Buster Posey

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Within a span of six weeks last October and November, Scott Cousins went from the Miami Marlins to the Toronto Blue Jays to the Seattle Mariners to the Angels, all without summoning a moving truck to his San Francisco home. What a long -- or is that short? -- strange trip it's been. Three times after finishing the season with the Marlins, Cousins was designated for assignment, and three times he was picked up by another club. Now, the left-handed-hitting outfielder is in camp with the Angels, one of numerous players fighting for bench spots.

SAN FRANCISCO - The elements were all there for an evening of drama, of triumph, of celebration of the human spirit. Instead, the evening might be best remembered for another devastating injury. The Dodgers braced for the extended loss of Hanley Ramirez - four games into his injury-delayed season - because of a hamstring injury that made a 2-1 walk-off loss to the San Francisco Giants that much more depressing. Buster Posey led off the ninth inning with a home run off Ronald Belisario, snapping a 1-1 tie and sending a sellout crowd erupting into chants of “Beat L.A.!

  Did you wonder where San Francisco Giants first-base coach Roberto Kelly was during Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals? He was recovering from a line drive to the head by Giants catcher Buster Posey during batting practice. Kelly sustained a concussion Saturday after getting hit in the back of the head while standing near second base. As you can see in the video above, Kelly walked off the field with assistance. He was taken to a San Francisco hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion.

There is a discolored mess on the brick wall behind center field at AT&T Park. The mess is what was left behind when a plaque honoring Barry Bonds and his all-time home run record mysteriously vanished. The San Francisco Giants say they'll put up a new one. We could not help thinking back to the winter of 2006-07, with Bonds on the verge of setting the record. The Giants signed Barry Zito - for the most money ever given to a pitcher at that time - and declared the face of the team henceforth would be the smiling Zito, not the scowling Bonds.

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Texas Rangers closer Neftali Feliz were named as Major League Baseball's rookies of the year Monday, two weeks after having faced each other in the World Series. Posey singled against Feliz as the Giants beat Texas in the clinching Game 5 of the World Series. Posey hit several key home runs late in the season and helped the Giants win the World Series for the first time since 1954. He easily outdistanced Atlanta outfielder Jason Heyward for the National League award.

When the Giants lost Buster Posey to injury last month, the (over)reaction of General Manager Brian Sabean made it seem as if the team's pennant hopes hobbled off the field with its 2010 rookie-of-the-year catcher. Which probably came as a surprise to the Giants' other 24 players, who apparently have decided to play out the rest of the schedule anyway — especially since they're still in first place and all. But it got us to wondering: Is there really such a thing as an indispensable player, one so good and so valuable he can't be replaced?

Bengie Molina hit a home run Wednesday in his team's playoff opener. He had three hits in all, drove in two runs and caught a six-hitter. That would be the kind of performance you would entrust a veteran catcher to deliver in October, particularly one with a World Series championship ring. But Molina delivered for the Texas Rangers, not the San Francisco Giants. And the Giants, who dumped Molina three months ago, could not be happier. The Giants are happy for Molina, to be sure, and they would love to see him in the World Series.

These San Francisco Giants have not known the joy of clinching a postseason series at home, of prancing giddily around the field, of spraying their fans with assorted liquid substances. They might never know that joy. They would happily pay that price, in order to win the World Series on Monday. The Giants are one victory from a championship. Never have they won a World Series in San Francisco. But never in their San Francisco history have they led a Series three games to one. They do now, thanks to an unlikely cast that led the Giants to a 4-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday.

There is a discolored mess on the brick wall behind center field at AT&T Park. The mess is what was left behind when a plaque honoring Barry Bonds and his all-time home run record mysteriously vanished. The San Francisco Giants say they'll put up a new one. We could not help thinking back to the winter of 2006-07, with Bonds on the verge of setting the record. The Giants signed Barry Zito - for the most money ever given to a pitcher at that time - and declared the face of the team henceforth would be the smiling Zito, not the scowling Bonds.

Monday through Wednesday: at San Francisco Giants Friday through Sunday: at Arizona Diamondbacks The baseball world snickered last winter when the San Francisco Giants spent $3 million on their designated big bat … er, Aubrey Huff ? The Giants would be his fifth team in five years, and he would be coming off a season in which he batted .241, with a .691 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). So give the Giants credit for one of the most effective signings last winter.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Although two prominent managers recently have called for a ban on collisions at home plate, Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said he is not convinced a rule change is in order. "It's a tough thing to legislate with any kind of rule," Scioscia said. San Francisco Giants Manager Bruce Bochy and St. Louis Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny — former catchers — each has advocated such a ban, citing an unwarranted risk of injury. Bochy's Giants lost catcher Buster Posey for most of the 2011 season after a collision; Matheny's playing career ended because of concussions linked to collisions and to balls fouled off his mask.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Within a span of six weeks last October and November, Scott Cousins went from the Miami Marlins to the Toronto Blue Jays to the Seattle Mariners to the Angels, all without summoning a moving truck to his San Francisco home. What a long -- or is that short? -- strange trip it's been. Three times after finishing the season with the Marlins, Cousins was designated for assignment, and three times he was picked up by another club. Now, the left-handed-hitting outfielder is in camp with the Angels, one of numerous players fighting for bench spots.

DETROIT - The chant started loud and got louder, grown men hopping up and down in a pack, chanting a single syllable, over and over. HOO! HOO! HOO! It was 20 days ago that the San Francisco Giants first faced extinction, 20 days ago that Hunter Pence spoke up for the first time. His inspirational speeches turned into dugout pep rallies, with the players gathering before the game and chanting themselves into a frenzy. HOO! HOO! HOO! The Giants chanted one last time this season, this time with a prop.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Why even play three more games? It's the San Francisco Giants' world, and the rest of us just eat overpriced Cioppino and get fat on Ghirardelli chocolate. It was impressive for Barry Zito to use his 85-mph fastballs to shut down the Cardinals in St. Louis in a must-win game. But it was preposterous for him to stick out his bat and get a run-scoring single against Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers. Who does he think he is, Marco Scutaro? Everything - and I mean everything - that the Giants do these days turns into gold.

SAN FRANCISCO - This is a one-man World Series. The most valuable players in waiting, Miguel Cabrera and Buster Posey, are here. So is Prince Fielder, the only one of baseball's $200-million men still in uniform this season. So is Matt Cain, who pitched a perfect game this season, and Tim Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young winner trying to reclaim his fastball in middle relief. Yet this World Series belongs to Justin Verlander. The series opens Wednesday, with the most dominant pitcher in baseball starting for the Detroit Tigers.

ST. LOUIS - Amid a sea of smiles in the visiting clubhouse, the widest one might have been worn by a silver-haired gentleman who did not play. His name was Peter Magowan, the former managing partner of the San Francisco Giants. When the Giants committed $126 million to Barry Zito - at the time the richest contract ever for a pitcher - Magowan was the executive who granted the final blessing for the deal. This is Zito's sixth season in San Francisco. The Giants made the playoffs once in his first five seasons, then left him off the postseason roster and won the World Series.

It's easy to take the Chicago Cubs' starting rotation for granted, as it has been amazingly steady the last few years. Entering the weekend, Cubs starting pitchers had worked six-plus innings 22 times, three more than any other team in the majors. The teams with the fewest six-inning starts were the New York Mets (12), Baltimore Orioles (12) and Oakland Athletics (11). . . . Zack Greinke-mania has hit Kansas City, where the Royals are getting TV ratings that indicate a busy summer at the box office.

When the booze and tears flowed Saturday night in the visitors' locker room at Citizens Bank Park, someone was missing. Someone the San Francisco Giants cited as a reason why they were celebrating their coronation as the champions of the National League. Someone they described as a mentor. But not one player or coach lamented that Bengie Molina wasn't there with them. There was no reason for anyone to feel guilty that they traded the veteran catcher in late July. That's because Molina is also headed to the World Series ?

SAN FRANCISCO - Matt Holliday awoke the sleeping Giants. With one controversial slide, Holliday breathed fire into the life of his opponents. The San Francisco Giants are angry, furious and newly determined. They also are even. Holliday might have injured San Francisco second baseman Marco Scutaro, but not before Scutaro could limp around the field long enough to deliver the knockout blow in the Giants' 7-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday. The National League Championship Series is tied at one game apiece, with Game 3 on Wednesday in St. Louis.

SAN FRANCISCO - It is one game into the National League Championship Series and the San Francisco Giants' starting rotation is a mess. They started Madison Bumgarner on Sunday. They can't really afford to do that again. They stashed Tim Lincecum in the bullpen. They can't afford that either. They might need Barry Zito to save them. All that might not be enough, considering the Giants have played six postseason games without a six-inning start, but it would help. Carlos Beltran and David Freese each hit a two-run home run against Bumgarner, powering the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-4 victory in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday.