A veritable laugher by those offensively challenged Giants. A win with only a few grimaces. A win manager Bruce Bochy said was “important.” A win without anybody in the lineup batting higher than .290. A win because of that old, reliable pitching. Every day is a party at AT&T Park, where the stands are full — Wednesday was the 27th consecutive sellout of 2011 — the games are torture and the town’s team is almost immune to the consequences. Read More

I’ve read the Giants’ obituaries born of the crash of Buster Posey, and I believe the news of their death is greatly exaggerated. Oh, they’re going to sputter and have their tough stretches — they’re never going to be an offensive juggernaut — but they were built on pitching and defense, and that is what will carry them the rest of the way in 2011. Nobody gave them much of a chance last year, and they wound up winning a world championship. Read More

It may be “wait till next year” for Buster Posey, but it doesn’t have to be for the Giants. However, the worst thing Brian Sabean can do is fail to find an accomplished replacement for his best everyday player. One day after Posey got hurt, Sabean wisely brought up the organization’s top two prospects, first baseman-outfielder Brandon Belt and shortstop Brandon Crawford, to jump-start a sagging offense. Belt, 23, batted .337 in his month-long stay at Triple-A Fresno. Crawford, 24, is a career .270 minor-league hitter while averaging almost a strikeout per game. Read More

Is it permissible to say something positive about Barry Bonds? Thank you. Bonds pledged to pay for the college education of Bryan Stow’s two children. That’s a splash hit of another sort. Barry’s taken a lot of knocks, some of them deserved, certainly. So how about some praise? How about a high-five for someone who can use a few compliments? Bonds took steroids. He admitted as much in that unneeded trial, said to cost $60 million, where he was convicted not of perjury, but of obstruction of justice. The verdict is being appealed. Read More