No big deals but a Giant improvement

So the non-waiver trading deadline came and went, and the San Francisco Giants, who for two years have listened to folks fret about their offensive abilities, made their moves by filling in bullpen holes with the addition of middle reliever Ramon Ramirez and lefty specialist Javier Lopez.

Confused?

Don’t be.

The Giants aren’t.

For all the teeth-gnashing over their lack of offense, the Giants not only woke up Thursday morning leading the NL wild-card race, and only a game back of San Diego in the NL West, but also feeling good about their run-scoring ability.

Aubrey Huff, in his 10th big-league season and on a team that is above .500 after the All-Star break, has transformed himself from an offseason insurance policy brought in to protect the Giants at all four corner positions to become the team leader in virtually every offensive category.

Pat Burrell, dumped by Tampa Bay in the midst of the second year of his free-agent contract, has found comfort out of the spotlight that had followed him through his career and provided a solid threat in the middle of the lineup.

And then there is rookie Buster Posey, who appears to be the first impact offensive player to come out of the Giants farm system since Matt Williams debuted in 1987, the year after Will Clark arrived in the City by the Bay.

The Giants' first-round draft pick in 2008 out of Florida State University, Posey was given a glimpse of the big leagues with a call up last September, and then was allowed extensive playing time for the Giants this spring. And with the big-league team struggling to survive in the NL West, Posey was initially called up in late May.

Looking to limit the pressures Posey felt, he initially hit down in the order and 25 of his first 27 starts were at first base. The more Posey played, the more the Giants liked him, and finally, on July 1, the San Francisco brass made the big decision. Bengie Molina, who had been the cleanup hitter and starting catcher the last couple of seasons, was shipped to Texas.

"We just felt it was time," said Giants manager Bruce Botchy, a former big-league catcher. "Buster was ready and Texas was looking for help."

Posey and the Giants responded. After losing three of four at Colorado over the 4th of July weekend, the Giants were 41-40, fourth place in the NL West, 7.5 games out of first, and in sixth place in the NL wild-card race. Since then, however, the Giants have been the hottest team in baseball even though Molina was gone and Pablo Sandoval, who had been their most consistent hitter the last two years, is now hitting seventh.

The Giants open a series at Atlanta on Friday having won 21 of their last 27 games, and Posey has been the catalyst, showing no problems fitting into the cleanup spot in the lineup. His .355 average is the highest in baseball since his late May arrival in San Francisco. What’s more, he has hit .379 when he is catching — compared to .340 while playing first base — and has responded to the challenge of replacing Molina in the cleanup spot with a .370 average in the No. 4 hole.

And the transition to Posey behind the plate has been seamless for the Giants pitching staff, which features the likes of Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Matt Cain, who had found a comfort zone with Molina.

"That went away quickly,’’ Bochy said. "Once they saw Buster throw and catch and swing the bat, there were no questions. And that’s testimony to Buster because let’s be honest, Tim had won two Cy Youngs with Bengie, and Cain and Zito had their success. To Buster’s credit, he wasn’t intimidated by it. He just went about doing his job and was professional enough the transition came quickly."

This resurgence, however, hasn’t been a one-man show, by any stretch.

The Giants, after all, led the NL in July in most offensive categories, including scoring 148 runs, 39 more than any other month.

Posey played a big part in that, hitting .417. But so did Huff and Burrell and Andres Torres and Travis Ishikawa. Ishikawa started only two games in the first 80 games of the season, he started 17 of the last 28 games, picking up playing time at first with Posey becoming more focused on catching.

"We signed Huff to be our first baseman, but we wanted to get (first Posey and then Ishikawa) playing time and started to move Aubrey around,’’ said Bochy. "It hasn’t bothered him at all. He’s been a huge lift to our offense."

Burrell was released by Tampa Bay in mid-May, eventually signed with San Francisco and after opening the month of June with a five-game tune-up at Triple-A Fresno, has hit .280 with seven home runs in his first 45 games with the Giants. He hit .218 in 146 games with Tampa.

"It was like signing a free agent," said Bochy. "Pat gave us a shot in the arm. He’s a threat every time he walks to the plate."

Torres, meanwhile, has emerged as the regular center fielder, bumping Aaron Rowand to the bench because he has proven to be an explosive leadoff hitter in addition to a top-flight defensive center fielder. He is hitting .286 with 11 home runs and 44 RBI and also leads the team with 19 stolen bases.

"He was going to be an extra outfielder, a pinch-runner, but he got some playing time early and hasn’t stopped swinging the bat since,’’ said Bochy.

Posey, however, is the poster boy for the new look Giants, even if he downplays his role.

"I’m just trying to keep it simple and win ballgames," said Posey. "If you have that approach, the individual results take care of themselves."