Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

I'll be sharing a lot of views of the very impressive AT&T Park in the weeks and months ahead (hey, gotta stock up to get us through the winter, right?). But this one was too good to just archive. The clouds turn red at dusk just over the bay beyond the right field wall.

Friday night belonged to Buster Posey and the Giants, who shredded the Brewers 13 - 2 at AT&T Park.  The all-star who splits his time between 1st base and catching enjoyed the second five-hit game of his career... He helped get things going early with a 1st inning single, coming home on Pablo Sandoval's single as the Giants took an early 3 - 0 lead. That was followed by singles in the 2nd and 4th, a 2-RBI triple in the 5th and another single in the 6th. Between Posey, rookie 2nd baseman Joe Panik (with four hits), Hunter Pence and Angel Pagan (three each), San Francisco stirred up memories of the powerful early '60s teams led by Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. Manager Bruce Bochy then gave Posey the rest of the night off - and began pulling his regulars once the score reached 13. The win moved San Francisco to within 3-1/2 games of Western-leading L.A. -- and pushed them 1/2 game ahead of the slumping Cardinals for the top wild card...

...you share it with Roy Oswalt, who won 163 games in a career spent with the Astros, Phillies, Rangers and Rockies. His best days came in Houston, including back-to-back 20-win seasons -- the second, 2005, marked the Astros first (and still only) trip to the World Series. He's seen here working against the Mets in May 2011, the season things began to come apart for him. After going 7 & 1 in the second half of 2010 after being traded to Philadelphia, Oswalt's effectiveness dropped off markedly in '11 when he took time off to be with his family after tornadoes tore through his home town in Mississippi. Once he returned, he suffered with back problems and finished with a 9 - 10  record -- and a playoff flop against the Cardinals. Starting game four with a chance to eliminate St. Louis in the NLDS, Oswalt was hit hard and took the loss, as the Cardinals grabbed the final pair of games to move on -- and eventually win the World Series.

Yesterday, my pal Ken Levine shared a very funny story about meeting Cubs pitching prospect Jeff Hirsch . It was clever enough for me to reach out and contact Jeff -- who was nice enough to contribute a very special photo to this blog -- his own baseball card. Here's the backstory: "I never wore sleeves. I was the last pitcher cut [by the Cubs] in 1988. Then arm woes ensued; three surgeries later I quit." As for the picture, "It was taken in Iowa where my roommate was Mark Grace. (I answered the phone to tell him he was going to the big leagues.) A 1:30 am call from our manager Pete Mackanin." Though he's an L.A. product (like Ken, a UCLA grad), Jeff told me he follows the Yankees today -- since their manager Joe Girardi was his teammate coming up through the Cubs' farm system. He also counts among his friends former Cubs GM Dallas Green, whom he considers "a great man... like a second dad to me... but still intimidating" and his son John...

If you wondered why the Cardinals didn't mind trading away Allen Craig in late July, here's the reason. Matt Adams , balancing a .300-plus batting average with home run power, became a full time player this season. The Western Pennsylvania native could develop into the kind of slugger the Cards haven't seen since the departure of Albert Pujols.

Besides being Joe Torre Day, I was excited to be at Yankee Stadium last Saturday so I could get my first look at Jose Abreu . The Cuban emigre has led the American League in home runs much of the season -- making him the leading candidate for AL Rookie of the Year.  With 33 home runs and 94 RBIs and still a week to go before it's September, Abreu has already make his mark on the league. Look at those arms, you can see how he generates so much strength in his swing.

No team knows how to stage a day of honor the way the Yankees do. Saturday. Joe Torre became the 18th Yankee to have his number retired by the club. Making the post-season 12 years in a row, six pennants and four World Series titles form a heck of a resume -- a dynasty as impressive as any in Yankee history. I liked seeing the chalked number-six in the shadow of the grandstand. Below, Joe and his wife Ali look over the plaque being added to Monument Park. Torre oversaw sustained success after a decade and a half of turbulence and underachievement in the Yankee organization. George Steinbrenner -- you bet Joe mentioned him prominently in this acceptance speech -- changed managers 20 times in 23 years before Joe's arrival. Torre spent 12 seasons doing nothing but playing in October. Maybe it was fitting that one of the products Joe pitched on TV and radio was green tea. Joe's approach seemed to symbolize the warmth, calm and quality of the product. "Clueless Joe" r...