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?

Same Problems Plague Giants, Wilson

Last night had all the makings of an inspiring Giants win - a rejuvenated offense with the callup of Jesus Guzman, seven strong innings from Tim Lincecum, a clutch game-tying home run from Aaron Rowand, and scratching out a run against a closer who hadn't allowed one all season. Unfortunately, the Giants leave with yet another loss, one that can be attributed to all the same problems that have plagued them over the past two weeks.

Closer Brian Wilson will take much of the heat for last night's loss - and some of that is warranted. He did enter with a 2-1 lead and, as Jon Miller put it on the radio broadcast, proceeded to hand them runners. Only the game-winning single was hard earned, as Wilson put himself in a precarious position by walking two batters and hitting another. Wilson has allowed winning runs in three of his last four appearances, calling for more than one fan to wonder why Jeremy Affeldt is not pitching the ninth innings.

Here at SO&B, we are Wilson fans but will acknowledge that he is currently in the worst patch of his young career. If the Giants were serious contenders this year, then Wilson's job may be on the line. But since this is yet another development/rebuilding year, I can't see the point in threatening Wilson's ninth inning role. Wilson clearly has issues with control that need to be worked on. It is important to remember that Wilson is only in his second full season, and he has been groomed as the closer of the future. If he is going to adopt such a role, he needs to develop his command and he needs to learn how to get out of a rut like the one he is in now.

But Wilson does not deserve all the blame. The offense continues to lack inspiration with runners in scoring position. Bruce Bochy sent Guzman up as a pinch hitter in the seventh with runners on the corner and one out - only to have Guzman hit into a double play. They managed one run in the ninth and could have added insurance but were hindered by Bengie Molina being unable to score from second on a Nate Schierholtz single. With the bases loaded and one out, Guzman struck out and Kevin Frandsen grounded out, leaving the score at 2-1.

On a positive note, Lincecum was electric as usual - 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 run, and 10 strikeouts. Additionally, Rowand was a cool 2-for-4 raising his average to .270; Randy Winn stayed hot with two hits including a clutch ninth inning single; and Affeldt pitched a perfect 2/3 of the eighth.