Juan Uribe, Aaron Rowand give Giants postseason magic

Different time. Different team. Familiar feeling.

Juan Uribe and Aaron Rowand, teammates on the 2005 Chicago White Sox, one of the most remarkable postseason units in the baseball history, are up to their old tricks, this time with the San Francisco Giants.

Uribe, Rowand and the unusual cast and crew of strong-armed pitchers and role players surrounding them have given the Giants a 2-0 edge in a World Series that the Texas Rangers’ fans had awaited for 39 seasons. This is eerily similar to ‘05, when the White Sox won two at home before going to Houston, where the Astros were involved in their first Series, which came in their 44th season.

Rowand, whom White Sox General Manager Ken Williams traded to get Jim Thome one month after the victory parade, knows it’s too early to celebrate anything.

“You don’t change anything in your mind-set,” he said after a pinch-hit, bases-loaded triple added an exclamation point in Thursday’s 9-0 win. “There’s a reason the Texas Rangers are playing in the World Series. They’re a very good team. We have to keep our foot on the throttle and keep pressing forward.”

Uribe, originally signed to a minor league contract by San Francisco after Alexei Ramirez supplanted him in Chicago, has emerged as a two-way force for the Giants. Rowand, signed to a $60-million contract as part of the post- Barry Bonds initiative, lost his starting job to the late-blooming Andres Torres this season but has remained a respected contributor.

Neither Uribe nor Rowand have been the fixtures they were on the 2005 White Sox. But along with guys like Aubrey Huff, Cody Ross, Pat Burrell and Edgar Renteria they epitomize a team that has the exact right guy manipulating the roster.

No manager has gotten more wins for less money the last 15 years than Bruce Bochy, who learned to improvise while guiding the San Diego Padres to the 1998 World Series. He’s the anti-Cito Gaston, circa 1992-93, constantly tinkering with his lineup and finding ways to get the most from the talent he has been given.

Bochy has called the team that stands two wins away from a World Series parade “castoffs and misfits,” and the players smile at that idea. The manager is uncomfortable about a suggestion that he has much to do with what happens on any given night.

“It’s the players,” he said. “When they get in there and do well, I feel great for them because it’s not easy for some of these guys who aren’t getting playing time on a consistent basis, whether it’s a [Nate] Schierholtz or [Travis] Ishikawa or Rowand, Edgar … I just feel good that they’re going out there and doing something to help contribute. It’s a credit to them … They check their ego at the door and they’ve stayed ready. They’ve been working hard in case they did have a chance to do something.”

Bochy praises the 35-year-old Renteria for “playing like he did 10 years ago.” But you only have to go back five years to find Rowand and Uribe on a similarly thrilling October ride.

Between the ’05 White Sox and the ’10 Giants, Rowand and Uribe have celebrated 20 postseason victories while enduring only four losses. They’re an incredible 6-0 in World Series games and are playing in their sixth postseason series together without ever knowing the stress of an elimination game.

How many players have ever known more big-game joy than Uribe?

For the White Sox, his defensive play at shortstop was a major key, including a pair of electrifying plays late in Freddy Garcia’s 1-0 victory in the clincher. Bochy has shifted him to third, where he has replaced the disappointing Pablo Sandoval, and repeatedly he’s pouncing on grounders and slinging sidearm fastballs to first base, the throws barely beating runners.

San Francisco fans serenade him with cries of “Oooo-ree-bay! Oooo-ree-bay! Oooo-ree-bay!” He takes it all in, and expresses himself best with the huge smile he wears on his face.

What’s not to smile about?

sports@latimes.com