Surprised, and not surprised at all

Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY SportsThe bottom of the 8th inning started out typically enough for the San Francisco Giants: a well-struck grounder that somehow found itself ensnared in the glove of Matt Chapman.

With a 5-1 lead over the Seattle Mariners in the twilight innings, the game had become a countdown of outs.

You’d think there was no more secure place on the diamond than the sure hands of the Giants third baseman in this business of procuring outs. But with the hard bit done—Chapman picking a short-hop rabbit off the bat of Jorge Polanco at 94 MPH—he airmailed the throw, pulling LaMonte Wade Jr. off the bag as Polanco met it.

An inauspicious start, for sure. A warning sign, a tremor, one…