While Bruce Bochy has often been the subject of criticism, he's also had flashes of brilliance (NLCS Game Six). He's done some things of which I didn't approve -- for example, he gave quite a lot of playing time to Jose Guillen (now unemployed). However, I'm often very satisfied with the maneuvers he makes with the bullpen. A perfect example would be his utilization of Javier Lopez -- he managed to always get him in the game at the right situations so that he could perform well, but similarly, managed to avoid overworking him (although that's not exactly an eminent risk with a LOOGY).
Anyway, I'm on the fence about Bochy. I don't dislike his managerial style, but at the same time, I don't necessarily like it either. Managers are extremely difficult to evaluate, and it's been estimated by some experts that they have little effect on performance. I think with Boch' this rings true, as it seems that his brilliant decisions balance out his not-so-brilliant ones.
With that brief intro, I'd like to delve into how Bochy handled the 2010 Giants:
70 Defensive Substitutions...Bochy led the majors in defensive substitutions, racking up three more than Jim Riggleman, who ranked second. In the case of Riggleman, it's very understandable. He had two atrocious defenders in Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham -- players whose value is mostly derived from their offense. With Bochy, it's a similar case. Pat Burrell is the obvious contributor here, as he was taken out of the game in late innings whenever the Giants had a lead. When the Giants had Jose Guillen and Pat Burrell manning the outfield corners, Cody Ross and Nate Schierholtz were sometimes called on to take their places. While this stat was obviously the product of the players he had on the team, it's certainly nice to see that Bochy cares about defense. It's an element of the game that is too often neglected, and subtly contributes to losses, so I respect Bochy for his competence in this area.
45 Pinch Runners....Bochy ranked second in the National League with 45 pinch runners used, just six behind Bobby Cox. Again, this seems to be a product of the team that Bochy had, rather than his managerial style. Bochy had the second-worst baserunning team in the majors, with mediocre speed throughout the lineup in Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey, Pat Burrell, Jose Guillen, and Juan Uribe (the list goes on...). His utilization of Nate Schierholtz and on a few occasions, Darren Ford, was again, quite clever of him. For a team that didn't score a whole lot of runs, the late-inning baserunning was key for them, and Bochy obviously understood this, and acted on it.
12 Long Saves...Bochy led the majors with 12 long saves. While it was certainly frustrating to see Brian Wilson attempt grueling five-out saves (the source of torture for many), it was often a strategy that worked out. Bochy knew he had one of the best closers in the majors in Brian Wilson, and he took advantage of it, securing the Giants' thin leads. It didn't always work, but in general, it was a successful tactic.
224 Pinch Hitters....Bochy actually had the least pinch hitters used of any manager in the National League. If anything, I think this indicates that he didn't run the team from an offensive-minded perspective. He placed more emphasis on defensive substitutions than offensive ones, and ultimately, that was probably more suitable for his pitching-heavy team. There's a reason the Giants achieved such great pitching numbers -- they received a good amount of help from their defense, and that ultimately breeded them success. It also is notable that Bochy's bench options were mostly defensive upgrades -- Travis Ishikawa, Nate Schierholtz...and then Cody Ross, for a while, and Eli Whiteside on the bench; Ishikawa and Mike Fontenot had pinch-hit roles, mostly due to the fact that they bat left-handed, though.
87 Stolen Base Attempts...Again, this says more about the team than the manager. Bochy had the least stolen base attempts in the National League and for good reason. He had two basestealers: Darren Ford, who had limited time in the majors, but was obviously very qualified to steal bases. And Andres Torres, the only starting position player for the Giants who had legitimate speed. Bochy, as a manager, isn't exactly reluctant to steal. Back in 2008, the Giants attempted 154 stolen bases under him, and back in 1999, his Padres attempted a league-leading 241 steals. This is just another example of Bochy acknowledging the skill-set the Giants brought, and managing the team based on that.
58 Intentional Walks....Bochy was third in the National League in IBB, with 41 resulting in a good outcome, and 17 resulting in a not-good outcome. Generally, those are pretty good numbers. A huge element of this stat is the ability of his pitching staff to get out of tight situations, something that the Giants were pretty good at. This is just another example of his strategy with the team: he placed a lot of trust into that pitching staff, and was rewarded for it.
From the numbers, the thing that I deduce is that Bochy is actually a great manager, running the team such that the strategy suits their talents. It's very nice to know that he acknowledges that the Giants are slow, and that they have some defensive weaknesses; and while it's unsettling that he places so much trust in the pitching staff sometimes, it is, at the same time, nice to see. The team is built around pitching, so it's good to see that he runs the team on that basis.
