Sorry, the pictures accompanying this post were removed by my Internet service provider. But they let me keep the text!
I understand the griping (including my own) about Bruce Bochy's lineups. But put aside whichever one of Fred Lewis or Eugenio Velez or Andres Torres or Nate Schierholtz or John Bowker you think is a better option on any given night than Randy Winn (most nights) or Aaron Rowand (some nights), and let's not forget the really big picture here: When it comes to helping the Giants score runs, Bruce Bochy's hands are tied.
He's gotten the obvious moves right: Pablo Sandoval has been locked in as the #3 hitter all year. Juan Uribe has played more than anyone in March would have foreseen, because Bochy recognized he's one of the few guys on this team who can hit the ball out. He's tried to get Andres Torres occasional starts, a nice move. Aaron Rowand's move to leadoff was one of desperation, not managerial brilliance, and it worked until it didn't. Eugenio Velez has gotten a chance to prove himself as a leadoff guy for a month-plus, with mixed results. (For all of Velez's heroics since returning, his OBP is a measly .304 in that span.)
I have my complaints, as I would with any manager. My biggest quibble: I want Schierholtz to get more playing time over Winn, who looks this year like he's hit that first obvious stage of veteran decline -- the power (of which Winn had precious little to begin with) suddenly disappears. I also wish Fred Lewis weren't stuck in the doghouse quite so deep.
But evil conspiratorial crime against the wide-eyed innocent youth, as Bochy is often accused of? I don't see it. If you demand a full clearing of the veteran decks -- Rowand, Winn and Renteria to sit, with Schierholtz, Bowker, and Rohlinger to slot into the starting lineup every day -- then you have a reason to gripe. You might also weep for Kevin Frandsen, exiled to Fresno after a combined 5-for-39 in a few short big-league stints this year. But let's keep this to the roster Bochy has on hand. If you understand that no matter what lineup he throws out there, it's going to be ugly, you should have a little more sympathy.
Case in point: Can you really blame Bochy for Bengie Molina hitting fourth? Who else is it going to be? Schierholtz? Garko? Uribe? Ishikawa? Whether Molina hits fourth or sixth or seventh doesn't really matter.
He should've gotten a boost with the two mid-season trades, but one acquisition has apparently forgotten how to hit the ball out of the infield, and the other can't stay healthy.
If you want to blame Bochy for John Bowker not having a better chance to show his stuff, fine. If you want to rail that Buster Posey should take over the catching duties in September, that's your prerogative. But you're arguing along the edges. Bochy has tried to squeeze blood from a stone all year, and just as we predicted in March, it ain't really working.
On the flip side, he and Righetti have managed the pitching staff extremely well. Lincecum and Cain have pitched hard, but anyone watching week after week should acknowledge they haven't been abused. Boch and Rags have worked with Zito and Sanchez to get them untracked, and it's paid off. I love how Bochy has used Brian Wilson for more than an inning now and again, and he adroitly handled the mini-funk that Sergio Romo hit earlier this year. Romo quickly returned to top form.
I have no idea if Manny Acta or Bud Black or Terry Francona or any other manager would have gotten better results from the Giants lineups this year. If you think so, tell us how.
