It has begun. Sabean, Bochy. Bochy, Sabean. Will they, won't they? The talk will continue all week and into next, perhaps, as long as it takes Bill Neukom to decide the fates of Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean. I have made up my mind on Bochy; I'll get there in a minute.
Andy Baggarly of the Merc took a stab this morning at guessing Neukom's intentions. Baggs bets Bill rehires Sabean, who in turn rehires Bochy. Baggs's colleague Tim Kawakami says do it, but only for two-year terms.
There are two games to play here. One is "What WILL Bill do," and it involves a lot of head-shrinking. Another is what SHOULD Bill do, and based on the comments you leave on a daily basis, I'd guess 90% of you vote for a clean management slate. I've made up my mind on Bochy, and tonight sealed the deal. He started Randy Winn in RF even though Arizona started lefty Doug Davis on the mound. Winn got two hits, fine, but what purpose did this serve? What better time to see if John Bowker or Nate Schierholtz can hang in against Davis? Bochy also seems determined to make sure Buster Posey gets the fewest at-bats possible even when Bengie is injured and on his way out. It seems silly to complain about Molina starting on a night he hits two home runs, but I stand my ground. If not a start for Posey tonight, why not a pinch-hit (instead of Aurilia) or a couple innings behind the plate?
I think Bochy has done good work with the pitching staff, giving Romo the chance to rebound quickly from his rough week, mixing in Runzler, and using Wilson for more than an inning on occasion. And I don't think the wacky lineups are so deeply to his discredit; you'd write strange things on a lineup card, too, if you had the roster he had to work with. But it's the veteran lust -- the old bugaboo that drew so many complaints in San Diego -- that has finally done it for me. This team needs a manager who'll let youngsters not named Pablo Sandoval play on a regular basis.
I'll give my opinion on Brian Sabean soon.
