Seeds of Giants renewal sprouting fast..

The Giants' renaissance, which has thrust them into the National League Wild Card race and has them still clinging to hopes of winning the West division title, is being led by players drafted by the club and developed within its system.

Moreover, each is 25 or younger: right-hander Tim Lincecum, a two-time All-Star and the NL's reigning Cy Young Award winner; right-hander Matt Cain, who joined Lincecum on the All-Star squad this year; and the free-swinging Pablo Sandoval, who has established himself as a captivating, if unorthodox, hitter.

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San Francisco's next wave of talent has already begun to arrive. Buster Posey, widely considered the Giants' top position-player prospect, was summoned after only one full Minor League season to provide catching depth after rosters expanded Sept. 1. Posey isn't expected to play much while the Giants remain contenders, but manager Bruce Bochy hopes to give the 22-year-old a start or two before the season ends.

Left-hander Madison Bumgarner, who posted a 12-2 record with a 1.85 ERA at High A San Jose and Double-A Connecticut, replaced Lincecum for an emergency start on Tuesday. The 20-year-old allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings, flashing the skill that made him one of the Minors' brightest pitching stars.

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By at least one objective yardstick, the Giants have progressed handsomely. Baseball America, which focuses on the Minor Leagues, amateur baseball and player development, ranked the Giants fifth among the 30 Major League organizations this year. That's far above the Giants' ratings of 18th in 2006, 20th in 2007 and 23rd in 2008.

Performance of Minor League affiliates doesn't always accurately reflect the quality of the talent therein. But the Giants have found significance in the success of their farm clubs. From 2006-08, San Francisco's affiliates posted an aggregate record of 1,294-998 (.565), second only to the Yankees' 1,436-1,057 (.576). Five of the Giants' seven outposts reached the playoffs last year; five made it again this season.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090912&content_id=6915460&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf&partnerId=rss_sf

Though I haven't given up hope, I concede that realistically it would take a miracle for the Giants to now reach the 2009 playoffs. However, these are still good times to be a Giants fan, for one thing is for certain....the future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.