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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 12:37 a.m., Saturday, August 16, 2008

After defeating Braves, Giants sign Buster of Florida State

By Andrew Baggarly
San Jose Mercury News

ATLANTA — It was a win-win day for the Giants organization.

Following a 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves, the San Francisco Giants ended the late-night suspense by signing first-round draft pick Buster Posey to a minor league contract. The Florida State catcher received a $6.2 million signing bonus — more than doubling the franchise record for an amateur player.

"Buster is a great fit for us," Giants scouting director John Barr said. "He's the type of player we need to bring in, and lots more like him."

Posey will report to the Giants' affiliate in the Arizona rookie league to see live pitching. Giants player personnel director Bobby Evans wouldn't rule out sending Posey to finish the season at Single-A San Jose, where he could be a major assist to a club already guaranteed a spot in the California League playoffs.

"We'll get him some at-bats first and then determine where to send him," Evans said. "It could be anyplace, to be honest. San Jose is a possibility, but we haven't gotten that far."

Posey received the largest straight bonus in draft history to date. While there is no stipulation in his contract, he is expected to receive an invite to major league camp next spring.

The Giants knew that taking Posey with the fifth overall choice would cost them at least $6 million, the amount that Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters received in that slot the previous year.

Neither side would characterize negotiations, and while the deal was announced a few minutes after the 9 p.m. PDT deadline Friday, sources said the agreement didn't race the clock. Clubs are encouraged to delay announcements when they sign players to a bonus that exceeds Major League Baseball's recommended slot value; in Posey's case, that value was believed to be $2.5 million.

Posey, 21, said he was ecstatic to begin his pro career, and returning for his senior season at Florida State wasn't something he considered.

"I can't say enough about them, but it's time to move on," Posey said. "I'm excited to get started. ... It's a lifelong dream of mine. I'm excited to hopefully become an impact player for the San Francisco Giants for a long time."

Posey won a slew of postseason awards including the Golden Spikes, which honors the best amateur player in the country. Someday soon, he's expected to team with right-hander Tim Lincecum to form the first-ever battery of Golden Spikes winners.

It was pitching that helped the Giants snap a four-game losing streak, and yes, that included two innings from a bullpen that has been as unstable as a Hollywood starlet.

Manager Bruce Bochy resisted the temptation to push Matt Cain for an eighth inning, even though it was surprisingly cool for an August night in the Deep South.

But Cain also had thrown 110 pitches. And with the exception of league-hopper CC Sabathia, no National Leaguer had spent more bullets than Cain's 2,758 pitches this season.

"This is a team game," said Bochy, who has never been a tax-and-spend skipper. "And these starters, as good as they are ... you've got to take care of your assets."

The Giants were coming off a series in Houston in which they were swept in four games despite leading in the sixth inning of each of them. Jack Taschner didn't retire any of the five Astros he faced in the series at Minute Maid Park.

But he worked a perfect eighth and closer Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth, showing no effects from twiddling his thumbs for five days.

Cain won consecutive outings for the first time since a three-start run in August, 2007.

Bengie Molina had four hits and so did Randy Winn, whose banner game included hitting his 100th home run while finishing a triple short of the cycle. He might have done it, too, but his drive in the ninth inning bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double.

"I didn't even know, actually," said Winn, who already had doubled in the fifth.

It took Winn 229 at-bats before he reached his homer milestone with a solo shot in the eighth; his previous one came June 2 against the Mets.