Buster Posey runs the SF Giants but has no GM as MLB meetings loom

Baseball's general managers meetings begin next Tuesday.

Will the Giants be able to send one?

For all the haste with which Buster Posey took over the reins of the Giants' baseball operations, the opposite was true when it came to hiring the person who will actually build the Giants.

It's a big decision – probably the most important one Posey will make in his new gig. The search is correspondingly extensive and useful. He should take his time. Do it right. Patience is not a problem here.

Until the time comes.

And we're creeping up on that time.

Posey has been at his new job for a month. He has spent this time developing a sense of his organization and others, which is understandable and prudent.

But aside from Bryan Price stepping down as the team's pitching coach — a move that appears to have been entirely the coach's decision — Posey hasn't made any significant moves. He even promoted Price's successor within the organization.

So much for calls from the fan base and some outspoken people associated with the organization to “burn it all down.” (I'm talking about Will Clark.) Posey might be seen as a man of the people, eliminating the so-called scourge of analytics and data that his predecessor introduced, but his actions so far tell a different story.

This change could still come. The first task is to find the person to do the day-to-day job that Posey, who admitted in his introductory press conference that he wants to be an affable figurehead, supposedly holds.

And that's exactly what it's about.

Yes, Posey should take his time and not rush into hiring someone for this job.

At the same time, baseball's offseason has already begun. (MLB may urge teams not to grab headlines during the World Series, but how many teams are really waiting to get down to business?)

This leaves Posey, who lacks practical experience for his current role, in full command and relies on the supposed previous regime to handle the day-to-day management of a baseball team.

Zaidi waited a year to hire a general manager – his No. 2, who ended up being Scott Harris (now the Tigers' boss). But Zaidi could afford it because he was a former GM himself and was capable of handling all the responsibilities that come with running a baseball team.

One may disagree with the way Zaidi ran the club, but there was never any doubt that he knew how to do it. In fact, he was probably too good at the peripheral aspects of administration and got stuck in the weeds rather than dealing with the bigger aspects of the club.

Posey was presented (usually by third parties) as an antagonist. Unlike Zaidi, he would be an experienced communicator. He was able to stay away from the nitty-gritty — things like waiver wire and batting order edicts — and focus on long-term goals for a team that has seemed constantly in reaction mode for more than half a decade.

But Posey can't accomplish these self-imposed tasks if he doesn't have his No. 2. And it's not exactly inspiring that he hasn't found that person yet.

Yes, it would be foolish not to interview candidates from the two teams playing in the World Series – the Dodgers and Yankees – who are a little busy right now. Still, it's telling that the Giants' list for the job has only gotten shorter because viable candidates have dropped out of the running. (Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp would have been a good candidate — he opted out last week, according to Ken Rosenthal.)

The bottom line is all that matters in this job. It simply doesn't matter whether you, I, or anyone else approves or disapproves of the person tasked with the task.

But every day without exercise is a different day. The Posey-led Giants appear destined to move forward without the revolution so many desire, toward further promotion from within and a gap year for the team.

Because even though the man in charge may be different, they are almost all the same giants.

And that team, from the front office down, put Posey in a position where he felt he had to step in and take over the entire operation, experience be damned.

It wasn't good enough.

And when it comes to getting this team back to where it belongs – consistently making the playoffs and pushing for titles – actions speak louder than words.

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