After a sweeping the Rockies at home last weekend, we decided to give Bochy a little bit of a breather. Not that he deserved it considering that the Renteria grand slam on Sunday was preceded by several knuckle headed moves. The Friday and Saturday games were pretty much what we've all come to expect - great pitching from Lincecum and Zito surrounded by sloppy offensive execution . . . or lack thereof.
Watching the Giants struggle offensively against Jeff Suppan last night in Milwaukee was just pathetic. Wasn't Jeff Suppan the first pick of the expansion Diamondbacks and generally considered to be a huge bust? For a guy with a mediocre fastball and the ability to throw almost every pitch in the dirt, you'd think a measure of patience would be in order.
Heck with that! Let's swing at everything!!! Woohoo!!!
We're starting to think that Carney Lansford needs to take a refresher course. It's either that or Bochy "nah, let's let 'em play" philosophy has corrupted the rest of the staff. Can we ask that Righetti be quarantined so as to avoid infection? The last thing we need is for the pitching staff to take up the same ideas. Why throw breaking pitches when fastballs are so much easier? Ugh.
The Philadelphia series would have been a complete waste had it not been for Brad Penny's almost perfect debut. How in the world do you only allow 3 runs in a three game series and only come away with one win? You follow The Bochy Method, that's how. No bunting, no productive outs, no logical effort to manufacture runs.
Let's just hope that Rockies and Dodgers continue to not really want to salt away their playoff berths. That and the pitching staff are the only things standing in the way of Bochy ruining what could be a special season.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sacrifice Flys and Pitching Changes.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Fire Bochy blog team had a chance to attend the game tonight and we were thrilled by the performance of Barry Zito - apparently he heard of our call to make Lincecum the manager and figured he'd throw his hat in the ring as well. When was the last time you heard AT&T Park chant "Barry, Barry" and cheer for a curtain call for a player named Barry? Well, Zito got both, and he earned it.
We also got to see more of that small ball we've been clamoring for. A hit and run, a sacrifice fly. You'd think that someone actually was trying to win the game without waiting for the three run homer. Someone probably should Bochy to make sure he's not a pod person - these things can't be taken lightly, because the aliens are out there.
It wouldn't have been a complete experience without some sort of shenanigans pulled by Bochy. He let Zito pitch the ninth, get one out, and then pulled him when he gave up a home run to Brad Hawpe. We then got to see three relievers - to get two outs. They managed to give up two more runs and make the game interesting, but seriously? Did we need to see the entire bullpen? Zito could have gotten at least one of those two outs, given his performance to that point. Seems like this game of "how many pitchers can I use in the same inning" qualifies as the "Bochy Strategery Move of the Night" the night.
The last of the Big 3 gets his shot to pull the Giants even in the wild card race tomorrow. We'll be watching you Matt. Go get 'em.
We also got to see more of that small ball we've been clamoring for. A hit and run, a sacrifice fly. You'd think that someone actually was trying to win the game without waiting for the three run homer. Someone probably should Bochy to make sure he's not a pod person - these things can't be taken lightly, because the aliens are out there.
It wouldn't have been a complete experience without some sort of shenanigans pulled by Bochy. He let Zito pitch the ninth, get one out, and then pulled him when he gave up a home run to Brad Hawpe. We then got to see three relievers - to get two outs. They managed to give up two more runs and make the game interesting, but seriously? Did we need to see the entire bullpen? Zito could have gotten at least one of those two outs, given his performance to that point. Seems like this game of "how many pitchers can I use in the same inning" qualifies as the "Bochy Strategery Move of the Night" the night.
The last of the Big 3 gets his shot to pull the Giants even in the wild card race tomorrow. We'll be watching you Matt. Go get 'em.
Lincecum - Player/Manager? We're Just Saying.
He does everything else, maybe it's time for us to just hand over the keys to the managers office to him too. Another stellar performance last night by The Franchise (8 innings, 4 hits, 3 walks, 8 Ks, 0 earned runs) pulled the Giants to within 2 of the Rockies in the wild card race and 6 in the division behind Los Angeles.
And you remember all those sacrifice bunts we've been looking for? Well, it seems as if Bochy believes he only has a small allotment of them available - like lives in a Pac-Man game - because all of a sudden, there's Randy Winn dropping down a bunt in the bottom of the 1st to put runners at second and third with Pablo coming up. We had to rewind this play several times as it was both shocking and surprising, so by the time Ishikawa and Uribe had squandered the bases loaded (after Pablo was intentionally walked) no out situation we were living in the past. Just like Bochy's managerial style.
All told, there were at least 5 attempted sacrifice hits, but the team was clearly just as shocked as we were because the play only worked once in the bottom of the 6th when Lincecum bunted Whiteside to second and Velez knocked him in for the second run. Tim had 3 of the sac attempts and only was successful that one time, but hey, how much does one guy have to do.
The most entertaining attempt (if you define entertainment as tearing your own hair out) was in the bottom of the eighth after Uribe's lead off triple. That's right, runner at third, less than two out. Rowand grounds out - another unproductive out with a runner in scoring position (we're calling that "pulling a Rowand" from now on) and Whiteside bunts into a double play on an attempted suicide squeeze.
That wins the "Bochy Strategery Move of the Night" if for no other reason than it's got to be the first time since he's been here that he tried to squeeze home a run.
Good thing Tim was pitching and we didn't need any of those silly "extra" runs. Oh and that tearing sound you hear . . . well, does anyone have any Rogaine they can send us?
CORRECTIONS DEPT: Special thanks to Will for correctly pointing out that Pat Misch is no longer with the Giants organization. And for also making us sad in wanting to see Hennessy or Correja, which we didn't think was possible.
And you remember all those sacrifice bunts we've been looking for? Well, it seems as if Bochy believes he only has a small allotment of them available - like lives in a Pac-Man game - because all of a sudden, there's Randy Winn dropping down a bunt in the bottom of the 1st to put runners at second and third with Pablo coming up. We had to rewind this play several times as it was both shocking and surprising, so by the time Ishikawa and Uribe had squandered the bases loaded (after Pablo was intentionally walked) no out situation we were living in the past. Just like Bochy's managerial style.
All told, there were at least 5 attempted sacrifice hits, but the team was clearly just as shocked as we were because the play only worked once in the bottom of the 6th when Lincecum bunted Whiteside to second and Velez knocked him in for the second run. Tim had 3 of the sac attempts and only was successful that one time, but hey, how much does one guy have to do.
The most entertaining attempt (if you define entertainment as tearing your own hair out) was in the bottom of the eighth after Uribe's lead off triple. That's right, runner at third, less than two out. Rowand grounds out - another unproductive out with a runner in scoring position (we're calling that "pulling a Rowand" from now on) and Whiteside bunts into a double play on an attempted suicide squeeze.
That wins the "Bochy Strategery Move of the Night" if for no other reason than it's got to be the first time since he's been here that he tried to squeeze home a run.
Good thing Tim was pitching and we didn't need any of those silly "extra" runs. Oh and that tearing sound you hear . . . well, does anyone have any Rogaine they can send us?
CORRECTIONS DEPT: Special thanks to Will for correctly pointing out that Pat Misch is no longer with the Giants organization. And for also making us sad in wanting to see Hennessy or Correja, which we didn't think was possible.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Momentum - The Bochy Way
It's probably not fair to blame Bochy for tonight's 11-0 shellacking at the hands of the Diamondbacks. His handling of the fifth starter, however, that we can go to town on. And for this one, we may even get a little bit of dirt on Sabean too . . . there's plenty to go around.
The experiments with mid to lower tier pitchers to fill in while Randy Johnson is on the shelf have been nice, but the goal is still to make the playoffs right? Maybe you bring up a Bumgarner for a spot start just to see what the kid can do in the bigs - he certainly can't do worse than the 4 1/3 innings 8 earned run effort Joe Martinez turned in tonight. Bring up Clayton Tanner (who's 11-6 with a 3.10 ERA for San Jose) or Kevin Pucetas or Pat Misch. Hey, Pat Misch! Who would have thought we'd be arguing to see him again. But that's how bad it is now.
Situational decisions based on the schedule are fine. Sitting Pablo, Bengie and Nate tonight so that they can be rested and hopefully ready for the Rockies series is understandable, but when you have a chance to gain some MOMENTUM heading into the biggest series of the season, you might want to have your big guns dialed in and sweeping the Dbacks might have just given the team the proper state of mind heading into Friday's game. 11-0 probably doesn't feel the same . . . but that's just a guess.
And for those of you who didn't see the twitter post during the game, yes Bochy was yelling at the home plate umpire about a low strike call on Aaron Rowand. It was the bottom of the 4th and, with the score 4-0 Dbacks, Rowand struck out looking with the bases loaded. Yeah. Clearly that's the umpires fault for calling that fastball that went right across the plate just below the knees a strike. Rowand shouldn't have been the recipient of the yelling, after all he has the right perspective:
"A loss is a loss, whether you lose by one or 11," center fielder Aaron Rowand said. "You come back and regroup."
That may be true Aaron, but just think what would have happened if you would have made contact with that called third strike. A base hit makes it 4-2 and all of a sudden you've got . . . say it with us now . . . MOMENTUM.
Clearly, the Bochy Way has rubbed off on Rowand too. Hopefully, the team can regroup for tomorrow.
The experiments with mid to lower tier pitchers to fill in while Randy Johnson is on the shelf have been nice, but the goal is still to make the playoffs right? Maybe you bring up a Bumgarner for a spot start just to see what the kid can do in the bigs - he certainly can't do worse than the 4 1/3 innings 8 earned run effort Joe Martinez turned in tonight. Bring up Clayton Tanner (who's 11-6 with a 3.10 ERA for San Jose) or Kevin Pucetas or Pat Misch. Hey, Pat Misch! Who would have thought we'd be arguing to see him again. But that's how bad it is now.
Situational decisions based on the schedule are fine. Sitting Pablo, Bengie and Nate tonight so that they can be rested and hopefully ready for the Rockies series is understandable, but when you have a chance to gain some MOMENTUM heading into the biggest series of the season, you might want to have your big guns dialed in and sweeping the Dbacks might have just given the team the proper state of mind heading into Friday's game. 11-0 probably doesn't feel the same . . . but that's just a guess.
And for those of you who didn't see the twitter post during the game, yes Bochy was yelling at the home plate umpire about a low strike call on Aaron Rowand. It was the bottom of the 4th and, with the score 4-0 Dbacks, Rowand struck out looking with the bases loaded. Yeah. Clearly that's the umpires fault for calling that fastball that went right across the plate just below the knees a strike. Rowand shouldn't have been the recipient of the yelling, after all he has the right perspective:
"A loss is a loss, whether you lose by one or 11," center fielder Aaron Rowand said. "You come back and regroup."
That may be true Aaron, but just think what would have happened if you would have made contact with that called third strike. A base hit makes it 4-2 and all of a sudden you've got . . . say it with us now . . . MOMENTUM.
Clearly, the Bochy Way has rubbed off on Rowand too. Hopefully, the team can regroup for tomorrow.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Can the 3-run Homer Trend Continue?
In the second time in as many nights the Giants were saved by a 3-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. This time, Bengie Molina provided the heroics and the G-Men beat the D'backs 4-3 and pulled to within 3 games of Colorado and stayed 6 games back of the Dodgers.
The win is great and the fact that it also allowed them to pick up a game on Colorado is even better. But this is a fire Bochy blog so let's get to what is going to be a daily feature: "Bochy's Strategery Move of the Night." If you have a better name, let us know, but we're going with this until it gets we hear better.
Last night's mental gem came in the top of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on second. Bochy calls for an intentional walk to right-handed hitting Rusty Ryal to bring to the plate a lefty, Gerardo Parra. Pretty sound baseball logic as it gets you in position for a force out at any bag and the lefty-on-lefty match up, plus Parra's hitting .225 against lefties. Like most people, that's probably where the thinking stopped. But it shouldn't have.
Parra had already ripped a single off Sanchez and clearly wasn't fooled by anything he was throwing up there. A cursory glance at Parra's 2009 stats show that he is batting .354 with runners in scoring position and .324 with RISP and 2 outs. They both might be rookies, but Parra has over 300 more at-bats than Ryal. In his 23 total ABs, Ryal's got one RBI. One.
Maybe that's overthinking it, but considering the results (Parra singles in Upton from second and Romero singles in Ryal to give Arizona a 3-1 lead) perhaps not.
The win is great and the fact that it also allowed them to pick up a game on Colorado is even better. But this is a fire Bochy blog so let's get to what is going to be a daily feature: "Bochy's Strategery Move of the Night." If you have a better name, let us know, but we're going with this until it gets we hear better.
Last night's mental gem came in the top of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on second. Bochy calls for an intentional walk to right-handed hitting Rusty Ryal to bring to the plate a lefty, Gerardo Parra. Pretty sound baseball logic as it gets you in position for a force out at any bag and the lefty-on-lefty match up, plus Parra's hitting .225 against lefties. Like most people, that's probably where the thinking stopped. But it shouldn't have.
Parra had already ripped a single off Sanchez and clearly wasn't fooled by anything he was throwing up there. A cursory glance at Parra's 2009 stats show that he is batting .354 with runners in scoring position and .324 with RISP and 2 outs. They both might be rookies, but Parra has over 300 more at-bats than Ryal. In his 23 total ABs, Ryal's got one RBI. One.
Maybe that's overthinking it, but considering the results (Parra singles in Upton from second and Romero singles in Ryal to give Arizona a 3-1 lead) perhaps not.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Ishikawa saves Bochy's Bacon
Credit for last night's win (we'll pass on the near collapse commentary for the moment) clearly goes to Travis Ishikawa and Matt Cain. The latter for keeping us in the game, the former for jumping on a Jon Rauch change up in the eighth inning for a three run bomb.
There were no glaring errors made by Bochy last night, but the argument can be made that not having Velez lay down a bunt with runners at 1st and 2nd and one out in the bottom of the 7th was a tactical mistake. It would have put runners in scoring position with two outs where a wild pitch, pass ball or a base hit (come on, miracles happen) could have set up a much less stress inducing 8th inning.
The only other thing that probably deserves commenting is that Brian Wilson should not have been in last night. The 41 pitches he threw in Colorado on Monday was clearly a factor last night and it probably would have been best to keep him fresh for the rest of this series and that mildly important weekend matchup with the Rockies.
There were no glaring errors made by Bochy last night, but the argument can be made that not having Velez lay down a bunt with runners at 1st and 2nd and one out in the bottom of the 7th was a tactical mistake. It would have put runners in scoring position with two outs where a wild pitch, pass ball or a base hit (come on, miracles happen) could have set up a much less stress inducing 8th inning.
The only other thing that probably deserves commenting is that Brian Wilson should not have been in last night. The 41 pitches he threw in Colorado on Monday was clearly a factor last night and it probably would have been best to keep him fresh for the rest of this series and that mildly important weekend matchup with the Rockies.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
It's Time for a Change
I think we've all seen this coming for some time, but the Monday 8/24 Colorado meltdown (which will be refereed to as the "Debacle in Denver" from here on) was the final nail in the coffin of what should be the end of Bruce Bochy's tenure as the manager of the SF Giants.
Forget the mismanagement of the bullpen and the bench players in the extra frames - that's something that I would be otherwise willing to overlook had the game not really been lost in the top of the 9th inning when Ryan Garko's leadoff double was not cashed in for a run, allowing for Brian Wilson to notch the save.
Forget the mismanagement of the bullpen and the bench players in the extra frames - that's something that I would be otherwise willing to overlook had the game not really been lost in the top of the 9th inning when Ryan Garko's leadoff double was not cashed in for a run, allowing for Brian Wilson to notch the save.
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