"Just because you are not getting the final three outs doesn't mean that you are not coming in at a crucial time," said Howry, one of the most successful setup men over the past four seasons.
"Who knows? Who's to say the guy coming in in the seventh and eighth innings is not going to face the 2-3-4 or 3-4-5 hitters in the opposing lineup? It is still a critical point in the game if you have a lead to hold onto."
San Francisco signed Howry to a one-year, $2.75 million contract to hold down the eighth inning this season, bringing his career full circle after the team selected him in the fifth round of the 1994 draft.
Howry left the organization on July 31, 1997, in what came to be known in Chicago as the white flag trade, when the contending White Sox traded three starting pitchers to the Giants for six minor league prospects that included Howry and Keith Foulke.
Howry had 28 saves as the White Sox's closer in 1999. Since then, he has been primarily a setup man.
"There is not a whole lot of glory in it, at least no glory as far as the public is concerned," Howry said. "I think the guys on the team realize the value, and true baseball people see that value."
Howry signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the Chicago Cubs before the 2006 season.
Since 2005, he has 87 holds, a statistic determined with the same formula used to calculate saves. That is the fourth-highest total in the majors.
Howry's 313 appearances since 2005 are second in the majors, one fewer than Arizona right-hander Chad Qualls.
"Only in the last three or four years have teams really started to see the importance of having good setup men ...," Howry said. "It does you no good to have a great starter and a great closer if you can't bridge that gap."
The Giants' bullpen failed to hold five leads for Tim Lincecum last season. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he plans to use Howry mostly in the eighth inning, with left-hander Jeremy Affeldt more likely to pitch the seventh inning as the primary setup man to closer Brian Wilson.
