innings in those eight games. The opposition has scored a total of three earned runs. And he has faced 24 hitters with runners in scoring position in those postseason road games. The next hit he allows will be his first. Yeah, really.But dont ask him to reveal the secrets of how he does these impossible things he does. When he sat on the podium Wednesday night, next to his new best friend, Gillaspie, and was asked if he could explain his ability to conquer October, Madison Bumgarner just shrugged and said: I wish I had an answer for you. I dont.Fortunately, though, Conor Gillaspie had one.Hes tough, Gillaspie said. Thats why. Hes a competitive, competitive guy at everything he does. And it shows -- not just in baseball but anything in life.Well, well probably never know what its like to face Madison Bumgarner on a golf course, or in fantasy football, or even in a fishing tournament. So well just have to base our conclusions on that ongoing mini-series, MadBum Versus October. But the one thing weve noticed about that series is that every episode seems to turn out the same as the one before, and the one before that.Its the same old postseason Bum, said Belt. In the postseason, theres just nobody better. Kennys Vargas Twins Jersey .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. Paul Molitor Jersey . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. http://www.baseballtwinsgear.com/Tony-Oliva-Jersey/ . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers cant explain it exactly. Theyre not much into excuses either.Yet theres no denying the offense that runs so smoothly at Heinz Field looks decidedly less potent when forced to hop a plane, sleep in a hotel and dress in the visitors locker room. Save for a season-opening romp in Washington more than two months ago, the Steelers (4-5) have been more Pinto than Porsche on the road.The team that expects to average 30 points a game this season has mustered just 32 combined over 12 largely comatose quarters in Philadelphia , Miami and Baltimore . While a reprieve would seem to await in Cleveland (0-10) on Sunday, Pittsburgh is taking nothing for granted. After the way it sleepwalked against the Ravens in a 21-14 loss two weeks ago, it cant afford to. Pittsburgh didnt cross midfield until well into the second half and didnt score into what amounted to garbage time.It was miserable, guard David DeCastro said. Ive never been a part of something like that like, `What are we gonna do? Its not like we were getting manhandled where youre `Alright, theyre better than us. It was frustrating.While offensive coordinator Todd Haley pointed to Ben Roethlisbergers rustiness coming back from left knee surgery as part of the problem in Baltimore -- leading to a limited playbook designed to protect the franchise quarterback -- as part of the issue, it wasnt the only one. The Steelers couldnt run either, mustering just 36 yards on 18 carries, creating a snowball effect that led to numerous third-and-long situations and ultimately, a season-high 10 punts by Jordan Berry.Pittsburgh is converting just 31 percent of its third downs during its three-game road slide, compared to a 42 percent conversion rate at home, where the Steelers also average 28.8 points. The disparity is jarring.You know, we go on the road and its obviously a lot louder, Roethlisberger said. And you have to use the silent count and that means `head bob, gun or under center. So just some kind of timing could be off a little bit ... We pride ourselves in years past here being a great road football team. And we need to do that. Were going to have to start this week.Thats typically not a problem for Roethlisberger in Cleveland, where hes lost just twice in 11 career starts. Overall, though, the gap between his effectiveness at home and on the road is widdening. Byron Buxton Jersey. During Haleys four-plus seasons calling the plays, Roethlisberger is 15-18 with 45 touchdowns and 31 interceptions away from Heinz Field. Compare that to a 24-9 mark with 82 touchdowns and 23 picks when he wakes up on game day a short drive from the Terrible Towel twirling masses.There are numerous other variables at play, including a defense thats not exactly lights out anymore and one forced to go the rest of the season without defensive end Cam Heyward , who is out with a pectoral injury.That puts the onus on the offense to carry even more of the load. Its one the Steelers have looked perfectly capable of bearing at times, though not nearly enough during a four-game losing streak thats sucked all the momentum out of a 4-1 start.Its not anything the opposing team is doing or the crowd. We just havent performed well, running back LeVeon Bell said. Dropping balls, penalties, whatever it may be. I just think weve got to get better.Haley often likes to turn to the no-huddle when the offense is in need of a jump start, though opportunities have been limited at best recently. While Pittsburgh did score 14 points in the fourth quarter against the Ravens, DeCastro allows it was basically garbage time with Baltimore up three touchdowns.Youve got to mix it up if somethings not working, DeCastro said. But I thought we had a good plan. It wasnt getting the job done maybe ... switch it up sooner and give us a chance.Maybe, but Pittsburghs defensive limitations mean the offense probably needs to control the ball instead of pushing the pace. With four of their next five on the road, the Steelers know they need to score -- fast, slow or in between -- if they want to chase down the Ravens in the so-so AFC North.We have a very high standard coming into this year, Haley said. At times weve been close to what were trying to get, other times we havent. We need to eliminate the (bad) habits.Game notes C Maurkice Pouncey (finger), WR Sammie Coates (finger), TE Ladarius Green (finger), TE Xavier Grimble (quadriceps) practiced Thursday. ... S Jordan Dangerfield (groin) was limited. ... WR Markus Wheaton (shoulder) was out.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '