Should Bochy, Lansford, Sabean Keep Their Jobs?
A lot of speculation has been made for a couple of years now about the safety of Brian Sabean's job. While it seems unlikely the Giants would renew his contract at the end of the season, Glenn Dickey asks today why he still has one at all, declaring the GM "out of touch with reality." Early in his Giants career, Sabean swung some pretty sweet deals, but four straight losing seasons, a host of bad contracts, and the weak 2009 lineup is pretty unacceptable. The organization could make a statement by letting go of Sabean early, but honestly, there is not much a new GM could do this season to improve this team.
While Sabean has been on the hook for a while, little has been said of manager Bruce Bochy, although we did have quite an interesting discussion on our Twitter page last week. While Bochy has been surrounded by inadequate teams during his entire Giants tenure, he has also failed to inspire much of anything. No one seems to have much bad to say about Bochy, except for ex-Giant Matt Morris, who criticized the manager's laid-back approach upon being traded to the Pirates in 2007. Like Sabean, Bochy's contract expires at the end of the year, and it makes little sense to retain the manager. The players don't show a strong attachment and the fans haven't warmed to him the way they did too Dusty and even Felipe. Bochy's postgame comments provide little insight, and in games he seems to be overcompensating with unnecessary hit-and-runs. A younger (possibly first-time) manager will inject not only a new sense of excitement, but may also be better equipped to manage young players prone to slumps and varying levels of confidence. Possible replacements could include Ron Wotus or Steve Decker. Dave Righetti's name also came up in our Twitter chat.
Nothing against Carney Lansford as he has not been given much to work with, but when you coach hitters to the worst offense in the league, someone has to take the fall. Not only is it the Giants lack of timely hitting or homers that proves so frustrating, but their inability to be patient at the plate. It's debatable how much of this we can hold Lansford responsible for, but if we're going to infuse this team with a new manager and GM, then a new hitting coach should be in order as well. We've been seeing Will Clark's face an awful lot lately - any chance we could see "The Thrill" teaching these guys his classic swing?
While Sabean has been on the hook for a while, little has been said of manager Bruce Bochy, although we did have quite an interesting discussion on our Twitter page last week. While Bochy has been surrounded by inadequate teams during his entire Giants tenure, he has also failed to inspire much of anything. No one seems to have much bad to say about Bochy, except for ex-Giant Matt Morris, who criticized the manager's laid-back approach upon being traded to the Pirates in 2007. Like Sabean, Bochy's contract expires at the end of the year, and it makes little sense to retain the manager. The players don't show a strong attachment and the fans haven't warmed to him the way they did too Dusty and even Felipe. Bochy's postgame comments provide little insight, and in games he seems to be overcompensating with unnecessary hit-and-runs. A younger (possibly first-time) manager will inject not only a new sense of excitement, but may also be better equipped to manage young players prone to slumps and varying levels of confidence. Possible replacements could include Ron Wotus or Steve Decker. Dave Righetti's name also came up in our Twitter chat.
Nothing against Carney Lansford as he has not been given much to work with, but when you coach hitters to the worst offense in the league, someone has to take the fall. Not only is it the Giants lack of timely hitting or homers that proves so frustrating, but their inability to be patient at the plate. It's debatable how much of this we can hold Lansford responsible for, but if we're going to infuse this team with a new manager and GM, then a new hitting coach should be in order as well. We've been seeing Will Clark's face an awful lot lately - any chance we could see "The Thrill" teaching these guys his classic swing?
Labels: Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy, Carney Lansford, Dave Righetti, Ron Wotus, Steve Decker
posted by Will at
4:54 PM
4 Comments:
Lame duck GMs and managers are a horrible thing to have on a young team with talent in the minors. Add to that the recent chatter that Sabes is thinking of trading for a bat that will be eligible for free agency and I start to tear my hair out. Mark De Rosa? He puts this team over the top? NO. Please be patient, Giants fans. We may not be great this year, but for the first time in this fan's memory, the minors are stoked with talented young players. Don't let Sabes raid the cupboard to save his job.
Lame duck is a good way of putting it. I'd rather not see any moves get made at the expense of our young talent. I would potentially be willing to part with Jonathan Sanchez if it brought us a young hitter who would be under contract for multiple seasons (no rent-a-players, please). Our pitching is so deep in the minors, I think we could shoulder that - as long as the Lincecum-Cain-Zito core stays in tact. Just like Bochy shouldn't call hit-and-run plays to make it look like he's doing something, Sabean shouldn't pull a trade to make it look like he's working.
I can't argue in favor of Bochy's retention, but he's never really had much to work with since joining the Giants. The Giants are actually only a few games below .500 since last All-Star break, which kind of amazes me..
I think it's fair to hold Lansford accountable for the overly aggressive approach a lot of these hitters take at the plate. Might as well give him the rest of the year, lets see...
I don't think anyone needs to let go of mid-season ... not really the Giants style.
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