I’m back from vacation with a ton of stuff to report and comment on, but I’m blazing away at work. To start, I’ll comment on one small part of the state-of-the-Giants conference the brass held yesterday: the decision to retain Bruce Bochy and his field crew for 2009.
In their favor, the field leadership did several things correctly. Bochy had a reputation for extreme veteran-o-philia, so everytime we saw Rich Aurilia in the starting lineup, it reinforced our preconceived notions.
But Bochy played the young guys enough to make decent evaluations, which is the goal in a rebuilding year. We saw enough of Manny Burriss, Pablo Sandoval, and (thanks at first to Dave Roberts’ injury) Fred Lewis to feel hopeful about them making significant contributions next year. Bowker and Velez got extended looks, and hell, even Ivan Ochoa got 120 at-bats.
Did Bochy go young only under threat from above? Perhaps, but let’s leave it to the philosophers to ponder how much free will governs any one man’s soul. Or oversized head, if you prefer. I’m cautiously optimistic the youth mo’ will carry over with a minimum of hindrance from Bochy.
On to the pitching. Do Boch and Righetti deserve to return after the Tim Lincecum Cy Young Death March? (I’m being tongue in cheek. Kind of.) My head will explode if I delve into that argument today. Discuss in the comments if you wish.
Despite his miserable year, it seems Barry Zito made helpful changes in mid-stream. He still struggled with control, but his stuff improved in the second half and things clicked in September save for one start in San Diego. Righetti deserves some credit, it seems, though helping Zito to one decent month out of six doesn’t exactly vault Rags into Dave Duncan or Leo Mazzone pitching-coach godhead territory.
Another part of Bochy’s rep is crafting strong bullpens from guys like Scott Linebrink and Cla Meredith. (Having Trevor Hoffman in S.D. every year didn’t hurt, either.) But the Giants’ pen was a big weakness this season. Brian Wilson was Bochy’s Hoffman, more unpredictable but rarely blowing a save. But beyond Wilson and Tyler Walker’s great first month, it was patchwork. Were Walker and Taschner’s meltdowns avoidable? Did Bochy misplay the matchups or overuse them? To his credit, when Bochy found gems — Sergio Romo being the most sparkly — he used them well. Merkin Valdez was working his way into a top job before his injury, too.
Perhaps Bill Neukom will override Sabean’s decision this winter and put the rebuilding effort under new field leadership. I probably wouldn’t complain if Neukom woke up one morning and made a clean sweep, but the team’s 28–27 record in the final two months, when the team basically went all-in with the kids, makes me wonder what the current crew can do in 2009.
If nothing else, bring back Tim Flannery so we can watch him windmill his way down the third-base line.
