Darren Smith made a point during the show today: If a player doesn't live up to expectations on the field, it looks bad on the manager. Questions come up as to why the player isn't being motivated and so on. However, if a player is benched, that looks bad on the GM. The questions then become, well why did we spend/trade so much for this guy if he isn't even going to play? Darren Smith seems to think that perhaps Bochy has been covering Towers by playing guys against his better judgment. He then goes on to say that Bochy needs to start looking out for himself and just put whatever lineup will start getting him wins.
My question is this: Why do so many people want to forgive Bruce Bochy?
Really, do you think that Bochy and Towers are that close that Bochy isn't already doing what he thinks is necessary to win? I mean, come on.
Now I'm listening again and Darren Smith is saying that the Moneyball system devalues the manager. So getting rid of Bochy wouldn't accomplish anything anyway with Sandy Alderson coming on. I disagree. Maybe in the AL game with the DH can you get away with applying a formula to managing a ball game. But by adding the pitcher's spot, there's much more critical thought that has to go into managing the lineup. NL managers aren't just following some script sent down from on high. They're continually solving problems and making predictions. On top of that, there's the issue of actually motivating the players to produce the best results. It seems to me that Bochy's done none of those things. The players may say otherwise, but I got something right here that says they're lying. Not to mention the last six years.
So again, why do so many people want to forgive Bruce Bochy?
For the record, I'm pushing the panic button now.
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