San Francisco's Bochy making all right moves
10/25/2010SAN FRANCISCO - Bruce Bochy mixed and matched the San Francisco Giants all the way to the World Series.
From Game 1 of the division series against Atlanta to the NL pennant clincher Saturday night in Philly, Bochy's moves have been right on this October.
How about those three double-switches he made in a Game 4 victory over the Phillies?
It seems all the close games the Giants played this season were good not only for the players but for Bochy too.
"You certainly can't drift mentally, that's for sure, when you're not putting a lot of runs on the board and playing these tight games," Bochy said.
Now Bochy and his Giants have a chance to win it all - something this franchise hasn't done since moving West in 1958. San Francisco will host World Series first-timer Texas in Game 1 on Wednesday at AT&T Park.
Bochy endured his share of playoff failure in the past. He had experienced little success this time of year until now, in his fourth season with San Francisco. Bochy lost 10 of his previous 11 postseason games while managing the Padres before this remarkable 2010 run by a club he has referred to as "characters," "castoffs," and "misfits."
For all those amused by the former catcher's slow shuffle to the mound or penchant for using veterans, there's no question how much the 55-year-old Bochy cares about his players. Players appreciate knowing when they will be in the lineup or why they aren't out there - and Bochy is known for communicating such things and having the tough conversations when necessary.
Take the decision to leave struggling $126 million starting pitcher Barry Zito off the roster for the first two rounds. Not an easy call. Or the midseason benching of underachieving outfielder Aaron Rowand, who behind Zito is the team's second-highest paid player.
"You set aside your own agenda and do what's best for the team," Bochy said. "That's what it has to be at this point. Hopefully we have one priority, and that's to win. These guys have done a great job with it. A lot of guys who have been out there every day, their role has changed. They've done a great job of being a good teammate and accepting that and doing whatever they can to help out."
Bochy was swept in the 1998 World Series while with San Diego and eliminated in the minimum three games in the 2005 division series by St. Louis, then lost in four games to the Cardinals in the first round the very next year. That '98 team was Bochy's lone pennant in 12 seasons as Padres skipper.
He got a fresh start in Northern California with the Giants in 2007, replacing Felipe Alou. Bochy's first Giants team went 71-91 and the one after that finished with just one more victory at 72-90. It was the 2009 squad that stayed in the wild card race until mid-September and showed this team was getting close to becoming a serious contender again - for the first time since home run king Barry Bonds carried the club.
When things go poorly along the way, Bochy doesn't even like to go out in public, afraid of giving off the impression he's satisfied and not focused on making things better.
Rowand, replaced in the starting lineup during the summer by longtime minor leaguer Andres Torres, acknowledges Bochy's hand in how far the club has come.
Rowand started Games 3 and 4 of the NLCS for the slumping Torres, yet Rowand was replaced one batter after making a fabulous throw home to save a run in Game 4.
Bochy was the NL Manager of the Year in 1996, his second season in San Diego when the Padres were 91-71 with a 21-win improvement from his first campaign.
It has taken patience to get things back on track in San Francisco, where Bochy took over in 2007 in time to see Bonds' record-breaking season. Managing the slugger's ego and frenzied chase toward passing Hank Aaron and becoming home run king on Aug. 7 that year was quite a task in itself - along with watching out for the other 24 guys in the clubhouse who received little attention during the whole spectacle.
Bochy has developed a reputation for favoring veterans over unproven youth along the way. Still, the Giants didn't wait too awfully long to make rookie Buster Posey their top catcher after he spent a short stint at first base until Bengie Molina was traded to Texas.
Bochy developed different lineups as his personnel constantly changed this year.
"I don't know if I'm managing really any different than what I was doing earlier," Bochy said. "It's not so much ruffling feathers, it's doing what's right and putting the guys out there that you think are going to help you win that game."