Posey plays first in Lincecum's season debut

LOS ANGELES -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy didn't just throw Tim Lincecum/Buster Posey conspiracy theorists a bone Wednesday. He tossed them an entire ribeye steak.

With Lincecum starting the series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bochy played Posey at first base. This doubtlessly fueled more speculation that Posey and Lincecum can't cope with each other as batterymates -- though Posey caught Lincecum in last year's postseason and through much of the spring.

Bochy insisted that he moved Posey to first because Brandon Belt remained sick to his stomach and couldn't play. This gave Bochy the opportunity to give backup catcher Hector Sanchez a start.

Bochy knew that this wouldn't placate the fans and reporters who believe that Posey and Lincecum maintain an ongoing feud.

"I'll still be answering this [Posey/Lincecum] question," Bochy said. "But I'm telling the truth."