Series ring around the Posey, Giants' future does look rosy

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Jeff Chiu / The Associated Press Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong and son Ryder outside of AT&T Park on Monday. (CP)

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Jeff Chiu / The Associated Press World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval (left) and Sergio Romo walk toward fans as Sandoval carries the World Series trophy outside of AT&T Park on Monday. (CP)

DETROIT -- Two World Series championships in three years?

That's unheard of.

Not since the Yankees rolled through three of three from 1998-2000 has anyone produced what qualifies as dominance these days.

These San Francisco Giants are relative newcomers to the revolving door of recent World Series winners but they certainly have a handle on how it's done these days and believe they've established their own culture of winning.

"I hope so," says catcher Buster Posey. "That's the goal."

Pitching and defence won this World Series, even more emphatically than in 2010, when the Giants were making their first post-season appearance since 2003.

"It's how you win championships," says Posey, who caught the called third strike to Miguel Cabrera, hung onto the ball and presented it to manager Bruce Bochy.

Posey's emphasis was on the plural, as in hardly being satisfied with two in his first three major-league seasons.

"It's definitely a possibility," he says. "We've got a great group of young, core guys. I don't think we're off the radar anymore, which will present its obstacles. I think it's a challenge we're all looking forward to. After you get that first one, you want to go through that whole experience again, you want to go through those pressure situations, the excitement when you come out on top."

St. Louis can make a case for more prolonged excellence in the past decade -- and the Cardinals also have two trophies to show off.

But the Giants rule now.

They have a ballpark they fill every night, a revenue stream that allows them to continue competing and -- hey, how's this for a refreshing concept in the midst of all that business talk? -- they've certainly embraced the team concept.

"It's almost like something you experience in high school and college," general manager Brian Sabean says. "The camaraderie and the emotions. They didn't try to be the guy. They were just trying to be a guy. That's the mantra of this organization -- be a teammate."

And their final victory was fitting: Strong pitching, stronger defence and a couple of singles in the 10th inning by guys named Ryan Theriot and Marco Scutaro.

"Slingshots and rocks, that's what we come to play with," coach Tim Flannery says of the Giants' way of doing business. They were last in the majors in home runs.

And there are no Goliaths in baseball these days -- no great teams but a lot of good ones.

"You never know what's going to happen, performance from year to year, how you start and finish a season, injuries," Sabean says. "We're happy that a lot of these guys are going to go forward with us. We're sitting in a good spot."

The only key free agents are Scutaro, centre-fielder Angel Pagan and lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt. All played significant roles but none should attract offers so lucrative they'd rule our returning to their comfortable situation in San Francisco.

There's still a difference between operating like a financial giant and, well, playing baseball like the San Francisco Giants.

They have a core group of players. Posey, third baseman and World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval were on the 2010 team, as were most of the pitchers.

But there was a freshness with some new faces and new roles.

When the Giants won two years ago, Tim Lincecum was a two-time Cy Young Award winner who had led the NL in strikeouts three consecutive seasons. Now, though, he's had to reinvent himself on the fly as a post-season reliever just to contribute.

And he has -- both reinvent and contribute.

The closest thing to a household name on the team now -- especially with the eclectic and effective Brian Wilson on hiatus from closing thanks to surgery -- is Posey.

He hasn't solidified superstar status yet and didn't have a particularly huge post-season. However, his grand slam triggered the Game 5 Division Series victory at Cincinnati and his two-run homer Sunday erased the only lead Detroit had in the entire World Series.

The Giants' two championships came with Posey in the middle of the order and everything else. He received the NL Hank Aaron Award for his offensive prowess before Game 3 and he's a favourite to add the MVP next month.

And the missing year for the Giants in between? It was Posey's missing year, too. When he went down for the season May 25, 2011, San Francisco was leading the NL West. They finished eight games back and out of the playoffs.

This championship was won, among numerous reasons, because players chipped in and did what was asked of them with no grumbling.

"Nobody said a word, complained or anything," Bochy said. "That's truly the only way it got done."

It's a formula that works. Let's see for how long.

-- USA Today

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 30, 2012 C4