Burrell returns to Philly as a Giant

SAN FRANCISCO - Pat Burrell might lead the majors in homecomings this season.

When the Giants open a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, it surely will rekindle memories for Burrell and Phillies fans, especially since the teams are virtually tied in the NL wild-card race.

"There was an electricity there that's different," Burrell said, likening it to having the atmosphere of a Dodgers-Giants game every night. "The ups and downs of emotions with the fans and the city, there's no secret where you stand."

For the last 21/2 months, Burrell, a Northern California native, has relished his homecoming with San Francisco. It has rekindled his career. "It's just been an incredible deal for me," Burrell said last week in the Giants' clubhouse at AT&T Park. "I couldn't have scripted it any better, as far as being from the Bay Area, having a chance to come back here . . . and getting the opportunity to play."

Burrell is hitting .285 with 10 homers and 30 RBIs in 56 games with the Giants and has been on a tear the last two weeks.

He hit two homers, including a grand slam, in an 8-7 win over the Cubs on Thursday. The night before, he hit the game-winning homer in the eighth inning in a 5-4 win. He had eight RBIs in the two wins. Before that, he delivered game-winning sacrifice flies at Atlanta (Aug. 6) and against the Cubs (Aug. 9).

On July 31, Burrell jolted a sellout crowd at the ballpark by McCovey Cove with arguably the Giants' most dramatic at-bat of the season. Burrell turned on a 3-2 pitch from the Dodgers' Jonathan Broxton and deposited it just over the left-field wall for a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth inning that gave San Francisco a 2-1 victory over L.A.

Whether Burrell would get another chance to play seemed in considerable doubt in mid-May. Tampa Bay designated him for assignment May 15. He was hitting .202 with two homers and 13 RBIs. In his final seven games with the Rays, he went 2 for 25 and did not drive in a run.

Burrell believes one reason he struggled with Tampa, where he signed a two-year, $16 million deal in 2008, was that he was used strictly as a designated hitter. (To replace Burrell, the Phillies signed Raul Ibanez to a three-year, $31.5 million deal. After a fast start last year, Ibanez has struggled until recently and is hitting .264 with 11 homers and 58 RBIs.)

"The situation just didn't set up right for me down there, and it's unfortunate because it's such a great team," Burrell said of the Rays who are fighting it out with the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East.

"When I got let go, I looked at it kind of as an opportunity to get back on my feet and see if I could play again. I knew, deep down, I still could do it."

San Francisco signed him to a minor-league contract May 30. After a 5-for-16 stint in five games with triple-A Fresno, the Giants brought Burrell back to the big leagues.

"Once we saw him," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said, "we realized . . . he hasn't lost any bat speed. So with that said, I'm not surprised at what he's doing here because he's the same guy" who spent nine years and hit 251 home runs with the Phillies.

Bochy recently made Burrell the Giants' everyday leftfielder. "He's not just a power bat," Bochy said. "He's into the game, the defensive part of it.

"Also, in the clubhouse, he's one of the first guys here every day, if not the first guy. He has a good knowledge of pitchers. He's talking to young players. He's a student of the game."

Burrell has some familiar faces with him, now, too. Giants first baseman/outfielder Aubrey Huff and Burrell played together at the University of Miami. Burrell's locker in the Giants' clubhouse is next to outfielder Aaron Rowand's.

Not only were Burrell and Rowand teammates for two seasons (2006-07) in Philadelphia, they've known each other since they took a recruiting trip to Cal State-Fullerton in 1995.

"It's great to be on a winning team first of all," Burrell said, "and to have some guys who you've been around for half your life is pretty cool, too."

Said Rowand of Burrell: "He's one of the best teammates I've ever played with and he's one of my best friends."

Rowand fondly recalls his return to Philly with the Giants two years ago - "I went up and got a standing ovation my first at-bat. It was very emotional," he said. And he expects Burrell to receive the same treatment.

With the Rays, Burrell was at Citizens Bank for two exhibition games before last season and he also went back to Philly soon thereafter for the World Series ring ceremony. He thinks those visits might reduce the emotion quotient this week.

But then again . . .

"There's a lot of history there and, of course, I'm going to be excited to go," he said. "There's no hiding that."

It's no secret that Burrell endured his share of grief from Philadelphia fans, particularly in 2003, when he hit .209. Burrell seemingly has no regrets.

"If you stink, you stink," he said. "That's the game. . . . More than anything, I appreciated the fact that I think the fans knew how hard I was trying and how much I cared about winning.

"That's motivation. The fans are getting on you and you're getting on yourself more than any fan could. That's all part of it. It makes you grow up rather quickly, though, I'll tell you."

Burrell averaged 28 homers and 92 RBIs per season with the Phillies. Before last season, he took out a full-page ad in The Inquirer, thanking the fans. He has stayed close to some of his former teammates. He referred to Chase Utley as one of his best friends. Earlier in the day he was interviewed, Burrell had exchanged texts with Jimmy Rollins, another Northern California native.

Said Burrell: "I realized how fortunate I was to have the opportunity to be there for that long. It was a great ride. I was just trying to say how much I appreciated the support and the time I had there."

He's now appreciating his time with the Giants. Some players find it difficult to be on teams in their home area. Not Burrell.

"There's nothing about it that has been hard," he said. "It's all been rewarding. It couldn't be any better for me."

Pat Burrell became a free agent after the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, but the team opted instead for free agent Raul Ibanez at three years, $31.5 million. Burrell signed with Tampa Bay for two years, $16 million. Earlier this season, the Rays released Burrell, and the Giants signed him as a free agent on May 29.

Both Burrell and Ibanez have been on tears of late - Burrell with a grand slam and eight RBIs in two games and game-winning sacrifice flies in two others last week. Ibanez's league-leading 18-game hitting streak just ended last week. Here's a look at how they've done since 2008:

Tampa Bay       2009      412   14      64      .221      119

Tampa Bay      2010      96      2      13      .202       28

San Fran.      2010      196   10      30      .285       43

Phillies         2009      500   34      93      .272      119

Phillies         2010      394   11      58      .264       75   EndText