SAN FRANCISCO — Here’s the thing that makes these San Francisco Giants different: They’re lovable. These Giants won the National League West title on Sunday with a 3-0 victory over San Diego, and it had been seven years, going back to 2003, since the Giants made the postseason. But a LOVABLE Giants team in the postseason? For that, you have to go back a long time… a long, long time.

"Somebody GIVE ME A HUG!" Giants reliever Sergio Romo shouted in the clubhouse as champagne splattered all around him. "Why am I standing all alone here? SOMEBODY ON MY TEAM GIVE ME A HUG!"

For all those years in the 1990s, in the early 2000s, the Giants were all about one man standing all alone… one brilliant, moody, thrilling, haunted, indomitable and often ticked-off man named Barry Bonds. He was so good at playing baseball, so preposterously good, that the San Francisco fans had to try and embrace him. They tried hard. He was the Charlie Parker of baseball, the Billie Holliday of baseball, the Marlon Brando of baseball, a pure genius, a force of nature, and San Francisco was awed by his magnificence. It is worth noting that for four years in a row, Barry Bonds’ on-base percentages were .515, .582, .529 and .609 — these happen to be four of the top nine in baseball since 1900. Yes, awe was the only viable response to Bonds’ genius as a baseball player, and so awe was what the Giants were about for the last couple of decades.

But this Giants team… no, this team isn’t about awe. This is a "somebody give me a hug" kind of team. Their best hitter, Aubrey Huff, has been on five different teams the last five seasons. Their closer, Brian Wilson, wears a tuxedo-black beard. Their ace, the pitching dude, Tim Lincecum, was asked on Sunday if he had thought about pitching on Monday — had the Giants lost the game, he would have had to pitch the one-game playoff for the division title. His response: Yeah, he thought about it. And because he thought about it, he didn’t have to think about it anymore. And that way he could enjoy the game. There’s a brilliant logic to it, if you think about it (but don’t think about it too much).....

 

http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/10/03/these-lovable-giants/?eref=sihp

Couldn't agree more Joe, couldn't agree more. I love this team so much, they have been so much fun to watch this year.