BAD MOVE BAD TIMING
For those of you who did not read this morning’s Sporting Green in the San Francisco Chronicle, a piece written by Scott Ostler was entitled, “Bochy’s not-bad move comes at a very bad time.” This article was in reference to Bruce Bochy’s decision to pull Tim “I’m a G” Lincecum with one out in the ninth inning of yesterday afternoon’s game. While I was not at the game, apparently the fans were booing Bochy as he was walking out to the mound, and as Ostler states, “He was a man doggedly powering through an invisible snowstorm.” I have an opinion on this matter, Bochy was stubborn and egotistical (in the moment), made a bad decision, and should not have pulled Lincecum out of the game. While Ostler does make a similar point in his article, I did not find his views to be as concrete. Listed below are a couple reasons why I felt the way I did:
NUMBER 1: Timmy is legit. He’s the real deal. When he’s on the mound, the man does work. Simple and to the point, HE IS AN ATHLETIC G [1]. Therefore, that means you don’t mess with that. At the very least, practice some active listening and here what the “G” has to say. Quotes from Timmy after the game were “I still felt strong…I felt the innings on me, but nothing to the point that I couldn’t continue”. .
Dear Mr. Bochy,
IF YOU ARE GOING TO CONTINUE COACHING THE SF GIANTS, PLEASE BEGIN TO LISTEN TO YOUR PLAYERS! THEY ARE GROWN UPS JUST LIKE YOU AND CAN MAKE GROWN UP DECISIONS OR AT THE VERY LEAST COMMUNICATE WITH YOU IN A GROWN UP MANNER. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.
SINCERELY
GIANTS GALORE WRITER,
TAYLOR ANGEL
NUMBER 2: Bochy was quoted saying he left the game up to one of the best closers in the game (or something like that). While I respect Brian Wilson and feel like he has done a good job as a closer, in general I’m not a fan of the closer position and feel like any good pitcher could become a 40 + save closer. And Timmy, Timmy as a closer would save between 50-60! When one of the best pitchers in all of the game is on the mound, a 2 time Cy Young winner, if its between him and any closer not named Rivera (and even that is questionable) for the final two outs I let him finish the game PERIOD; unless, HE TELLS ME, he needs to come out of the game.
NUMBER 3: The Giants need the wins. As I stated in one of my first articles (pre-season), the Giants did not acquire the proper tools in the off-season to become a championship contending team. Outside of Sandoval, the Giants do not have one other legit hitter. The Giants do not have a good lineup. Mainly I’m talking to Mr. Brian “I could have picked up through free agency or deals Vlad Guerrero/ Adam Dunn/ or multiple other power hitting forces in the time I have been GM” Sabean right now. Outside of the Jeff Kent acquisition, I have not been a fan of his moves to make the team better. Therefore, if the Giants are at least going to have a shot at the postseason, getting any win is crucial.
To conclude, it seems that Ostler was holding back a little on condemning Bochy; maybe because he is paid writer working for an accomplished newspaper and I’m a volunteer writer for a newly developed sports blog. Either way, I’m not a fan of the move yesterday and in the future if Timmy can close out a win, he has earned that “little extra” that Ostler still does not believe he has achieved, to say “Coach, I’m still feeling strong and want to stay in the game, please go back to the bench and let me earn a REAL PAYCHECK for helping my squad ACTUALLY win games.”
[1] For those of you that aren’t familiar with this terminology, g= gangster. And for those of you who need further clarification, my definition of athletic g= one who achieves greatness on a regular basis in a sporting competition.