Giants Win First World Series Since 1954
Ryan Fagan - SportingNews.com
Nov 02, 2010
Maybe the Giants' World Series title wasn't the most improbable in recent memory, but they certainly had the most improbable offensive catalysts along the way.
Who would have expected Cody Ross, a waiver claim in late August, to win the NLCS MVP award, or Edgar Renteria, a 35-year-old shortstop who was little more than a bit player down the stretch, to earn the World Series MVP trophy?
But maybe we should have expected the unexpected from a team that lost its second playoff game on an extra-inning home run by Rick Ankiel, one of the most improbable postseason hitting heroes ever.
So, give this Giants team whatever label seems fitting at the moment -- improbable, unlikely, shocking, destined -- but the one the history books will record is best: champs.
Four thoughts on the world champion Giants:
1. There was some sort of precedent for this playoff run, from a few angles. Nine of the Giants' first 10 NLDS and NLCS games were decided by three runs or fewer, as were two of the World Series contests. And that is San Francisco's comfort zone. With a rock-solid bullpen, it isn't surprising that the Giants won eight of those 11 games. "Playing close games is a key to this," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. "Looking back, we're very similar to the 2005 White Sox. They were in a similar position throughout the second half."
In addition, San Francisco had to shrug off disappointing losses in the waning days of the regular season to reach the postseason. "We were kind of like St. Louis (in 2006)," Sabean said. "We weren't necessarily the biggest and baddest, but we won games at the right time and then we went into the postseason and rolled with each pitch. We were fortunate to have those last three (regular season) games at home. We played like hell in the first two (against the Padres) and it came down to the last game, and we won the right game. In itself, that was very empowering to everybody in this room."
2. For a couple years -- since the arrival of Tim Lincecum -- the Giants and their vaunted pitching staff have been the group that nobody wanted to face in a short playoff series. Until this year, postseason teams never had to worry about that because San Francisco's offense never had been good enough to lift the team into the playoffs.
That changed in early July, when the Giants traded Bengie Molina to the Rangers and inserted rookie catcher Buster Posey into the lineup. The Giants had a 40-36 record with Molina; after trading him they went 52-34 (only the Phillies had more wins in the majors in that span). Posey hit .310 after Molina's final game, with 17 homers and a hefty .908 OPS.
In the postseason, Posey hit .288 -- second on the team -- with a homer and five RBIs as the cleanup hitter. Posey might not win the NL rookie of the year award -- Atlanta's Jason Heyward had a great year for the Braves -- but his arrival will be marked with at least one shiny trophy.
3. The Giants beat some legitimate aces en route to the championship. That's a tribute to the Giants pitchers and their hitters.
"When you look back at the pitching we had to beat, going back even to the clincher facing (Mat) Latos, in Atlanta of course (Tim) Hudson, (Derek) Lowe in Atlanta, the Phillies' pitching with (Roy) Halladay and (Cole) Hamels and (Roy) Oswalt, they found a way to get a big hit," manager Bruce Bochy said. "And the key was we got contribution from everybody. Seemed like it was somebody different in the series."
4. Now comes the "What's next?" question that must be answered during the offseason.
Renteria, the World Series MVP, didn't look like a starting shortstop during the regular season. The Giants own a 2011 option on the 35-year-old for $10.5 million, but there is no chance they will exercise it. Renteria has hinted at retirement and could choose to go out in a manner that would make John Elway nod his head approvingly. The Giants, though, will consider having him in the clubhouse next year as a backup (at a vastly reduced salary).
And then there are the free agents. San Francisco wouldn't be celebrating the city's first World Series title without Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe and Pat Burrell. All are free agents. Sabean told the New York Times that he would consider postseason production when it comes to the offseason plan. That is good for Huff and Uribe, not so much for Burrell.
"You have to be open-minded in every situation," Sabean told the newspaper. "At the end of the day, you're going to have to balance it out, but I believe in giving due credit to players who do big things under pressure.
"Eighty percent of this team has been under a lot of pressure since the All-Star break. It's going to go on the back of their baseball cards, and they've earned it, and the fact is that you accentuate that with what they've done in the postseason. We've got a pretty good sample size on what people can do and what to expect."
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