World Series: Giants have unprecedented opportunity

Seven players will be gunning for their third MLB title when the Giants line up in Kansas City for Game 1 of the 2014 World Series today.|

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Christy Mathewson didn’t do it. Nor did Mel Ott or Carl Hubbell or Willie Mays or Juan Marichal or Will Clark.

No player, dating back to this franchise’s inception as the New York Gothams in 1883, ever won three World Series championships with the Giants. Considering you’d have to be about 136 years old to remember all of those seasons, we’re talking about a fairly historic milestone that several current Giants are on the brink of attaining.

Seven men - Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla and Jeremy Affeldt - each will be gunning for his third MLB title when the Giants line up in Kansas City for Game 1 of the 2014 World Series today. Add Javier Lopez, who was on the 2012 Series roster but did not play. And to be technically precise, add Matt Cain as well; he’ll get a ring if San Francisco wins, though his season was ended by elbow surgery in August.

“Third World Series,” Romo said, shaking his head in the Giants clubhouse Saturday. “Wow, what a ride.”

That rush makes it easy to forget how fundamentally this roster has changed since the 2010 World Series. When the Giants took the field for Game 1 that year, they had Aubrey Huff at first base, Freddy Sanchez at second, Edgar Renteria at shortstop, Juan Uribe at third, and an outfield consisting of (left to right) Pat Burrell, Andres Torres and Cody Ross.

The memories feel like yesterday. The names sound like yesteryear.

Only the battery from that Oct. 27, 2010, game against the Texas Rangers - Tim Lincecum on the mound and Buster Posey behind the plate - remain with the team. And Lincecum’s role has changed dramatically in four years.

It is a stunning testament to general manager Brian Sabean and his scouting staff that the Giants have been able to reach baseball’s highest level of play while more or less reinventing themselves not once, but twice.

“Brian has done such a great job of filling holes for us - finding players, and the right type of players that we need, and of course that have come up through our system,” manager Bruce Bochy said.

For a comparison, look to the last MLB team to win three World Series in five years, as the Giants are attempting to do. The New York Yankees actually captured four between 1996 and 2000. Eight players saw action in all four of those Series wins for the Yankees, and another three helped get them there, so the numbers aren’t dramatically different.

But when you read the names - Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettite, Jorge Posada, David Cone, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez - it’s clear that the Yankees were able to rely on the same collection of star power for the entire run.

The Giants can’t say the same thing.

Sandoval went from chubby afterthought - he had three at-bats in the 2010 World Series - to Series most valuable player in 2012. Lincecum has devolved from staff ace to important bullpen component to forgotten man. Romo went from setup man to closer, and is now back to setup. Casilla, Affeldt and Lopez have been lights-out relief pitchers throughout the three World Series campaigns, but have for the most part played bit roles. Even Bumgarner struggled in the 2012 playoffs; his victory in Game 2 of the Series that year came as a shock even to a lot of Giants fans.

The one true constant has been the catcher, Posey. He was a rookie in 2010, but a sensational one. By now, there are times when he seems to carry the team.

“It’s obviously different, but ‘burden’ is definitely not a word I would use,” Posey said. “Just like ’10 and ’12, it’s an opportunity that a lot of people don’t get.”

He has always been able to hit, and he has gotten progressively better at throwing out baserunners, and especially at managing his pitchers. If there were such a thing as team MVP of a five-year span, it would be Posey.

“You can’t overstate it, because of the position,” Sabean said. “Middle-of-the-order responsibility. The rigors of all that. An ever-changing pitching staff, etc. He’s our foundation, he’s our quiet leader, and there’s a lot of responsibility with that. And he’s unwavering.”

But if Posey is the individual engine of three World Series appearances, the relief pitchers are the spark plugs. Casilla, Romo, Lopez and Affeldt have fit together like puzzle pieces in 2014, just as they did in 2010 and 2012. Affeldt has now gone 18 consecutive postseason games without allowing an earned run, the fourth-longest streak in MLB history. Casilla has gone 17 straight games, and Lopez 15.

Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti credits Sabean assistant general manager Dick Tidrow.

“They made the decision a few years ago to sign these guys,” Righetti said. “When you’re signing guys for a lot of money, you can cut back in some places, and the bullpen’s one of ’em. They never did that. And it’s paying off. It costs a lot money, but you can see why it’s so special to have veteran relievers that know what they’re doing in tough circumstances.”

The consistency of the Giants’ bullpen has made things difficult for opponents who fall behind in the playoffs. By now, Bochy is a master at knowing when to deploy each reliever, and they have come to rely on one another for support.

“We talk to each other,” Affeldt said. “We’ve seen each other pitch for a long time. So if I feel like a guy’s stride’s too long, or his hip’s opening up, or his arm’s dropping too low - and Rags (Righetti) and Gardy (bullpen coach Mark Gardner) do a great job. But sometimes during the game, especially at home, they’re on the bench, they’re focused on the game. … We have encouragement for each other, and we know how to talk to each other and we know what’s gonna offend or not offend, and we know what line we can and cannot cross with each other.”

The question is, does having players with World Series resumes give a team an advantage? It would be nice for the Giants to think so as they face the inexperienced Royals. But remember, San Francisco won it all in 2010 with a relatively untested roster.

“I think experience is a big deal, to a point,” Affeldt said. “We don’t live in the past, but we all sort of rely on the past to get us through situations that we know we can come through in.

“We’re not robots, we’re human beings,” he added. “But if I’m putting myself in Bochy’s shoes - and I would definitely not put myself in his hat, but his shoes (Bochy is famous for his Rushmore-sized noggin) - I think he sees through that lens of, like, these four guys have been with me in 2010, 2012, 2014. I’m gonna rely on their experience to help here.”

When it comes down to it, having eight players with recent World Series experience will not be enough to beat the Royals. More important are the values they help impart to younger players. The Giants have developed a knack of winning close games in unconventional ways, and the mindset that makes that possible is the thread that runs through three National League-champion teams.

“All three teams, very competitive,” Sabean said in his gruff delivery. “High level of passion. Pride. They play the game like Little Leaguers, but they’re men that are very responsible and stand up to the rigors of it. We’ve been able to create a culture that gets passed on, and has been passed on from ’10 to ’12, and from ’12 to ’14.”

Whether this year’s version can reach the final plateau is yet to be seen. But the guys who have done it before have to like their odds of one more champagne shower.

You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com.

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