Brian Sabean

I work as a produce manager at a grocery store. Today was a beautiful Monday in Santa  Rosa. The day after Easter and just days before I go on a nice vacation, I was building a display of navel oranges at work when a regular customer named "Bill" came in.

Bill is a Giants Fan and like myself, has a general hatred for the Los Angeles Dodgers. I didn't get to watch the game because I was at work, so I asked him how the game was going and if the Giants were winning.

Never in the 126-year history of the Giants have fans endured five straight losing seasons.  But patrons passing through Willie Mays Plaza on their way to the bayside ballpark are faced with that formidable fact in 2009.

Usually, standing at the precipice of history suggests greatness is at hand. But for the Giants—with 2004 the last time a season ended in positive territory—it’s more like an abyss.