SAN DIEGO -- Madison Bumgarner stood on the mound and stared. Plate umpire Joe West stared back. Ten seconds. Twenty. In another setting, you'd have holsters and tumbleweeds.
Two time zones away, the Kansas City Royals clinched a division title Thursday night. Bumgarner will not stand in their way this time. The Giants face an impractical deficit now -- their tragic number shrank to three after a 5-4 loss to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park -- and neither Hunter Pence nor Brandon Belt is expected to play again this season, manager Bruce Bochy said.Someone else besides Bumgarner will stand soaked and weary-armed and hoist a World Series MVP trophy with weary arms at October's end.