Comments on: Bochy and Young Hitters

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 14:28:46 +0000

I’m not sure that Bochy is afraid to make changes. I think he is patient and really believes Nevin or Burroughs or whoever will turn it around.

Now, he may be too optimistic or too patient, but it doesn’t mean he is afraid. We may not like Bochy’s managing style. But just saying it sucks and he sucks is not fair.

Bochy solves his problems with veterans. He is patient. He is optimistic. These are traits, not reasons to call him an idiot or genius.

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By: jay

jay — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 14:13:00 +0000

I like the analysis, but I don't get why you cannot experiment. Nevin, flailing. Nady, raking. Hmmm. Let me try, for 2-3 weeks, to give Nady a lot of time and see what happens. If he start to really suck, OK, back to plan A. If he maintains it, let it go. When your plan A is sucking wind, it makes you want to try something different. That is what is frustrating. It should not be a 400 AB vs. 120 AB decision, but about a 40-50 AB experiment. Your analysis does not defend this lack of experimentation.

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By: Didi

Didi — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 13:53:56 +0000

I think we pretty much know what Bochy’s managing style is. He’s not a good game manager as much as a personel manager.
The fact that Phil K-evin was getting run out there everyday in spite of his inability to swing the bat well was an indictment of how Bochy is afraid to make any changes. He could have given Nady two starts out of a week and possibly a third start to rest some of the OF but he chose not to do so despite the pronouncement that Nady was going to get 400 ABs for the season.

By the way, for Nady to get exactly 400 ABs the rest of the season he would have to play in 51 games while averaging 3.3 AB/game. I don’t see that happening, do you?

It’s too bad that the Padres are just chuggin along with the divison. Bochy might have been more willing to gamble with more ABs for Nady had the Padres been up by double digit games.

This too doesn’t bode well for Bochy’s managing style. By the book, doesn’t know the time to gamble on a play to win games. A comment which a friend of mine been complaining about for the better part of 7 years and I’m more and more inclined to agree.

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By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 13:43:24 +0000

The farm system is not great. But what Geoff’s chart shows is that Bochy likes to solve his problems with veterans over young players. I mean, he is not choosing Hall of Famers over these young kids. He is choosing Sweeney over Nady, for example.

Another example is Whitey Herzog. He ran All-Stars–Keith Hernandez, Ted Simmons, Garry Templeton–out of town and played kids. Lonnie Smith, Willie McGee, Vince Coleman, Whitey gave them all jobs. The Phillies thought Smith’s glove was as liability, and the Yankees didn’t think anything of McGee.

For better or worse, Geoff has identified a managing style, independent of how good or bad the farm system is.

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By: Brian G.

Brian G. — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 11:47:47 +0000

It’s more than a teeny bit galling to see the Braves, a team that has consistently picked 20 or more slots later than the Padres, able to maintain their run at the top by simply inserting four young rookies in their lineup while the Padres can’t even call up a halfway decent backup shortstop while Greene is out.

It’s been 23 years since Tony Gwynn was called up. Is it unrealistic to expect the Padres to produce and keep a decent player more than once every quarter century?

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By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 09:59:10 +0000

Thanks, Didi. I'm hoping this is one area that will improve under Sandy Alderson, who has a solid track record of identifying and developing good, young (and cheap) talent.

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By: Didi

Didi — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 09:10:14 +0000

Good job, Geoff.
I like the analysis.

Of course, it’s doubly frustrating when the Padres haven’t produced that many hitters from the farm system. For all the good that came out of our system, it’s crazy to see the hitters got better at other organizations.

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By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 09:09:29 +0000

Yeah, Brian. There is certainly that aspect to it as well. I don’t think the farm system is in quite as bad shape as some suggest, but it could definitely be a lot better than it is. I’m not sure how much of the problem is identifying amateur talent and how much is developing players once they’re in the system. But you’re right, there’s more to this than “Bochy doesn’t have faith in his young hitters.”

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By: Brian G.

Brian G. — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 09:03:06 +0000

Hola Jeffe!

Isn’t your list more of an indictment of the Padres ‘fruitful’ farm system and ‘productive’ player evaluation than it is of Bruce Bochy’s lack of faith in his young players? As you pointed out, the players on that list aren’t exactly Dave Winfields or (even Kevin McReynoldses). Who could blame Bochy for not wanting to give 400 ABs to Melvin Nieves?

With the jury still out on Khalil Greene and Sean Burroughs, it’s not a stretch to say that the last homegrown long-term productive player for San Diego is Tony Gwynn. Like Jason Bay, the list of potentially good young Padre players who blossomed elsewhere is lengthy (Roberto Alomar is probably at the top of that list) but the number of guys who stuck around to contribute to the franchise is, well, non-existent. Kevin Towers has been around long enough to have rectified this situation, yet according to Baseball Prospectus, the Padres farm system remains one of the worst in the big leagues. For a team operating on a limited salary budget, it’s inexcusable.

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