Analytics not behind changes, Bochy says
The best news to come out of 24 Willie Mays Plaza since the Giants ended their dreadful season nearly four weeks ago is manager Bruce Bochy’s health.
“I’m doing great, man. I really just feel terrific,” Bochy said Friday in his first comments since he underwent a heart-ablation procedure Oct. 11 to fix his atrial fibrillation, hopefully for good.
“All went well. I just feel confident that they got what was causing a little issue with the a-fib thing. I couldn’t feel better. I’m excited about how it went.”
Bochy was speaking from home in San Diego after attending organizational meetings in San Francisco this week that will help the Giants shape their offseason free-agent and trade strategy.
The coaching roster still has three holes — hitting coach,
assistant hitting coach and pitching coach — that will be filled formally after the World Series.
The Giants are continuing interviews and expect to replace Hensley Meulens, Steve Decker and Dave Righetti with coaches who have big-league coaching experience. They are not inclined to give a minor-league coach his first big-league job.
Former Red Sox batting coach Chili Davis and Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey, both just hired by the Cubs, were in the Giants’ mix and suggest the level of experience the Giants seek.
While general manager Bobby Evans has talked much since season’s end about wanting to leverage the advanced data available to teams, Giants officials say that is not the overriding strategy in hiring coaches.
“I think when this staff is all said and done, you may see a little bit more of that, but we’re not just looking for people who know analytics,” Bochy said.
“I know that certainly has been part of the discussion. Not that the staff we had wasn’t open-minded. Some guys were maybe more into it than others.”
Bochy is aware that the Dodgers and Astros, who reached the World Series, have an analytic bent, but noted their pennants had something to do with the rosters, too.
“You look who’s out there playing with two clubs, and it starts with talent,” he said. “They’re certainly not lacking there.”
The biggest change for Bochy will be his pitching coach. He and Righetti are close.
“Lemme say this about Rags,” he said. “I can’t imagine having a better coach than Dave Righetti. He was here from Day 1 with me. He’s one of the iconic pitching coaches in the game. We don’t get to three World Series without Rags. I’m honored he’s one of my friends. I’m glad he’s going to be around.
“He’s still going to have a lot of influence with what we’re going to do here with the pitching in San Francisco.”
Asked if his conversations with longtime coaches about shifting jobs were difficult, Bochy said, “Change is hard. It is. It’s not easy. These guys have done so much for me and the organization. It’s great to have Rags and Gardy (Mark Gardner) and Deck staying and helping at all levels.” Injury update: The Giants’ health issues did not end with the season.
Pitcher Tyler Beede, who suffered a serious groin injury at Triple-A Sacramento, was slow to heal, which delayed his Arizona Fall League debut until Tuesday, when he allowed five runs in two innings for the Scottsdale Scorpions.
Outfielder Chris Shaw has been shut down for a week with a shoulder injury that cropped up during the season. He was 3-for-19 for Scottsdale.
Christian Arroyo aggravated the hand that was broken by a pitch in July and has not begun playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.