San Francisco Giants: Wild card is a consolation prize

The San Francisco Giants division hopes’ appeared dashed less than two months ago. Their current deficit has been whittled down to a two game margin. The 84-68 Giants have reverted back to early season form. A form which has them casting away once penury visions to assume first place in the N.L. West before season’s end.

San Francisco is slowly reclaiming a record close to 20 games over .500. They busted out of the gates at 42-21, going 16-11 in April and 20-9 in May. Injuries (akin to 2013) started compiling with Brandon Belt, Angel Pagan, and Matt Cain all going down in concert with baffling June and July months for a combined 22-30 record. Their nadir occurred at the end of July, when a peaking Dodgers squad assumed control of first place.

Don Mattingly exemplified the intrinsic value of appropriating his starting rotation according to his team’s opponent. He applied this logic by scheduling Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, and Hyun-Jin-Ryu in a three-game series at AT&T Park in late July. His foresight paid heavy dividends. The Dodgers trampled a 120-year-old rival and outscored them 17-3 in three games. After leading for an MLB calendar 89 days, the Giants’ stranglehold in the division was relinquished.

Mattingly’s fastidious dedication to using his top three arms versus the Giants will endure in the team’s last head-to-head series down at Chavez Ravine. All told, the Dodgers are a  paltry three games above .500 when Clayton Kershaw (19-3) isn’t throwing. The July Giants may have approached a typical series with trepidation supplanting anticipation. The September Giants harken back to memories of their past World Series teams, which elicit reasons for optimism.

Jake Peavy has spelled Matt Cain productively. Cain underwent surgery in August to clean up bone chips in his pitching elbow. Brian Sabean owns an impressive track record acquiring mid-season players to bolster playoff runs via trade or waivers. Sabean fortified his rosters with notables Freddy Sanchez, Cody Ross, Pat Burrell, Carlos Beltran, and Marco Scutaro dating back to 2010, their inaugural World Series title in San Francisco.

Peavy is resembling another successful transaction story for Sabean. Coming over from Boston in a trade with Giants minor leaguers Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree, Peavy touted a 1-9 record with a 4.72 ERA. The former 2007 N.L. Cy Young Award winner reconvened in San Francisco with manager Bruce Bochy from their days together in San Diego. It’s been a reciprocated boon for player and manager. The emotional and ultra-competitive right-hander has gone 6-1 with a 1.13 ERA in his past seven outings.

In other news, the Giants await offensive reinforcements back from injury. Brandon Belt has begun swinging after a concussion malaise and has been activated. Michael Morse would have visited the disabled list for his strained oblique had it not been September when he aggravated it. He is on the mend as well. Respectable power bats will purportedly lengthen San Francisco’s lineup, which is a requisite facing the Dodgers’ formidable starting pitchers.

In their absence, outfielder Gregor Blanco has done his part as have youngsters Andrew Susac and Joe Panik. Panik, a New York kid from St. John’s University, wasn’t a primary choice for San Francisco’s everyday second base job. He, along with another minor leaguer Matt Duffy, augment San Francisco’s infield depth.

Yonkers Joe stepped in June 21 after a vast collection of infielders from Brandon Hicks,EhireAdrianza, Joaquin Arias, and a released DanUgglawere trotted out for a sidelined MarcoScutaro. The 23-year-old is hitting .300 with an .344 on-base percentage as the number two hitter.

Susac, a Northern California native, was summoned after backup catcher Hector Sanchez bore one too many foul ball shots to his facemask and it finalized his season. Susac’s played well defensively and hit more than Sanchez with a .269 average.

He’s also spared one of the game’s best players in Buster Posey from catching too many games behind the plate. Posey has looked refreshed since the All Star break passed. He hit a respectable .277, with 10 home runs and 46 RBI. Minor nerve irritation in his back early on may have been another contributing factor.

Posey took off in August hitting .336 and is a scalding .429 midway through September. His average is up to .310 and he’s doubled his home run total to 21 with 86 RBI. A locked in Posey has the propensity to carry the Giants offense for a string of games.

The rest of the lineup from Angel Pagan, Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval, and Brandon Crawford will experience a trickle-down effect from Posey’s greatness. Pitchers will be leery of giving San Francisco’s best hitter and main RBI bat mistakes in the strike zone. Others spots in the lineup should look to pounce on more inviting deliveries. The Giants have surreptitiously led the National League in runs scored post All Star break.

Bochy’s troops have ostensibly discovered its unwavering confidence that dissipated mid-season. Many names from the 2012 World Series team reside on this one. It resembles characteristics of cohesion, belief, and players vetted with October experience. Playing with confidence, health, and an injection of youthful call-ups, San Francisco has a chance to wrest the division away from Los Angeles. Hosting a one game wild card round would be relegated to a consolation bracket.

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