SAN FRANCISCO — Former Giants managing partner Peter Magowan loved a good baseball statistic when it told a story. For years, he cherished one of those statistics so much that he instructed his media relations staff to keep citing it to the local beat writers.It would reappear on the front page of the game notes. It would find its way into every on-field speech on fan appreciation day. Magowan was exceedingly proud of the fact that for nearly a decade, beginning with the Giants’ worst-to-first NL West title in 1997, the franchise had played just a handful of games that held no playoff implications.They might not always win the division. They might not always sneak into the postseason. They might even get eliminated on a night when Barry Bonds sets the single-season home run record. But when elimination came, it would not be premature. The games would be meaningful almost to the very end.Magowan, a former Safeway CEO, understood the retail value of hope. He also appreciated that fans flush with it might overlook a cut corner here or some belt tightening there. For nearly a decade, hope was abundant, and Magowan made sure everyone knew the running tally. Over a lengthy span, you could count on two hands how many games the Giants played when they had no mathematical hope of reaching the playoffs.This season, you’ll need both your hands to count them. And both feet. If you’re in polite company and you prefer to keep your shoes and socks on, maybe consult an abacus. Because the Giants were mathematically eliminated Monday night. They are 60-85. They still have 17 games remaining on the schedule.For the first time in franchise history, the Giants are also assured their fifth consecutive season without a winning record.There are secrets to survival in the retail business. Here’s one of them: when you run out of one product to sell, make sure you keep your shelves stocked with something else.Right-hander Logan Webb landed on as good a selling point as any after the Giants opened this homestand with a 5-4, 11-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.“I feel like we got a brand new team from two weeks ago,” said Webb, who rebounded from the worst start of his career to pitch six innings and hold the Cardinals to one run. “A lot of this team has played together in Triple A all season. … I kind of feel like I’m a part of their team, to be honest, because there’s so many new guys. But it’s a fun group. They work hard. They want to win. They care.“I know the standings … don’t show it, but I think recently we’ve played better than we showed before. There’s some close ones that we’ve lost, but I also think we’ve fought in a lot of them.”If you can’t sell present-day hope, there’s always the future, and 21-year-old rookie Bryce Eldridge is as good a place as any to start.