The San Francisco Giants released Farhan Zaidi and promoted Buster Posey

Posey, Johnson and Bob Melvin are scheduled to speak to the media on Tuesday, so we'll get more answers then. Melvin's presence is a clear sign that he will stay as manager. And perhaps it's an indication that the strange Jojo in the squad this season was an indication that he and Zaidi, who came into the game as close confidants, didn't always see eye to eye.

The Giants obviously need an experienced baseball executive to back up Posey, who has no management experience. (There has been no announcement about GM Pete Putila. He is likely a candidate to remain in office, but I expect he will most likely not keep that position.) And that search will no longer be a secret. The lieutenant will likely be given the title of general manager but will report to Posey.

It's all posey. It's all streamlined. Nobody suspects it. And Posey not only understands the Giants' culture, he helped shape most of it.

I think that will be the main message on Tuesday and for the rest of this era. Although I shake my head at overt PR campaigns almost as often as Zaidi, it is necessary at this moment. The Giants need to regain the trust of their massive fan base. They need to connect on all intellectual levels And emotional levels. And they do it with someone who doesn't want to and can't identify with any other team.

Zaidi was an underdog who was never popular with Giants fans and didn't seem to care. There was always something respectable about his muted disdain for the age-old parts of the Giants fandom. I appreciated that Zaidi resisted some of that baseball romance, even in this tense season. But if you're going to stay that far away from the traditions and folklore that have made this franchise so rich, you'd better win a lot of games so fans will line up to buy tickets. If you don't, there will be questions and eventually dismissal.

Can Posey get this team back to the playoffs? Nobody knows. But I don't think he's going to destroy the entire front office and the entire roster. I think he'll try to build on that – I doubt he'll jettison the entire analytical operation, for example. I suspect he will hire a young GM with experience in metrics and other aspects of evaluation. I know Posey respects Logan Webb, Patrick Bailey and several other players on this roster.

But there will be changes. I would suspect that the long line of DH platoon players that Zaidi was always keen to acquire will not continue. Wilmer Flores was a great addition, but the production would only last for a limited time. LaMonte Wade Jr. was a good acquisition, but he's probably hit the ceiling. Let other teams build their lineups with people like that. The Giants need stars. Now they have one at the top of the org chart.