It’s finally time to view Giants as legitimate title contenders

We’ve reached a new stage in the Giants’ improbable and exceptional 2021 season.

The skepticism that the team’s hot start brought about should be gone. Questions about if this team can continue to play at an elite level have been answered.

The Giants are a known commodity now. Having the best record in baseball at this juncture is no fluke.

But I and many others have held off on saying the big words about the Giants.

Making the playoffs? Expected. Winning the National League West over the Dodgers and Padres? Possible, if not probable.

But it’s time we talk about the Giants as legitimate World Series contenders.

Because that kind of success might truly be in the cards for San Francisco this year.

The Giants’ series win in Milwaukee over the weekend convinced me — San Francisco has what it takes to claim a title.

Now, I wish I knew exactly what it was that makes the Giants a true contender. Call it gumption, togetherness, a never-say-never-ness — there’s something special about this team.

And while San Francisco’s roster might not be as talented as their rivals’ in Los Angeles, its lineup is formidable against lefties and righties, their rotation has not one, but two aces with the emergence of young Logan Webb, and the bullpen has proven to be an asset, not a liability.

The Giants can compete with anyone this season. And compete they will.

The Brewers threw their five-game playoff series lineups at the Giants this past weekend. You’re not going to get a better 1-2 punch of starting pitchers in the majors than Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes right now — sorry, Dodgers — and while their next-best starter, Freddy Peralta, didn’t factor into the series, it’s not implausible to think that Milwaukee wouldn’t want to go with three-straight right-handers in a short series. Lefty Brett Anderson has been no slouch this season, either, having posted a 1.85 ERA in his last seven starters. That’s a nice fall-back option.

With that pitching in tow, the Brewers are one of the best teams in baseball

— a highly possible playoff matchup for the Giants. As such, this past weekend’s series carried weight. August can never replicate the atmosphere of the fall, but there were notes of playoff atmosphere in the air in Wisconsin.

And San Francisco won the series by playing playoff-style baseball.

Strong starting pitching on Friday and Sunday, clutch hitting, and a bit (OK, maybe a smidge more than that) of luck played into the Giants’ wins. San Francisco’s only loss came because of Manfred ball — Rowdy Tellez had a nice hit in the bottom of the 10th inning to bring home the winning run, which wasn’t even earned. Sometimes you have to tip your cap.

Throughout the three-game set, there was ample opportunity for the Giants to roll over, to concede the series. But they kept at it and won a couple of games of attrition.

Pair this weekend’s success with recent series wins against the Dodgers and Astros, and it’s fair to wonder why the Giants aren’t considered a favorite to win the title.

(San Francisco is listed behind three teams, at +900 to win the World Series at BetMGM.)

I understand the concerns about the starting rotation and the stress that the Giants’ bullpen brings fans. Even the lineup — which can now be inverted and still win games — has some question marks.

But there’s no perfect team in baseball, and even the best of the best — the Dodgers and Astros — have issues.

What the Giants do have, in spades, is a stunning but apparently repeatable ability to overcome their shortcomings in both a game and a series. They don’t let failure spiral and that makes them exceptionally difficult to beat over three or four games.

Yes, it’s hard to break preseason conceptions, but it’s been a few months now — the Giants have played roughly 70 percent of the season. Circumstances have changed.

It’s only fair expectations change, too.

Merely making the playoffs — a status that would have been deemed a wild success — should no longer be the goal. No, the Giants have proven to be better than the Wild Card Game.

Winning the West might be shooting too low, too. The Giants have been in the lead for months — why settle?

It might have been a farfetched fantasy in April, it’s time to start talking about the best team in baseball standing alone as World Series champions in October.