Buster Posey will not be the Giants’ Opening Day Catcher

If there’s a team that has less regard for young talent than the Giants, I’ve yet to see it:

The Giants’ brass met several times this week in preparation of the winter meetings, which begin Monday in Indianapolis, and the feeling was Posey’s not quite ready to play everyday in the big leagues, meaning the Giants will need a buffer, someone to catch regularly until Posey emerges for good.

General manager Brian Sabean said the front office had a “raging debate” over whether Posey would be the No. 1 catcher, adding, “We came to the overall conclusion it would be a tall order to ask him to do that. He just hasn’t played a lot.”

It’s not that Sabean is into silly service time shenanigans either. If that were the case they never would have called Posey up last September (to sit on the bench, natch) and Tim Lincecum would have stayed down longer and wouldn’t be a Super Two now. No, this is just a matter of the Giants simply not trusting young players. Lincecum was a supernatural talent, so he forced his way in. Mere above average kids like Posey need not apply, however.

The NL West is eminently winnable next year. The difference between the Giants winning it and losing it will likely come down to a small handful of games and a small handful of moves. By not giving Posey the job, I think they’re already a game and a move down.