Giants: Is Bochy coming back to manage the Giants next season?
Bochy wants to get his team back to the playoffs, but leadership is noncommittal on his future
Bruce Bochy, who managed the Giants to three World Series titles in five years, ranks 11th all time in wins and is on a path to the Hall of Fame, is enthusiastic about wanting to return in 2019, the final year of his contract. But, with 15 games remaining in the season, ownership hasn’t fully clarified the manager’s status for next year.
“Yeah, I want to get back to the postseason,” Bochy told The Chronicle before the Giants lost their 11th consecutive game Wednesday, their longest skid since 1951. “It’s not my decision sometimes. But me, personally, that’s what I love to do. I still enjoy this as much as I did my first year.”
In addition to Bochy’s status, the club also remains mum on the futures of executives Brian Sabean and Bobby Evans, whose contracts expire after the 2019 season, as well.
After losing 98 games last season, the Giants reshuffled the roster with an objective to contend, but injuries and a feeble offense kept them in the .500 neighborhood until the 11-game losing streak turned the season from mediocre to dreadful. Ownership is making no public commitment beyond 2018 to Bochy,
“When you go into a season, your hope is guys stay healthy and have their normal years, and hopefully you get a surprise or two. Well, that did not happen.” Giants manager Bruce Bochy
63, and there’s less certainty about the future of the management team than at this point last year — when Bochy, Sabean and Evans had two years remaining on their contracts.
Giants CEO Larry Baer, asked about Bochy and Sabean in an Aug. 23 podcast with the Athletic, suggested that both would be back. After Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Braves, Baer said no conversations have taken place on Bochy’s status, and he wouldn’t comment on him or anyone else other than to say, “We evaluate the season when the season is over.”
Last year, the Giants fell from contention early, so there was plenty of time in the second half to map out the future game plan. That included three coaching staff changes (longtime pitching coach Dave Righetti became an adviser) and a revamping of the minor-league system.
This year’s tailspin was sudden. The Giants were a .500 team in late August, and there still was hope, however little, that they could jump into the playoff race. But the plug was pulled on the season when management signed off on hip surgery for catcher Buster Posey and the trade of top offseason acquisition Andrew McCutchen.
“We’re disappointed in the season,” Bochy said, who is in his 12th year with the Giants. “It didn’t go like we had hoped. With the changes that were made, it was all about getting to the postseason. Of course, we had gotten used to that.
“When you go into a season, your hope is guys stay healthy and have their normal years, and hopefully you get a surprise or two. Well, that did not happen.”
None of the core position players had a career year or even a normal year. First baseman Brandon Belt and shortstop Brandon Crawford had their moments in the first half (Crawford was an All-Star), but they have slumped badly since then. Second baseman Joe Panik is having a down year. Posey’s hip ailment prevented him from being able to drive the ball.
While ensuring they remain beneath Major League Baseball’s $197 million competitive balance tax threshold to avoid penalties, the Giants acquired McCutchen, a former MVP outfielder, and third baseman Evan Longoria, both of whom were stars on their previous teams. But their batting averages and power numbers took a plunge in San Francisco, and Longoria missed a month and a half with a broken hand.
“We as players haven’t gotten the job done,” Belt said. “That’s on us as players. More specifically, on us as an offense. I think (Bochy) has been holding up great. He comes in with the attitude we’re going to go out there and do some damage, kick somebody’s butt.
“I’ll tell you right now. Every single one of our coaches has put in the time and work to make us better, and that has never faded, no matter what our record was.”
Pitcher Derek Holland, who has enjoyed a career turnaround under Bochy with a 2.38 ERA in his last 10 starts, called the manager “a legend” and said, “He’s done a good job being a leader, keeping this clubhouse grounded, not letting things get out of control.
“He can only do so much. He does such a good job getting us ready for what we need to do out there. You can’t say it’s his fault. He’s not going out there making plays, swinging the bat, making pitches. It’s on us.”
Holland, a free agent after the season, said of 2019, “I’d love to be back here with him.”
Holland and his pitching peers aren’t the problem. The Giants have the majors’ third-best ERA since June 1, but the offense ranks 27th in runs, 28th in home runs and 29th in slugging percentage and total bases among the 30 major league teams.
The Giants have not won a game in September as they continue to score their customary one run per night with a lineup that has hit .193 during the losing streak and scored more than three runs just twice in 16 games.
“My biggest disappointment this year,” Bochy said, “was I really thought the offense would be more consistent.”
Injuries were a major factor for the second straight year. Players on the disabled list have missed roughly 2,000 days in 2017 and 2018, including big chunks this year for pitchers who were expected to be the top three starters (Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija), the projected closer (Mark Melancon) and many others.
Bochy wouldn’t use injuries as an excuse. Every team has them, but the Giants have had an unusually high number that led to surgeries. The silver lining, as Bochy called it, was the young players who were summoned to replace injured players and made the best of the opportunities.
Notably, starting pitchers Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez. Plus Chris Stratton, who leads the staff in wins and appears to have turned around his career. Promising rookie Steven Duggar provided energy in the lineup and stellar defense in center field before a season-ending shoulder injury left the Giants with nothing but backup outfielders.
“You have to look at our young pitching, how they stepped up and did a really nice job,” Bochy said, “and the emergence of a young player like Duggar, who was starting to settle in and just playing great baseball when he went down.”
As for Bochy’s own health, this was the first year in the past four that he didn’t experience heart-related problems. His last episode was in April 2017, when he had a procedure to repair an abnormal heart rhythm. Counting all the heart issues, he missed just three games.
As for how he has dealt with the disappointing season, Bochy said, “I think every year you learn something. Last year, the second half, with what happened, I beat myself up. I have dealt with what we’ve had to deal with in a better way this year because, really, it hasn’t been (a lack of ) effort from anybody, from the front-office staff to the players, it’s been there.”
Evans, the general manager, said Bochy “has had a great outlook, energy and focus. Obviously, he wears every loss as he always has. He doesn’t like to lose.”
Evans wouldn’t address Bochy’s status for next year because he hadn’t discussed it with the manager or ownership.
“It’s hard to start talking about ’19 in the midst of 2018,” Evans said. “I know everyone’s concerned about it. We’re all aware that’s looming as a discussion point. I don’t think it’s fair to even begin a discussion before I cover all my bases.”
A scout who has seen the Giants and other teams in the National League West said Bochy deserves the chance to manage next season.
“If Boch wants to stay, nobody should say anything and nobody should run him out,” the scout said. “If he says he wants to stay, he should stay. They owe it to him. Nobody owes anything to anyone in this game, but they owe it to him. Boch on a bad day is better than any other manager in the big leagues on a good day.”
Bochy is optimistic about the Giants’ future after they hung around .500 most of the season, despite the injuries, and added talented new pieces to the mix. He spoke of the fine line between winning and losing, which is amplified for a team that has played 101 games decided by three or fewer runs, the most in the majors.
“The years we won, we had some really good things happen where the ball bounced our way and we won those tight ballgames,” Bochy said. “It’s unbelievable how fine the line is. But with that said, we’ve got some things to fix.”
As always, Bochy wants to participate in the process.
“The love of the game and the desire to get back to the postseason,” he said, listing two of his motives for wanting to return. “I’d love to have another shot at winning the championship. That doesn’t mean it happens like you want, but that’s what I want. I’m still hungry for that.”