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PHOENIX – The Giants are in their sorriest stretch of the season. They’re still not hitting much. They’re still not winning much. And they’re dangerously close to falling into fourth place in the National League West, a significant nosedive considering they were tied for first just two and a half weeks ago.
Yet, Buster Posey chose this time to announce that he exercised the 2026 contract option for manager Bob Melvin, guaranteeing his salary through next season.
Tuesday’s announcement was a vote of confidence, sure, but also a message to the coaches, players, and even cynical fans that Posey maintains faith in the makeup of his team and foresees better days ahead.
Tuesday wasn’t one of those days. The Giants were handed an embarrassing 8-2 loss by Arizona and have dropped 12 of 16, a drought that hardly was anticipated when the Giants and Dodgers were NL West co-leaders on June 13.
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Since then, the Giants have lost nine games in the standings and are a mere 1.5 games ahead of the fourth-place Diamondbacks, who could move ahead of San Francisco with wins Wednesday and Thursday.
So excuse Melvin if he had no desire to discuss any up-and-down emotions he might have felt throughout Tuesday amid the joy of the contract news followed by the agony of another notch in the loss column, an upbeat day that turned into a bleak night.
“That was a miserable game. A miserable game,” Melvin said. “We played hard all year. … Today, we just didn’t look good at all. It has nothing to do with an emotional day for me. Once the game gets going like that, it’s just all about the game.”
The Giants got their daily dose of six hits and did nothing beyond the second inning when Willy Adames homered and Daniel Johnson scored on a groundout. Hayden Birdsong had another disturbing start and opened the fourth inning with 10 consecutive balls before Jake McCarthy launched a three-run home run, one of the Diamondbacks’ four homers on the night.
Catcher Patrick Bailey committed two costly passed balls, which led to three unearned runs. Melvin called Bailey “one of the better framers in the game” but also stressed the importance of avoiding passed balls “because at least tonight, the ramifications were big.”
Posey was in the house. As were executives Zack Minasian and Jeremy Shelley, all of whom joined the players in soaking in the positive pregame vibes surrounding Melvin.
“Super pumped for him. He deserves it,” said Matt Chapman, who played for Melvin in Oakland.
Logan Webb added, “It’s awesome. I’m lucky enough to have BoMel as a manager these last two years. Everyone in this clubhouse has his back all the time. It’s exciting for us to see.”
Posey didn’t give Melvin an ultimatum — turn it around ASAP or else … — or fire a coach or pop off about the subpar performances of his players. To the contrary, he signed off on another year for the manager amid talk-show and social-media drivel that third-base coach Matt Williams and/or hitting coach Pat Burrell should lose their jobs.
“From my perspective, and also my perspective as a player, sometimes when you’re going through a rough patch, there’s a tendency to want to point the finger at the coaches,” Posey said. “Ultimately, I believe we have great players, and I still believe in that group of players, but it boils down to them needing to play better baseball.
“If anybody deserves any blame from the top, it should be on me. It shouldn’t be on our manager or coaching staff. I’m the one who sets the roster. So I felt like with all those things considered, this was a good time for me to show my belief in Bob and his coaching staff.”
It’s a rare show of leadership for a president of baseball operations to accept the blame, especially with his team tailspinning. At the same time, Posey dropped some not-so-subtle hints in his comment that the players need to start producing.
That he already acquired Rafael Devers in a blockbuster transaction and will be calling the shots leading to the July 31 trade should put everyone on notice that he’s not afraid to make more roster changes.
“Hundred percent,” Webb said of the need for the players to pick it up. “At the end of the day, it’s us players that go out there and throw the ball and catch the ball and hit the ball. The coaching staff is there to help, and these guys work their asses off every single day.”
On a day the Giants put another third baseman on the injured list (Christian Koss), Wilmer Flores made his season debut at the hot corner and handled the only grounder hit his way. The Giants aren’t ruling out Devers at third, but he hasn’t been cleared to play either at third or first because he has been battling a groin issue and now has some back tightness.
It’s clearly affecting Devers, who hobbled along the base paths when he doubled in the third and was thrown out at the plate on Flores’ single to center.
In other news, the foolish fan who interfered Monday with Koss’ drive to the left-field wall was banned from Chase Field for the season. What took the Diamondbacks so long, and why the penalty isn’t longer, are the big questions considering he has deliberately interfered with balls in play many times in the past.