Bochy, with a 'T'

Dave Paisley

Here I was, thinking Bruce Bochy was a shoo-in for manager of the year, when he suddenly screws up two games in a row by being unable to manage a pitching staff.

Leaving Joey Hamilton in for the seventh inning of Game 4 is perhaps understandable, even though he struggled in the sixth. At the time I was sure that leaving him in was a mistake, if not for the reasons Tim McCarver outlined on the TV broadcast. Unlike Tim, I don't believe Hamilton was distracted by almost being pinch-hit for, he was just past his endurance point.

With a one-run lead, Bochy showed a remarkable reluctance to trust the bullpen that has got him this far. Didn't he have a plan before the game? Over and above crossing his fingers and hoping Hamilton would last long enough to get to Trevor Hoffman, that is.

But that pales into insignificance with his Game 5 stupidity. With a two-run lead after seven, what the hell is he doing bringing in his probable Game 6 starter? Sure, you would like to close out the series here, and if the ploy works, it doesn't matter to the long-range pitching rotation if Brown pitches or not. But there's very little upside to using Brown and a huge amount of risk.

If Brown succeeds, he doesn't pitch much, and he still gets enough rest to be the Game 1 starter in the World Series, as you don't have to use him in a Game 6. But if he fails, not only do you have to send him out there for Game 6, but you have to do it with a potential tired arm. Of course, this is Kevin Brown we're talking about, but he isn't superhuman. With a well-rested bullpen, why not use them?

This is just another example of a manager not being able to figure out a decent game plan and sticking with it. Bochy seems to belong to the Lou Piniella "Screw Up Your Pitching Staff As You Go Along" School of Pitching Mismanagement.

So now Bochy is in a position where a few pitches by Kevin Brown has cost them his services for Game 6, which will now be pitched by Sterling Hitchcock on three days' rest against Tom Glavine, rather than Kevin Brown on five days' rest. Instead, Brown will go in Game 7, if necessary, against Greg Maddux.

So Bochy gambled and lost. If he's the first manager to surrender a 3-0 lead in a seven-game series, we can point to his mismanagement of the pitching staff in the past two games. I guess we'll find out in the next three days.

 

about the author

Dave Paisley is covering the National League playoffs for Strikethree.com, and we'll bring him back on only two days' rest if we damn well please. Contact him at drdjp@strikethree.com.

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