So remember when I said we would be looking for younger guys taking leaps, maybe hanging around for a month or so, and settle for being as annoying as possible while the Padres and Dodgers battle for the division?

Well, I wasn’t totally wrong.

Especially if you consider being in FIRST EFFING PLACE at the All-Star break by 2 games and being 25 games over .500, when you’ve seen multiple anchors of your team miss significant time due to injury, and the two aforementioned juggernauts in your division not playing too bad themselves.

As always, scattered and disjointed points ahead on how the San Francisco Giants are making a mockery of the league with aged stars, rebirth projects, and guys you’ve never even heard of.

THE INJURY BUG

First, the Dodgers and Padres, who are supposed to be beating the Giants into submission. And before we get into it, let’s not forget, they both can definitely still do that in the near future. You could tell me this post could literally all be for not in like 2 weeks, and I wouldn’t disagree. But at any rate, why aren’t LA and SD in first. The Dodgers have seen some key contributors like Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger miss ornate amounts of time. Mookie Betts has been slow to start, but has always been a second half monster. And just recently, the team’s been derailed by a Trevor Bauer assault case that has no estimated timetable for resolution. Even so, the Dodgers’ gross amount of talent elsewhere has kept them right on the Giants heels, sitting a mere 2 games behind the orange and black, and recently beating them swiftly in a short two-game series. We’ve seen the Dodgers make a mess of the MLB in second halves before, and I fully expect the same to happen this year with guys coming back.

San Diego, or ‘Slam Diego,’ because that’s not at all corny, have also seen some stars miss some time, especially with their staff. Having Mike Clevinger, Adrian Morejon, Matt Strahm, and Keone Kela all on the 60-IL has hurt them long term. At the moment, starters Yu Darvish (who’s been awesome), Blake Snell (who hasn’t), and Dinelson Lamet (who CAN be awesome) are all on the 10-IL, alongside bullpen wizard Drew Pomeranz who was reborn by none other than the Giants. The Padres’ story mirrors the Dodgers at this point: talent exceeds the Giants’ by miles even with the injuries, poised greatly for a second half push once some guys get back. Neither team has necessarily been bad at any point this season, or had a particularly bad week as well. So fans of both the Dodgers and the Padres should theoretically feel alright even though they aren’t in first at the break.

But I think the weird thing to note is that, for as many injuries the two NL West monsters have sustained, the Giants have matched them. Evan Longoria, much like Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey, was turning back the clock tenfold until he went down back in June. Brandon Belt was steady at first, and was even appearing to be entering one of those Belt runs of pure power insanity, before he hit the shelf. Tommy La Stella wasn’t knocking the cover off the ball, but the Giants have been without his left-handed presence in their lineups against righties and his defensive versatility essentially all year. They’ve also had to plug and play Aaron Sanchez’s rotation spot with the likes of Logan Webb, Sammy Long, and full on bullpen games. And through it all, we’ve still been pretty damn good if you haven’t noticed.

So yeah, the world and I, DESPITE EVERYTHING, are STILL looking at the Dodgers or Padres to win this now powerhouse division. But as they get healthier, so will the Giants. And the way they’re built to mix and match, and use the entire roster every night, that favors them immensely.

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH (DJ BC-RAW)

So, we’re positive it’s not 2012 again?

Because the things Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey are doing thus far would suggest that.

Crawford has always been an ironman in terms of durability, starting nearly every game every year out at shortstop for the orange and black, showing out with stellar defense and timely, but mostly frustrating, offense. We’ve seen him explode for 21 homers in 2015, and put up really impressive RBI totals from the middle infield position, but that was before the Baez’s and Fernando’s of the world turned the position into a power hitting one.

But Craw’s offensive output spanning literally all offensive categories so far in 2021 has not only been quite an anomaly for a guy with his miles on his tank, but it’s carrying this team to where it’s at right now.

At age 34, he’s an All-Star leading his ball club in homers, RBIs, and ABs, he’s one steal behind Austin Slater for the team lead, a few points off Darin Ruf for tops in slugging, is is 2nd in average only to Buster’s .324 at .289. Could it be our beloved shortstop from the Bay is balling out in a contract year, which we’ve seen many others do in the past? Maybe. But needless to say he’s been sensational in his potential final year with San Francisco. And for me, I think this is Craw’s way of showing that resigning him would be completely justified in spite of his pivotal roles in the 2012 and 2014 World Series wins, and him being a local legend. If there’s anyone who wouldn’t rather be anywhere else, it’s the kid from Candlestick.

And we’ll need even more from him to keep our playoff hopes alive.

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH (BUSTER)

Boy, what a year off will do for the best catcher in baseball the last decade.

Argue with a wall, Cardinals fans.

Buster Posey looks like the Buster of old: lining shots to all fields, throwing guys out at second, and hitting for POWER AGAIN (?!) in the middle of the order.

#5 on my theoretical Top 5 most beloved Giants list is all the way back, thanks to the aforementioned year to rest and retool his body.

If you’re curious, it’s Mays, Bonds, Lincecum, Thrill, and Posey in no particular order, but I would assume a large contingency of fans would agree with those five. Obviously my personal list omits Mays and Clark because I didn’t have the pleasure of watching those guys play, but that’s a post for a later date.

At any rate, Buster’s also been sustained by getting every third day off, often times not even pinch hitting to remain as fresh as a daisy. The system has undoubtedly been working, as shown by Posey’s numbers and longevity thus far, despite the thumb contusion that ex’d him from the the All-Star Game. I questioned the system simply due to Curt Casali’s literal zero offense before he woke up in the Nats series right before the break, but even then the Giants were winning games with his presence being the plate so I couldn’t argue with the results. That streak of shutouts caught by him was really impressive, and despite how good the staff has been as a whole, no way does Casali not have just as big a role in that feat, in not bigger.

The longing question from season’s start will still remain, however: how long can Posey keep producing, especially after the first half he’s had. The Giants, much like Crawford, will need him desperately, and if this NL West race stays close into the dog days, we might need Buster every night like we used to, without breaks.

The good news for both is neither showed any signs of slowing down prior to the break, that will have only helped the two aged Giants stars. Another added element will be…

THE OTHER GUYS

The Giants cavalcade of other dudes have jettisoned the Giants to their status as the best team in baseball (record wise) here at the break. And mind you, I say other dudes with the utmost sincerity, but these literally are dudes to the rest of the league. Mike Yastrzemski has deservedly been shown a bit more love by MLB social media after a sluggish start, possibly due to history of that iconic last name.

But the rest of the roster’s other dudes have just carried the team in spurts whenever needed, and it’s been phenomenal and, dare I say, comical to watch.

I’ve been rocking this bit with my dad thus far this season, and it rings true every time. It’s the Giants higher ups just doing whatever the fuck and it working, and I love it.

“Hey, Dickerson’s down. Looks like we need an outfielder, who we got?”
‘Uh, how about Lamonte Wade Jr.? He’s hittin’ alright down here, plays corner outfields and is left handed.’
“Yeah, sure.”
(Becomes team’s best leadoff hitter to this point, starts shooting balls out to right, plays stellar D.)

I’ll give another example.

“Damn, Dubon is stinking it up. We gotta replace him, who ya got?”
‘Let’s see uh…Thairo Estrada? Got him a couple weeks ago, plays the same positions, not hittin’ worth a lick though.’
“Screw it, send him up.”
(Hits a literal grand slam in first game, fills role perfectly.)

Those examples don’t even take the likes of Jason Vosler into account, who literally trades off weeks being in Triple-A and the big league club and somehow yanks one out down the right line every 5 or 6 games he’s up here.

(Side tangent) Seems like forever ago, but as horrific as Mike Tauchman has been, he’s also responsible for some of the biggest moments of the season so far. I’m a Mike Tauchman apologist, so bear with me, but Tauchy has been responsible for multiple moments this year that are the type that define a regular season for teams. Robbing Albert Pujols of a walk-off homer at Dodger Stadium, a game the Giants eventually won and got them the eventual series win. He also salvaged a road trip that could’ve derailed the team but hitting a go-ahead grand slam in Texas. There’s always a game or a a few games that kind of define a season for a team, and if the Giants can hold on for dear life here and somehow sneak into these playoffs, I’ll be pointing right at those two Mike Tauchman games as moments this season that really solidified this wacky season.

The depth the Giants preached would be their success early has truly showed up in this first half. It’s kept the older legs fresh without dropping productivity, as well as kept the team’s overall vibe and feel in great standing as well. Having someone new shine every week is fun for the club, and the fanbase. Especially the guys Farhan and friends have assembled, as no names from no where keep coming up money for San Francisco. There’s been plenty of calculation behind the success, but also a little luck, so let’s keep that train a-rollin’.

THE STAFF

Last year the Giants reclamation projects of Kevin Gausman, Drew Smyly, and Tyler Anderson all turned out to be smart moves that got the Giants some cheap wins from guys other folks had forgotten. They’re at it again this season, this time with Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood, both of whom have 10 and 8 wins so far, respectively, and have pitched fantastically for their new team. Aaron Sanchez was the epitome of restoration projects, and was pitching alright for the innings he was allotted until he hit the injured list.

It has been amazing to see Farhan and the Giants just nail these ‘island of misfit toys’ type dudes time and time again. People scoffed at Gausman’s 18.9 million-dollar extension, and he was literally 2nd or 3rd in line to start the All-Star game for the National League, but he happened to pitch Sunday.

The bullpen has been good, but not great, as to be expected. The Tyler Rogers-Jake McGee closer combo has been more effective than it hasn’t, and if the Giants felt so inclined to grab a bonafide closer at the deadline and turned those two into setup men, I would feel much better about the ‘pen. Jarlin Garcia has been downright nasty at times, and again, these guys who seemingly no one else wanted but Farhan and the staff saw something in have come up big.

I had never even heard of Domonic Leone until he was on my television screen warming up, and now I love him. John Brebbia was this quirky, Jeremy Affeldt-type guy coming off Tommy John, and he’s been good. Jose Alvarez and Zach Littell have also impressed.

We’ll see if these guys can keep throwing darts. I’m mostly concerned at the way Alex Wood kind of staggered at the end there, and seeing Disco be visibly less effective against these bigger, badder lineups is concerning, especially if he’s our #2 starter. Otherwise I know what I’m getting from Gaus, Cueto is going to get up for big games, and Sammy Long and Logan Webb have been bright spots to say the least.

Finally…

GIVE KAP HIS FLOWERS

No matter what happens this second half, we have massively, astronomically, unequivocally overachieved this season. We got aged stars. We got pitchers trying to salvage their careers. We got dudes who are just dudes to the rest of the baseball world. And we have the best record out of EVERYONE.

Credit the players themselves, of course. Credit Farhan and the front office, totally.

But can Gabe Kapler, the buffest manager in all major sports, get some love?

He’s got this entire roster behaving, playing, and exemplifying what a team is supposed to be like, in every sense of the word.

Couple bullpen calls and pinch hit calls that I would’ve went another way with? Yeah, there were. But what manager out there hasn’t had a few?

Same as the rest of the team, let’s see how Kap fares when these games in August and September really test the Giants.

But for now, give that chiseled jawline-havin’, thick glasses-wearin’ son a gun some love.

That’ll probably do for now. I gotta head to work, the main reason why my one post a week or every other has dwindled even further.

Potential Loki stuff soon, best Disney+ Marvel show by 18 football fields.

Black Widow was also wildly entertaining and fun. We miss you, ScarJo. And by we I mean all the men and women across the globe who have unhealthy crushes on you.

Shohei was everything and more at the All-Star festivities, little nervous at the Derby but still put on a show. Can’t wait to see him Monday, God forbid he gets hurt or takes a day.

Go Giants ’till I’m dead. Anyone we beat out for a playoff spot this season should be ashamed of themselves.

Cheers.