- Tim Lincecum. (in my best Jeff Daniels voice): Just when I thought he couldn't get any worse, he goes and does something like this...and TOTALLY REDEEMS HIMSELF!! Wow was he awesome out of the bullpen. His gaudy numbers (13 innings, 3 hits, 1 run in relief) don't even tell the whole story. He was a weapon that allowed Bochy to save his other front-line relievers for other high-leverage situations. If you look at the 2010 and 2012 World Series, he might be the MVP of the two combined.
- Marco Scutaro. How fitting it was that he provided the kill shot -- a two-out hit for the game-winning RBI. Interestingly, had there been less than two outs, there's no way Theriot scores on that hit.
- Brandon Crawford. He's not my favorite Giant, but he's definitely in my top 5. And that is no small accomplishment for a guy who hit .248 in the regular season. But he uses Eminem and Drake songs as his walk-up music, and he's an absolute joy to watch in the field. He won't win a Gold Glove this year, but his performance on the playoffs national stage will get him the attention he needs for next year. He just kept making one incredible play after another. And they all seemed to come with runners on base. Or late in the game when Giants fans were counting the remaining outs. Or right before Miguel Cabrera was coming up. Or all of the above. If I wasn't already a devoted Romosexual, there's a good chance I would let Crawford do bad things to me.
- Matt Cain. Because Matt Cain.
- Buster Posey. Sometime around 9 months before March 27, 1987, Gerald and Traci Posey got in the mood, and now San Francisco Giants fans get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. This was Posey's first full Major League season. And already he's a 2-time World Champion, a Rookie of the Year, and in a few weeks, an MVP. Not a bad resume. He was injured in 2011, so basically this is a 3-peat.
- Jeremy Affeldt. His 2012 post-season: 10.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 SO. Enough said.
- Ryan Vogelsong. If Disney made the Ryan Vogelsong Story, and nobody knew it was based on actual events, it would be criticized as being unrealistic and too cheesy. It's completely bonkers what he's done. From injuries, to Japan, to being release multiple times, to being the best pitcher in the playoffs for a World Series winning team. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully grasp it. Loved the way Grant Brisbee described his Game 3 outing: "everyone would have understood if Voglesong pantomimed pushing an invisible wheelbarrow on the way back to the dugout. The better to carry his … well, you get the idea. How else would you expect him to get around with those things? Seems uncomfortable." Speaking of stones...
- Sergio Romo. You could probably fit two Sergio's into one Miguel Cabrera. Did that stop Romo from challenging the game's most feared hitter with a fastball to get the final strike of the World Series? Not a chance. I almost felt bad for the Tigers when he was in there. Because that fastball really showcased the awesome power of his slider. Certainly the Tigers had heard about the slider coming into the series. But it must be a whole different thing to actually see it. Poor guys never had a chance. Makes you wonder if he had a plan to throw that fastball all along. As in the entire season of throwing that slider so often was just one big (and effective) long con, all to set up the fastball for the final strike and make frozen pizza out of that last hitter. Stones. Here's a nice analysis of that final pitch.
- Barry Zito. A few years into Zito's tenure with the Giants, I asked my friend Jake what he would say to Zito if he ran into him at a bar. Jake nailed it, and it didn't even take him long to come up with his response: "Buy me a beer." I've always said that the day Barry Zito comes off the payroll, I'm throwing a party. I don't think I will anymore. And now I'd want to buy Barry a beer. He's finally given the nation something other than his contract to remember him by with the two most important starts of his career. He saved the season against the Cardinals, and then beat the unbeatable Justin Verlander in WS Game 1. Buster Posey is the MVP of the league. The Giants had 3 starting pitchers this year who were more valuable than Zito. But I think you could argue that the 2012 season for the Giants kind of belongs to Zito. In his first start of the year, when the Giants were 0-3, he righted the ship with a shutout in Colorado. Down the stretch of the regular season, he became the Giants' most reliable starter. And then he has the two signature outings in the playoffs. No one deserves their WS Ring more than him. You gotta hand it to him -- Barry Zito was shown a lot of disrespect over the past 6 years, and showed none in return.
- Brian Sabean. Once again, making all the right moves this year along with the preceding offseason. Shipping Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez (who had terrible years this year) to get Angel Pagan. Win. Getting Melky Cabrera for Jonathan Sanchez (who's career may be over). Bigtime win. Giving Gregor Blanco a shot. Picking up Jose Mijares off the waiver wire. And most importantly, heisting Scutaro from the Rockies. WIN.
- Bruce Bochy. Hall of Fame manager. San Francisco hero forever.
- Dave Righetti and Mark Gardner. Unquestionably, these guys are the two most underrated people in the organization. I'm even underrating them now by grouping them together, but I don't know how exactly they split up their duties/roles, so I'd just be saying the same thing about both of them. The pitching staff has been nails for 4 years now, and they don't get nearly enough credit. And in this post-season in particular, they fixed Madison Bumgarner, possibly Tim Lincecum, and prepared Barry Zito mentally to go out and pitch the games of his life. It's impossible to quantify their contribution. But I think it's a safe bet that the Giants would not have won two out of the last three titles without these guys.
See you all at the parade.
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