Kuzul

Leadership is a very difficult thing to write about because it cannot be measured or quantified.

That doesn’t mean that it isn’t significant, or that it doesn’t exist.

According to Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News, Giants manager Bruce Bochy met with the team before the game on Friday to demand more toughness and competitiveness of his troops, particularly from his slumping offense. The Giants went out and responded with a season-high 16 runs.

Perhaps the Giants busted out because of Bochy’s leadership skills, or, perhaps it had more to do with playing at hitter-friendly Coors Field against one of the worst pitching staffs in the league. It’s impossible to say what caused the outburst, but we shouldn’t sell Bochy’s qualities as a leader of men short.

Bochy does several things very well as a manager. His biggest strength is without question his handling of the pitching staff, particularly the bullpen. Since Bochy took over as manager in 2007, no team has a better ERA than the Giants.

Some of that is obviously due to the Giants having good pitchers throwing in a pitcher-friendly stadium, but a lot of the credit also has to go to Bochy’s handling of those arms, with major assistance from pitching coach Dave Righetti.

On the offensive side of things, Bochy does a good job of avoiding small-ball tactics. The Giants are sixth in the league in adding runs on the bases because Bochy green-lights his fast runners while encouraging his slower runners to play it conservatively.

The Giants don’t run into a lot of unnecessary outs, and they also don’t throw away many outs with the sacrifice bunt. Outs are the scarcest resource at a manager’s disposal, so unless you are bunting with the pitcher, bunting for a hit or attempting to squeeze home a run, bunting away an out is usually the wrong tactical move.

Bochy does a good job of leading his troops, handling his pitchers and valuing outs properly with the offense. However, my one criticism of his managerial style is the way he handles the lineup.

The number two spot in the lineup is of critical importance, yet Bochy continues to hit Ryan Theriot there. Theriot is currently hitting a tepid .267/.314/.316 with nearly as many double-plays (9) as extra base hits (13). He doesn’t walk, hit for power or get on base much in front of the Giants four best hitters: Melky Cabrera, Buster Posey, Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval (currently on the DL).

To be fair, part of the problem is the that the front office has not provided him with many better options to put at the top of the lineup.

The other gripe I have with Bochy is that he is overly dependent on small sample sizes when he makes the lineup, preferring to play the hot hand in favor of taking the longer view, and allowing guys to play through slumps.

Nate Schierholtz summed up the issue well when he recently told Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, “I just felt like I had a short leash. It was series by series, if I didn’t perform for three games, that was my chance. It got frustrating at times. We didn’t see eye to eye.”

Playing the hot hand has its benefits, but it can also be detrimental to the development of younger players like Schierholtz and Brandon Belt.

Belt certainly has struggled in the big leagues, and there is certainly an argument to be made that he has not earned more playing time. At the same time, the fact that over the last two seasons he’s only been placed in the starting lineup 113 times by Bochy speaks volumes to how much he’s been jerked around.

Inconsistent,erratic playing time makes it very difficult to evaluate a young player, as we still have less than a whole season of playing time in which to evaluate Belt, despite the fact that he’s been in the big leagues for all of this season and a large chunk of last year.

On the whole, the Giants obviously have a very good manager in Bruce Bochy. He led the franchise to its first world series championship in San Francisco just two seasons ago. His trust in his starting pitchers and handling of the bullpen has led to some excellent run prevention during his tenure. He also trusts the hitters he puts in the lineup to get the job done by avoiding the sacrifice bunt.

Perhaps he could be more patient with his younger hitters like the recently departed Schierholtz, and Belt, who has been benched in favor of non-prospect Brett Pill twice in the past three games.

Alas, no manager is perfect, and most managerial criticisms are going to be subjective anyway. The Giants have a manager good enough to steer the ship to a world series title, and that is all that really matters in the end.

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Bruce Bochy, general manager of the San Francisco Giants, is clearly one of the most underrated coaches in all of baseball.  Ranking third in wins among active managers, Bochy has flown under the radar for most of his managerial career, which is absolutely by design.

Never seeking the limelight or creating a controversy, Bochy almost always keeps a cool demeanor and level head.  Known as “Boch” (Boach) in baseball circles, he rarely gets kicked out of a game, seldom reacts negatively to a reporter’s questions and doesn’t have the post-game tirade highlights that a lot of his contemporaries are known for.

All of this explains how a manager—who ranks 27th in all-time wins and will likely be 23rd behind Earl Weaver by the end of the year—is rarely talked about when discussing the great managers in the game. 

The two active managers currently ahead of Bochy are Jim Leyland, already considered one of the great managers of all time, and Dusty Baker, who always garners national attention. 

Now I’m not saying that Bochy should be mentioned as one of the great managers of all time, but he should get some consideration as one of the best managers in the game today.

Bochy’s career record is 1,394 wins and 1,403 losses over 18 seasons.  He is 122 wins behind Baker in one less year and 222 wins behind Leyland in three less years. 

If the Giants played .500 baseball over the next three years, Bochy would have more wins than Leyland’s current total in the same amount of years. 

Moreover, Bochy takes a hit because he still has a sub-.500 record, in part due to managing in San Diego for so many years.  Leyland also has a sub-.500 record, at 1,616 wins and 1,617 losses, but when historians discuss his record, the bad Pittsburgh years are brought up. 

Maybe it’s because he took them to the World Series in 1998, but for a lot of Bochy’s Padre years, the team was not spending money on free agents and there wasn’t a big commitment from the organization to win. 

Baker is 122 wins over .500, at 1,516 wins and 1,394 losses, over 19 seasons.  His winning percentage is better than Bochy’s, and he’s won the Manager of the Year Award three times (93, 97, 00) versus Bochy’s one time (96).   

That being said, I’m sure Baker would trade all three of his Manager of the Year Awards for the one title Bochy does own, the 2010 World Series Championship Trophy—the first ever for the San Francisco Giants.

It’s probably especially bitter for Baker since he was in position to be the first San Francisco Giants manager to win a World Series, but it all fell apart in Games 6 and 7 of the 2002 World Series.

Leyland also has three manager of the year awards (90, 92, 06) and has his own World Series Championship in 1997 with the Florida Marlins.  

Considering the World Series title coupled with his two pennants (97, 06), Leyland and Bochy’s careers look very similar.  Bochy has won two pennants and a World Series, and their win totals are very comparable over the same amount of games. 

Interestingly, I would bet if you asked someone who lives in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or Seattle who the best five managers currently in the game are, most assuredly Leyland will be at the top of the list, Baker will likely be in there somewhere and Bochy’s name will not come up. 

Even more amazing, Bochy only needs to manage two or three more years to pass the likes of the great Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda and the legendary Ralph Houk.  

At the age of 57, Bochy is 10 years younger than Leyland and five years younger than Baker.  Who knows how long any of the three will manage and where they will end up on the all-time list?  

What I know for sure, right now, is that Bochy doesn’t get the credit for the numbers he’s already achieved, and I’m sure he’s just fine with it.

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Prior to Saturday’s afternoon game vs. the Texas Rangers at AT&T Park, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was asked numerous questions about Pablo Sandoval.   Affectionately known as the “Panda,” Sandoval was activated from the 15-day disabled list today after missing 35 games while rehabbing from surgery on a fractured hamate bone in his left wrist. 

While there were a number of questions surrounding Sandoval’s rehab and availability to hit from both sides, Bochy was asked if he appreciated Sandoval’s recent comments about taking his fitness seriously. 

Pulling no punches, Bochy responded immediately, saying, “There comes a time when you don’t want to hear it, you need action, and that’s got to happen now.” 

Bochy didn’t stop there, as he elaborated on the weight Sandoval has apparently lost this week, “That has to be consistent, it can’t (just) be for three or four days, or a week, it’s gotta be for the season.”

This is not the first time Bochy and the Giants have taken issue with Sandoval’s weight.  After lighting it up in 2009, his first full season in the big leagues, a heavier Sandoval struggled in 2010. 

By some reports, Sandoval had put on 25-30 lbs, and by the stretch run to the World Series, his hitting and his fielding had suffered.

After finishing the season with only 13 home runs, and a .268 average, Bochy and Brian Sabean sat Sandoval down and told him he needed to commit to his fitness and conditioning or he would find himself as the odd man out.

The talk seemed to work, as Sandoval spent most of the offseason in Arizona working on conditioning and his overall weight.  When Sandoval showed up to spring training in 2011, he was leaner and by his own account, in the best shape of his life.

The conditioning clearly paid off on the field, as Sandoval hit .315 last year with 23 home runs.  Interestingly, prior to the wrist injury this year, Sandoval was hitting .316 with five home runs in 24 games.  

Other than five errors at third base, Sandoval wasn’t showing signs that he was reverting back to his 2010 issues, but he’s obviously put on a significant amount of weight, and the Giants are clearly concerned.

Commenting further about Pablo getting into playing shape and staying there, Bochy noted that “That’s what he needs to do, that’s what we want to see, and he knows that’s what he needs to do.” 

Pablo will start today at third base and bat third in the lineup.  Bochy also commented that he hadn’t been able to sit down with Sandoval since he arrived from Fresno but would definitely get with him later. 

With Melky Cabrera sidelined for a few days with a strained hamstring, the Giants need Sandoval to come in and provide the same spark he provided the offense prior to his stint on the disabled list. 

If Sandoval struggles at the plate or in the field, you can bet Bochy will be receiving an increasing amount of questions about Sandoval’s weight.

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If you want to know why the San Francisco Giants are barely a .500 team, you don’t need to look any further then the sixth inning in the Giants’ 7-6 loss Friday night to the Miami Marlins.

With one out and one run already in to cut the Giants’ lead over the Marlins to 3-2, the Marlins had the bases loaded. Tim Lincecum was already over 90 pitches and looked like he had lost it.

Then John Buck hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Only then did Giants manager Bruce Bochy get the bullpen going. A little late, don’t you think?

The next batter, Chris Coghlan, hit a three-run homer and the Marlins had blown the game wide open, leading 6-3. By the way, Coghlan had a homer in only five career at-bats against Lincecum. 

Bochy pulled Lincecum, but it was way too late for the Giants and their ace.

So Bochy’s slow thinking cost the Giants and Lincecum once again.

A few things have come to light this year about Lincecum. One is that he no longer can be trusted to get out of jams in the middle innings. Bochy leaves him in every time and keeps letting Lincecum hurt himself and the team.

Yo, Boch, this isn’t Cy Young Timmy from 2008 or 2009. It isn’t even up and down Lincecum of 2010 or last year. This is a pitcher who has lost his confidence to get out of these situations.

Yet Bochy is making things worse by allowing Lincecum to bury himself and the Giants every single time. Bochy needs to throw Lincecum a life preserver by having a quick hook. Instead he’s sticking a fire hose down his throat and turning it on full blast!

Bochy potentially cost the Giants 4 runs in the sixth inning, and the Giants lost by only one. This was Bochy’s loss through and through.

This just goes to prove what I’ve been saying all along about Bochy. He’s a lousy manager with poor judgement. Brian Sabean and Larry Baer, are you watching the games? Bochy is screwing up right and left.

A good manager can sense when his pitcher is losing it. He knows when to make a change. Bochy isn’t a good manager. Not even close.

Remember a few years ago when Barry Zito would start allowing home runs after the 90th pitch like clockwork? Do you also remember that everyone in the media noted that fact? And do you remember how long it took Bochy to start using a quicker hook with Zito? It was absolutely ridiculous! The man just doesn’t get it.

There’s believing in your players and then there’s just being a damn fool. 

I was calling for Bochy’s head on a platter last season. Yes, the Giants were strapped by injuries, but all Bochy did was make matters worse on an almost daily basis.

Hensley Meulens isn’t the only one who needs to go. It’s time to get rid of Bochy and hire a manager who can think his way through things.

No, the Giants personnel isn’t perfect. Far from it. But no team is. Certainly the Los Angeles Dodgers, this year’s surprise team in the majors, isn’t perfect either. They are a collection of a few stars and the rest are journeyman that general manager Ned Colletti threw together with a limited budget. Yet they are in first place with the majors’ best record.

The Giants are a better team then the Dodgers on paper, and they should be better on the field. But they’re not, because of poor managing. Time to get a manager that will lead the Giants past the Dodgers and any potential playoff foes.

But there won’t be any playoffs for the Giants if Bochy continues as Giants manager.

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I wish I had a dime for every article written about Tim Lincecum lately.  Needless to say, Giants Nation is in full freak-out mode and we’re only one-quarter of the way through the 2012 season.  Well, I’m not writing about Timmy.  I’ve already made my predictions regarding Lincecum and I’m sticking to them.

But let’s take a look at Bochy.  The good decisions, the questionable decisions and the guiding force that leads him through the season.  The Giants manager is privy to a lot of information that none of us can ever even sniff; I think we can all give him that.

Some fans love him, while others want his formidable head on a platter. Here are some reasons Bochy deserves his job more than you do.

Experience

Bochy played the game for nearly 10 seasons.  He had 802 at-bats and hit 26 home runs.  He was a decent catcher, and he gets some credibility just because he laced them up.

He managed the San Diego Padres for 12 years, leading them to their first NL pennant in 14 years, as well as five postseason appearances.  He won over 900 games while managing the Padres—the most in team history—and they were on a budget.  He also won Manager of the Year in 1996.

He has managed the San Francisco Giants since 2006.  Obviously, the outcome of 2010 has given Bochy a bit of job security.

Patience

Unlike the fanbase, Bochy knows managing takes an exorbitant amount of patience.  It’s a long season, and baseball is a humbling profession.  When fans go insane about Bochy placing aging veterans in the lineup, well, it’s for a reason.  Bochy understands streaks and slumps.  I’ve personally watched him sit right behind home plate during batting practice carefully watching his guys.  He knows what’s up.

Strategy

Even I have criticized the lack of bunting, or basic small ball play by the Giants.  Bochy has the tools, speed and opportunities to manufacture some runs in 2012; so he’s using them.  His strategy has shifted because his team has shifted.  The Giants are faster, younger and unfortunately more error-prone due to a lack of Major League experience.  Bochy is trying to adjust.

Lineups

CSNBayarea joked that Bochy has resorted to pulling the lineup names out of a hat.  But how brilliant was it to move Brandon Crawford to the two-hole?  He sees more fastballs now, and he is hitting.  He also sent a message by letting Madison Bumgarner hit eighth, and Emmanuel Burriss ninth.  He does, perhaps, overemphasize the righty-lefty matchups; but that seems to be his thing.  Let’s just give him that.

Politics

Bruce Bochy has to deal with Brian Sabean and the front office, not to mention the egos of overpaid ballplayers.  When we are all wondering why we have to watch Aubrey Huff get second, third and forth chances to play, we need to just remember that there are other forces at work.  Some folks are saving face and praying that their big investments pay off—if only a little.  It certainly seems like it was a great move to keep Barry Zito in the rotation this season.  However, I would have avoided Zito like the plague when the season started.

Media

Bochy loves baseball, he likes his players and he knows it is his job to win ballgames.  That is his first priority.  Dealing with the media—especially tedious press conferences after a loss—is just the sucky part of the job.  It’s no fun trying to answer sensitive and difficult questions; and it takes a real diplomat to be able to say enough, without saying too much.  Some information has to stay within the franchise, and going in front of the cameras is a tricky tightrope to walk.

Discipline

Everyone on the team is supposed to be a professional. But let’s face it, most of these guys are in their twenties and spend a lot of time on the road. That, my friends, is a recipe for questionable behavior.  In many ways the manager has to be a babysitter, a parent and a counselor.  He has to smooth ruffled feathers and step on some toes; and occasionally, he has to put a player in his place.  

So, the next time we all want to rag on Bochy, questioning his decisions and demanding his firing, let’s stand back for a minute and remember all the responsibilities he has.  Bruce Bochy is doing everything he can to help these guys win ballgames.  He’s dealing with injuries, inexperienced players and a fairly tough schedule.  

My plan now is to lay off a bit and see what he comes up with.  Though, I might start complaining again after 80 games have been played.

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After watching another pathetic performance by the San Francisco Giants, one that almost put me asleep, I had a thought. This team might not be doing itself much good right now, but boy it’s been good to its opponents.

As evidence, I give you tonight’s opponents, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Before tonight, the Diamondbacks had lost five in a row and seven of their last eight.

Giants to the rescue! It doesn’t matter that the D’Backs rolled out a guy with a seven-plus ERA; he was still able to shut down the Giants’ feeble bats.

And the Giants’ defense helped again with a couple of errors, along with a misplay in the outfield that opened the door for a three-run inning that undid the Giants. Down 4-1 at that point in the fifth inning, the score might as well have been 16-1 the way the Giants have been hitting. Or I should say not hitting.

Prior to the D’Backs, the Giants limped into Los Angeles to play the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first-place Dodgers had gotten off to a great start, but had been slumping lately, losing four of six and coming off a series loss to the Cubs.

No problem. the Giants came to town and managed to lose two of three, including an embarrassing 9-1 defeat Monday night. Wednesday night wasn’t much better as the Dodgers prevailed 6-2 against Giants “ace” Tim Lincecum. Surprisingly, the only win in the series was against Giant-killer Clayton Kershaw. But the Giants didn’t exactly tear the cover off the ball, winning 2-1 and getting all of their runs on a Brett Pill homer in the second. That’s four runs in three games if you’re keeping score at home.

Before the Dodgers series, the Miami Marlins came into San Francisco, reeling with seven losses in their last eight games. Now the Marlins are red hot, thanks to the Giants, sweeping the Giants in three games at AT&T Park.

The way the Giants are playing right now, I think they would have a tough time with the Bad News Bears or the Sisters of the Poor.

The hitting is non existent, the defense is shaky and the bullpen is iffy at best.

It’s time to shake things up for your San Francisco Giants. The first one that needs to go is Hensley Meulens, the batting coach. The Giants need to bring someone in who isn’t as nice as Meulens and Bruce Bochy. Someone who will fill a player’s ear when he has a bad at-bat.

And Bruce Bochy needs to get mad about the situation. If I see one more shot of Bochy looking frustrated in the Giants’ dugout, I think I’m going to be sick to my stomach. The guy always looks like he has gas.

Get pissed off, Boch! Do you have it in you? Well, show us. Tell a player if he makes a bad play. Argue a little more with the umpires when there’s a bad call. Get yourself tossed every once in a while to try to fire your team up.

The Giants need some leadership right now. They need someone to show some care. Bochy has to be that guy. If he can’t show that kind of leadership, then he shouldn’t be the Giants’ manager.

The Giants have injuries, but that’s part of the game. The guys they have will need to perform. And I think they have enough talent to be competitive with their starting rotation.

If things don’t change soon, Bochy should be in danger of losing his job. But he can control his own destiny. Get mad, Boch! Let your team know you care. Or soon it will be someone else’s job to get the Giants on track.

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Aubrey Huff texted in sick, to manager Bruce Bochy before the San Francisco Giants doubleheader with the Mets on April 23.  Apparently a “family emergency” called him urgently back to Florida.

Well, in baseball timing is everything and Huff’s little excursion certainly raises some eyebrows. Huff is currently hitting .182/.300/.333.  During Huff’s last game he was 0-4, but much worse than that was the appalling error he made in the ninth inning that cost the Giants an unearned run in what would be a rather bizarre 5-4 loss.

Manager Bruce Bochy said: “He had to go back for personal reasons, personal issues.”

So how much empathy do we show?  It’s a puzzle, isn’t it?  Fans can run hot and cold on certain players like Aubrey Huff.  He was adored in 2010.  We all loved him, even when he shoved his hand down his pants in front of Willie Mays and the world.  

Now that he isn’t hitting, making rookie mistakes in the field, and blocking first base from younger, hungrier players he is the goat.  People resent his $11 million salary this year, and his apparently laissez faire attitude toward playing and working out.

He lets the team down on the eve of an 18-inning marathon while another player (Theriot) was just released from the hospital with a terrible stomach virus.  That must have been some text message. Don’t you think he should have called or met with Bruce Bochy before leaving?  I mean, isn’t that the professional thing to do, even in an emergency?

Bochy mentioned that Huff was apologetic in his message.  I bet.  He certainly was not apologetic after the loss on Saturday, in fact he was smiling after the error.  Giants’ announcer and former pitcher Mike Krukow told KNBR that Huff’s performance at second was, “a brain-dead play…it’s unacceptable.“

The fact that the usual very supportive Krukow was so verbally (and emotionally) critical of Huff to the media is an obvious test balloon from the front office.  The Giants are preparing to make a move with Huff, if you ask me, although none of my inside sources will confirm anything. 

Aubrey Huff was still missing when the Giants came to Cincinnati on Tuesday.  He is now dealing with GM Brian Sabean.  MLB does have a Bereavement List where a player can leave the team for up to seven games, thus freeing the team to call someone up from the 40-man roster.  

This was not used in the case of Aubrey Huff which tells me that no one in his immediate family has passed away.

What’s the emergency?  

Obviously the truth is going to get out sooner or later.  I believe the longer it takes for the real story to get out, the more the fans will be embittered toward Aubrey Huff.  I thought that Huff would probably exit the 25-man roster when Freddy Sanchez came off the DL.  The rumor is that Freddy returns to the majors on May 11th in time to face the D-Backs.

Before all this happened I predicted that Huff would not finish the year as a Giant, but it’s starting to look like he won’t finish April as a Giant.  It was fun while it lasted, Aubrey.  I hope the emergency isn’t really terrible.  I hope Aubrey didn’t really let down his teammates and his fans by abandoning everyone in New York.  I hope he’s a little bit sorry that he lost his mind at second base, and I hope he’s still got his rally thong on because he needs it now more than ever.

We all get older, and we all slow down.  “That’s the law,” as Butch once told Sundance.  I hope there are better days ahead for Aubrey Huff, but I doubt those will be in San Francisco.  

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On Monday, it was a trip to Kansas City’s spring training facility to see the Royals and San Francisco. Outside of the Chicago Cubs, the Giants are the biggest draw in the Cactus League and easily had more than half the fans of the 6,243 in attendance.

To the delight of much of the crowd, San Francisco won 2-1, as both teams used a mix of regulars and subs for about six innings, before the younger guys with numbers of 60 or higher took over.

Last season, the Giants were last in the National League in scoring and 29th in baseball, with a large part of their problem being they swung (and often missed) at more pitches that were out of the strike zone than any other team in the major league. The return of Buster Posey will help, although you don’t go from being the lowest scoring team in your league to becoming the 1970s Big Red Machine because of one player.

Part of the change in culture was noted when San Francisco got a runner on first base. If that player had reasonable speed, they would be looking to steal second, and if a hit ball was a questionable gapper, the runner would try to advance the extra base.

Kansas City’s farm system is reportedly well stocked and the parent club was sixth in runs scored in the junior circuit in 2011. Can the Royals maintain a solid scoring team and improve its pitching to continue its march to become a .500 club? That answer will come later and it will be their pitching that will make that determination.

Giants Notes: Tim Lincecum threw four good innings, striking out four and permitting one walk and one hit. Lincecum utilized his curveball for the first time this spring and had good results, if not total command just yet. “This is a lot better than my last outing (five runs on seven hits and a walk with no strikeouts),” Lincecum said. “The fact I doubled my innings helps and my arm and my body still feel good and I still kept my mechanics. I’m trying to take that as a positive and run with it.” While there are still three weeks left in spring training, Lincecum’s velocity is of possible concern. If the radar gun numbers on the scoreboard are to be believed, Lincecum topped out at 90-91 MPH—just like last season—and not at the 93-95 range of his Cy Young seasons. This should be looked at further once the season starts.

San Francisco has a great deal of catching depth behind the healing Buster Posey, with the likes of switch-hitting 22-year-old Hector Sanchez, who will probably start the year in the minors along with vets Eli Whiteside and Chris Stewart.

The Giants are very excited about center fielder Gregor Blanco, who reached based four times on Monday and raised his batting average to a scalding .545. Blanco earned MVP honors in the Venezuelan Winter League and has not missed a beat in wearing a San Francisco uniform for the first time.

Freddy Sanchez is expected to take the field sometime this week, having been a DH to this point in coming back from a torn labrum last June. Among the people playing second base is Joaquin Arias, who made three sensational plays. The 27-year-old doesn’t appear to be a threat with a bat in his hand, but give him some leather and he’ll get the job done.

Brett Pill had two hits and played first base yesterday, and it is perplexing that it seems the Giants’ front office really wants this 27-year-old to play over Brandon Belt, who is four years younger and has considerably more power.

San Francisco’s projected win total is 87 and if that is to be reached, they need Posey and Sanchez back to their old selves and others to be a force. If manager Bruce Bochy stays committed to being aggressive on the base paths and the starting pitching holds up, there is no reason the Giants cannot return to the postseason and win 90 games in 2012.

Royals Notes: Having never seen Luke Hochevar live before, the immediate reaction is he throws harder than I would have guessed, consistently ringing up 95 mph on the radar gun. Last season, his career took off in a new direction by adjusting his arm angle to make his slider appear like his sinker, causing hesitation by batters. In the second half of last year Hochevar had a 3.52 ERA and averaged 7.7 punch-outs per nine innings. On Monday, while throwing hard, his pitches lacked movement in surrendering two runs on four hits over three innings and was taken deep by Conor Gillaspie. This is an important year for the 6’6″ right-hander who turns 29 in September and needs to show that he’s more than just another arm on what might be an ordinary club.

For the first time in memory, Kansas City has enough quality pitchers in camp and they will actually have to send somebody down because they were not just quite good enough to make the big club, instead of choosing the lesser of evils. Manager Ned Yost has talked about the competition being extremely “stiff”, using that word four times in the same sentence recently. While it is debatable about the exact quality of this contingent, it is a big upgrade over prior years.

Another huge positive for the Royals would be the return to form of closer Joakim Soria, who suffered declining strikeout numbers and less command a season ago. If Soria does not return to previous form, the match of him and new setup man Jonathan Broxton could cause a sharp increase in the need for Maalox in the Kansas City area. Yost would be foolish not to maximize the talents of last year’s setup star Greg Holland, who struck out three of the four San Fran hitters he faced Monday.

Any lineup that includes Billy Butler and Eric Hosmer is a terrific place to start. If Alex Gordon can have the same kind of breakout season he did last year and be a touch more selective at the dish, Kansas City’s offense will be capable of scoring runs in bunches. However, to surpass the oddsmakers total of 80 projected wins and finish second in the AL Central, the pitching has to improve overall and more Royals at the top and the bottom of the order have to be on base with greater regularity. 

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Bruce Bochy is consistent, you have to give him that. The San Francisco Giants manager seems to be getting worse before he gets better.

A couple of days ago my esteemed colleague Barry Shiller wrote this piece about Bruce Bochy’s blind spots. He was too kind. I’m not that kind.

In tonight’s 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bochy showed again why he has no place managing the San Francisco Giants, let alone the Bad News Bears.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Giants catcher Chris Stewart bunted for a base hit with one out. Nice job by Stewart to get something going for a San Francisco Giants offense that had been stifled yet again, this time by Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw.

The obvious move, the move every San Francisco Giants fan and many non fans knew was coming next was to pinch run for Stewart with Giants speedster Darren Ford. Who can forget Ford single-handedly taking over a game in the late innings last year by scoring a run with his legs and winning the game for the light-hitting Giants?

Up came pinch hitter Mark DeRosa. No Ford. DeRosa popped out for the second out of the inning. Then Stewart jammed his ankle on an attempted pickoff play (after a strike was already on the batter, Justin Christian) and had to leave the game. Ahh, time to bring in Ford, who promptly stole second base. Christian struck out to end the inning.

Wouldn’t it have made more sense to bring in the speedster Ford right away, have him steal second, possibly even try to steal third and put the Giants in a situation with a runner in scoring position with less than two outs?

The Giants have three catchers on the roster, four if you include Pablo Sandoval. Why in the world was Bochy letting Stewart run in that crucial situation? Trust me, if Stewart hadn’t gotten injured, Ford would have never gotten in. Why? Your guess is as good as mine; maybe you should ask Bruce Bochy.

In the top of the ninth the Dodgers got a leadoff single by their catcher Rod Barajas. Don Mattingly (not exactly god’s gift to managing) did what any manager with a brain in his head would do: he pinch ran his fastest guy on the bench, former GIan Eugenio Velez, for his slow-footed catcher.

Velez was bunted to second by Justin Sellers and went to third on a wild pitch by Santiago Casilla. Then the speed came in when Velez scored on a short one hopper to Jeff Keppinger, whose throw was just a bit late and the go-ahead (and eventual winning) run scored.

The same situation—the catcher gets a hit—but different approaches. Mattingly does the sound thing and runs for the catcher, Bochy does the unthinkable and leaves his catcher in. Granted, there was one out for the Giants and none for the Dodgers, but that doesn’t take Bochy off the hook.

Bochy was not playing to win, he was playing not to lose, keeping in the better defensive catcher Stewart (until he got hurt that is). Yes, Eli Whiteside let the wild pitch get by him, on a ball that Stewart may have been able to block, but the Giants have a third catcher, Hector Sanchez, on the roster. Oh, that’s right, he’s a rookie, can’t play him Boch.

And Tim Lincecum is victimized yet again, first by the Giants’ bad hitting and second by another terrible Bochy non-decision.

Which brings up the point of my article last week, San Francisco Giants Should Fire Bruce Bochy. The guy is just a bad manager. Yes, bad managers can win the World Series, and Bochy is living proof. 

My new nickname for Bochy is an adaptation of his name, Botch-ey, because he botches things. The extra “e” stands for empty. Botch-ey has come up empty this season big time for the champs. Was there some sort of magic in the dip?

Up eight-and-a-half games and rolling, the Arizona Diamondbacks aren’t going to let the Giants back in the race. Bochy shouldn’t be making it so easy for them. Now, if it doesn’t cause the Giants manager too many heart palpitations, time to play the young guys every day.

Season over.

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Yeeech.

Losing three of four in Atlanta was disappointing. 

But getting steamrolled by the hapless 40-85 Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game weekend series? That’s senseless. And pitiful.

Here’s senseless: Pablo Sandoval hurts his left shoulder twisting a stubborn soda bottle cap and is out of Friday’s lineup (just joshing; he hurt it swinging the bat Thursday in Atlanta).

Here’s pitiful: the Giants infield Friday consisted of Huff at 1B, Fontenot at 2B, Tejada at SS, DeRosa at 3B. I affectionately call that group the O-Gang, as in: nO offense, Old, and Oh-my-gosh-these-guys-look-awful.

Sorry for the sarcasm. How else are we going to get through this?

Atlanta did defeat Arizona Friday, so the Giants NL West deficit remains two-and-a-half games. It only feels like it’s seven.

So what comes next? Locusts in the clubhouse? Bed bugs in the players’ hotel rooms? No cold beer at the hotel bar for Aubrey Huff? Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, here are five things to watch for as the Giants continue this dreadful road trip. 

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