Hope, familiar faces arrive on Thursday

The new month begins in two days, yet the wait at Third and Kingseems like an eternity. MLB's Sept. 1 roster expansion to 40 players might help the Giants competitively. It willabsolutely help them nostalgically. If Pat Burrell can rejoin the team after a long injury recovery,he will bring back memories of last season's surge to a divisiontitle, the pennant and the first World Series victory parade in SanFrancisco history. The expected return of Brandon Crawford from the minors willtake the 2011 team on another kind of sentimental journey, back toJuly 28, when the Giants were 17 games over .500 andensconced in first place, with a four-game lead over Arizona.