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Three days ago, Brandon Crawford was a shortstop for the Giants. The San Jose Giants. Three days ago, the topic for sports talk radio shows all over the Bay Area was whether the Giants would make a move to acquire a shortstop, particularly Jose Reyes of the New York Mets, as the July trade deadline nears, to boost the Giants' chances at repeating as world champions. Miguel Tejada, the man the Giants signed in the offseason after the departures of Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe, hasn't exactly panned out at short. He has been hitting in the low .200s all season, showing limited range defensively, and has made several costly errors so far. Then the unthinkable happened. Buster Posey, the unofficial captain of the club, the stalwart catcher and cleanup hitter for the defending champions, was severely injured in a home plate collision that left his lower leg broken and several ankle ligaments damaged. With Posey likely out for the rest of the season, dealing a further blow to the already anemic Giants offense, drastic moves had to be made. The two men central to that decision-making process—Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean—chose to call up the 24-year-old Single-A shortstop from San Jose. On Friday night, Brandon Crawford was the shortstop for the Giants. The San Francisco Giants. The bar was certainly not high for a Single-A shortstop who has been thrust into the major leagues, without even 24-hours notice, following an injury of enormous proportions to the most important position player the Giants have. Well, since the bar wasn't high, Brandon Crawford took it upon himself to raise it. The Giants, who were shutout in the series finale against Florida at home on Thursday, were down 3-1 in the top of the seventh inning to the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on Friday. After Aubrey Huff hit a leadoff double, Nate Schierholtz singled Huff to third. Miguel Tejada followed with a walk, loading the bases. Up stepped Brandon Crawford, who up to that point was 0-for-2 in his major league debut. His first major league hit would be one to remember. On the first pitch he saw from right-hander Marco Estrada, Crawford belted a grand slam over the right-center field wall to put the Giants ahead 5-3. The Giants went on to win the game, 5-4, giving San Francisco its first win since the devastating injury to Buster Posey, and a huge confidence-booster after the somber realization hit the clubhouse that Posey wouldn't be returning anytime soon. Brandon Crawford lifted the Giants not only to a victory on Friday night, he lifted the spirits of the entire club, mired in the sad and sudden aftermath of the Posey injury. While Posey's injury could have been a blow that caused the defending world champions to spiral downward and out of control, Brandon Crawford gave San Francisco a desperately-needed shot in the arm. If the Giants are able to weather this storm—the greatest challenge to their bid to repeat as champs—then this game, the "Crawford Game," will be looked back on as a pivotal turning point. And if Brandon Crawford continues to contribute the way he did Friday night, the clamoring in the Giants' fan base for the acquisition of Jose Reyes might be replaced with the clamoring for Brandon Crawford jerseys to be put on the market.
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