Stay Hot

Tough times have fallen on the San Francisco Giants. The only sounds bouncing off the cove are the murmurs of disappointed fans, making the walk from AT&T to the severely dwindled parking lot. The walk where two pieces of concrete connect by a bridge swinging over the smooth waters of the bay. The walk where you look up at the statue of Juan Marichal and say, “I’m sorry you had to be here for this.” Yeah, it’s been one of those times of year lately for the Giants. What can go wrong will, as the entire team has been using the DL like a cheap whore.

The Giants completed the sweep of the Reds, and took Game 1 of a series at home between them and the Dodgers. That’s four games..in a row..for the Giants. I really wish it wasn’t this shocking. I wish it wasn’t so bad a four game win streak was them getting hot, but it is. What’s the answer, besides noticeably more consistent starting pitching? Buster Posey. Look behind the plate, and who do you see? The Derek Jeter of his era. The most un-phased athlete in baseball right now. The most big-moment tested major league player currently lacing it up, besides Madison Bumgarner. However, Bum loses because he did a dumb thing.

Every time a player comes into the league, he’s coached on a number of things off the field. One of them being how to deal with the media. In Posey’s rookie year, veteran Pat Burrell said Buster was a natural. He didn’t need to be told. Heading into pregame batting practice, media personnel approached him, and he just put his hand up. He was big leaguing people from day one. He’s turned it up this month, batting .372 with 7 jacks. The fact he only has 11 runs batted in is a tribute to the lack of support around him. Right now, he’s the only chance Giants fans have at sanity come mid-July, when the high from a Warriors championship starts to wear off. When the confetti blows away, it’ll be the dog days of summer, and at least we’ll have Buster.