Big picture for Giants fans: In Buster we trust

Amazing how baseball’s emotional pendulum swings.

The Giants lose a couple of heartbreakers, and the woe-is-us brigade is in full force. Buster Posey brings in new players who lead the Giants to consecutive comeback victories, and all is right with the world.

It’s the beauty and the beast of a 162-game grind that’s all about ebbs, flows, twists, turns, and a bevy of passionate fandom.

Giants fans have experienced the gamut, from early-season triumphs to a 16-game downer in which scoring runs became excruciatingly challenging.

Not until Posey shook up his roster Wednesday morning did the good vibes start to return to Oracle Park, as newcomers Daniel Johnson and Dominic Smith had heavy hands in the 6-5 and 3-2 wins over the Padres the past two days.

Stepping back from the day-to-day “torture,” to borrow a word that was used to describe the frantic championship runs of 2010, 2012, and 2014, Giantsville appears in good hands overall. By no means is this gloom and doom, no matter what we’ve heard on talk shows or seen on social media lately. There’s no reason to panic.

In fact, I mentioned as much to Posey the other day: Despite all the subpar batting averages, disappointing numbers with runners in scoring position, and extended stretch of failing to score more than four runs, the Giants aren’t at all buried in baseball’s best division. 

“I think that’s right,” he said. “I mean, you’ve known me for a long time now, there’s probably not a lot I would say that’s going to make me panic.”

Anyone recalling Posey’s smooth and cool demeanor throughout his playing career knows there was no panic in the decorated catcher, and that’s true now that he’s running the show as president of baseball operations — even though his prized recruit, Willy Adames, is out of whack and his other significant signing, Justin Verlander, is shelved.

Before the season, I wrote that Giants fans, moving on from Farhan Zaidi, would be far more patient and supportive in year one of the Posey era, even with another .500-ish record — so long as there would be momentum for better times ahead, including the development of top young players.

Then the season began, and the Giants started winning. Two of three in Cincinnati. A sweep in Houston. Two of three in the Bronx. A four-game split in Philly. A sweep of Seattle. Three of four over Milwaukee. Two of three over Texas.

In late April, the Giants were in first place. A week into May, they were 10 games above .500. Suddenly, contending for the playoffs was realistic. As if the Giants were victims of their own early-season success. All those low expectations became high expectations.

Nothing wrong with that. All part of the fan experience. It did seem believable, especially with perhaps the majors’ best bullpen and one of its top rotations. But when the Giants’ bats collectively went dead starting in mid-May, we heard the usual “fire the manager” and “fire the batting coach” refrains, which is silly on every front considering how the rhythm of a season can change week to week, day to day.

As ace Logan Webb, one of the most respected players in the clubhouse, said, “Some of the best teams in history have gone through stretches where they had troubles like this, but everyone in this room believes in ourselves.”

And … “We play 162 of these, no other sport plays as many games as we do. You’re going to go through stretches where you might struggle, but honestly I think those things make your team closer.”

And … “I can tell you right now, there’s been a lot lower points that I’ve gone through in the past couple of seasons. This is not a low point.”

Given the team’s mediocre play in recent years, ownership and fans were desperate for a change from Zaidi. Records of 81-81, 79-83, and 80-82 were nothing to rally around. When Zaidi was fired and Posey hired, there was exhaling at 24 Willie Mays Plaza. The universal belief was that Posey, a familiar and trusted face, was the right choice to lead a revival.

Today, the Giants are 35-28 and three games behind the first-place Dodgers in the National League West. One game back of the Padres. Anyway you look at it, they are exceeding expectations. They weren’t supposed to be this good. They were supposed to flirt with .500 again and finish fourth, which still may happen. But until further notice, there’s reason for hope.

“There are a lot of positives,” Posey said.

Various sites use different statistical models before each season to project 162-game records, and Fangraphs had the Giants winning 80 games. PECOTA projected 78. Well, according to their latest updates, Fangraphs and PECOTA now have the Giants winning 85. For whatever that’s worth.

The point is, even after the Giants cruised through spring training with a majors-best 21-6 record, they weren’t being taken all that seriously. Not with the Dodgers, Padres, and Diamondbacks in the same division.

Looking back to those days, are there Giants fans who wouldn’t have been thrilled with their team seven games above .500 a week into June and within striking distance of first place? I would guess not.

Posey’s touch seems to be working. On Wednesday, Johnson had two hits, scored twice, swiped a base, and made a game-saving catch. On Thursday, Smith collected three hits, including a two-run double, and new catcher Andrew Knizner caught all nine innings and looked at home working with Robbie Ray, the National League’s pitcher of the month for May.

And by the way, the key young players are on the right course. Pitchers Hayden Birdsong and Kyle Harrison, both 23, made enough strides to find themselves in the big-league rotation, and lefty Carson Whisenhunt recently went on a four-start Triple-A binge in which he struck out 28, walked two, and produced a 1.29 ERA in 28 innings. First baseman Bryce Eldridge, 20, hit himself from Double-A to Triple-A and could continue putting pressure on management to promote him to the big leagues this summer.

As Webb noted, this isn’t a low point. In fact, all things considered, it’s quite the opposite.