World Series momentum, a full field of All-Stars and dynamite pitching kept Giants in it till the end, but injuries, misfortune, a lack of a consistent offense derailed Giants’ chances at a repeat.

World Series momentum, a full field of All-Stars and dynamite pitching kept Giants in it till the end, but injuries, misfortune, a lack of a consistent offense derailed Giants’ chances at a repeat.

Bright spots: After receiving their World Series rings, left, the Giants opened their home schedule with back-to-back walkoff wins, above. At the midway point of the season, five Giants were bestowed All-Star honors, bottom, along with NL manager Bruce Bochy. Along the way, Ryan Vogelsong, far right, blossomed into a legitimate starter after toiling in the minors and Japan previously. By the end of the season, Pablo Sandoval, below, and Carlos Beltran, right, provided genuine power threats in the Giants’ lineup. Beltran was acquired in a midseason trade.

Walking wounded: Injuries were the theme of 2011 for the Giants. Buster Posey, above, Freddy Sanchez, right, Barry Zito, left, and Brandon Belt, below right, were just a few of the many players who spent time on the disabled list. Other moments the Giants would like to forget include Aubrey Huff’s performance at the plate and in the outfield, bottom, and the bench-clearing skirmish in a blowout loss to the Phillies in August, below.

This is the way it ends, with a lot of cheers, a few tears and, once again, if not an unused ticket in a ballpark sold out from first game to last, certainly a lot of unfulfilled hopes.

In this season of 2011, the year after the World Series, the Giants broke their all-time attendance record, luring 3,387,303 fans. Yet in their attempt to repeat as Series champions, they couldn’t even get to the playoffs, breaking a great many hearts.

“We had planned on working in October,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said ruefully.

But their final day of labor, and perhaps appropriately, of defeat, was Sept. 28, Wednesday, the final game of the regular schedule when the Colorado Rockies beat San Francisco 6-3 at AT&T Park, where the next baseball game is six months away.

“Not the way we wanted the season to end,” Bochy had sighed before the last game started. “We’re all disappointed in not going farther, especially with what happened last year.”

Still, what happened last year — the first World Series title — turned San Francisco into a baseball town and turned the ballpark on the edge of McCovey Cove into a carnival of good times, if not always of winning baseball.

Even Wednesday, the place was full, people dancing to the beat of the Rolling Stones and singing to the music of Journey.

“Don’t stop believin’ …” And they never stopped.

They gave Pat Burrell a noisy farewell as, wiping at his eyes, in the seventh inning he came out of probably his last game as a Giant.

They gave deposed owner Bill Neukom a standing ovation when first his acknowledgement appeared on the video board and then he was shown near the first base dugout. 

They gave one of last year’s heroes, Aubrey Huff, a noisy greeting when he came up as a pinch hitter in the seventh and singled.

Finally, around 3:40 p.m., the crowd of 41,273 rose and cheered as Justin Christian came out for what would be the Giants’ ultimate at-bat of the year, a rousing last hurrah, memories if not victory.

Moments later, the Giants, en masse, emerged from their dugout and walked to the pitching mound. And as the video screen saluted so many players, Ryan Vogelsong, Cody Ross, the injured Buster Posey, the courageous Pablo Sandoval, the players saluted the fans who were saluting them.

“Even though this season didn’t go [as] well as we had hoped,” said Bochy into a microphone, “I just want to thank you.”

Matt Cain gave a speech on behalf of the players.

Bochy had removed Carlos Beltran after two hitless at bats to keep Beltran at .300 for the year. Bochy had inserted Sandoval as a pinch hitter in the ninth, a reward for his competence (a .315 average) and conscientiousness.

“We wanted to win this game for Pat,” Bochy said, alluding to Burrell. But they couldn’t. It was that type of year, one of possibilities that went unrealized.

It was a perfect day for baseball, 72 degrees, virtually no wind. You’d love to see another game, but there won’t be another until April.

“The bottom line,” Bochy of the season, “is we didn’t play as well as we needed to.”

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. Email him at typoes@aol.com.

The Giants’ Brandon Crawford, right, scores after a wild pitch by Rockies reliever Esmil Rogers, left, during the sixth inning Tuesday in San Francisco. (Marcio Jose Sanchez, The Associated Press)

SAN FRANCISCO — From the moment he stepped into the batter’s box, there were goose bumps. The crowd stood in anticipation. They were poised to see something special.

And on cue, Tony Bennett knocked it out of the park, his rendition of “God Bless America” the highlight in an other wise forgettable Tuesday night for the Rockies.

They left more than their hearts in San Francisco. They left their bats in the dugout in a 7-0 clobbering by the Giants at AT&T Park.

The loss featured another laborious outing from rookie Alex White. His season interrupted by a pulley tendon injury in his right middle finger, the right-hander never gained traction with the Rockies. He uncorked three wild pitches, committed an error

and allowed three runs in four innings. Brandon Belt hit a two-run home run, the 12th that White has surrendered in 36-1/3 innings with the Rockies.

The game was interrupted twice when a fan was pointing a laser pointer at the batters. The problem was corrected. The Rockies were already having a miserable night offensively without juvenile assistance from a moron. They managed just two hits off left-hander Madison Bumgarner, who struck out nine in seven innings. The Giants have won 13 of his last 18 starts.

On a day when manager Jim Tracy announced that his entire coaching staff was returning, the Rockies lost for 11th time in 13 games. They finished last September with a 1-13 record.

A play in the seventh inning provided a snapshot to this month’s struggles. Conor Gillaspie crushed Esmil Rogers’ fastball to the 421-mark in right-center field. It turned into an inside-the-park home run that was as exhausting as it was embarrassing. Ty Wigginton retrieved the ball and threw wide of the cutoff man. Gillaspie fell down rounding third base, leaving first baseman Jordan Pacheco with a play. He one-hopped the throw, and Wilin Rosario dropped the ball as Gillaspie slid in safely before nearly passing out.

Rockies starting pitcher Alex White delivers against the Giants on Tuesday in San Francisco. (Marcio Jose Sanchez, The Associated Press)

Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com

Looking ahead

WEDNESDAY: Rockies at Giants, 1:45 p.m., Root

For the first time since the trade, Drew Pomeranz (1-1, 5.68 ERA) looked like the past two months crashed down on him. The inactivity following the dealhe was the famous player to be named later, languishing in the desert for two weeks; and the medical emergency, he had his appendix removed — left him throwing 87 miles per hour in a forgettable outing against the Astros. Pomeranz is working on balance issues in his delivery and has impressed pitching coach Bob Apodaca with his willingness to adjust. Pomeranz has never pitched in AT&T Park. Matt Cain (12-11, 2.88) is Pomeranz’s friend. The two shared the same pitching coach in Memphis. The Rockies would love to see the same growth from Pomeranz as the Giants have from Cain, who has matured from a fireballer to a complete pitcher. Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post