Ratto: Bochy Mum on Potential Lineup Changes

Oct. 18, 2010RATTOARCHIVEGIANTS PAGEGIANTSVIDEOMLBPOSTSEASON
11 A.M: TUESDAY BLOG UPDATE ON GAME 3 LINEUP SHAKEUP
RayRatto
CSNBayArea.com

Wehave entered yet the latest new phase of Giants Baseball Ought-Ten -the part where everyone re-re-re-falls back in love with Aaron Rowandand Pablo Sandoval.And back out of love with Andres Torres and, for the first time, Mike Fontenot.Manager Bruce Bochy was coy with the potential lineup changes hepromised after Game 2 of the National League Championship Series,saying only that Juan Uribe would play if he got medical clearance andfelt good when he came to the ballpark Tuesday morning. "If he's goodto go," Bochy said in the only specific moment of his press conference, "he's in there."And if not, you've got Edgar (Renteria) and Pablo.In other words, Fontenot will return to the bench after going 2-for-12in four starts and letting a Jimmy Rollins popup fall harmlessly toearth Sunday night. The play did not lead to a run, but it wassymptomatic of Bochy's need to see something new at the position forGame 3.He also danced around the Rowand-for-Torres issue, saying only that heknew what he was going to do but was going to wait until tomorrow toannounce it and the Uribe news.In other words, Rowand is almost certainly back, if for no betterreason than you don't have to wait another day to announce no news.Back where, of course, is another matter, because Bochy also left openthe slim possibility that Big Time Cody Ross might move up in the order.Ross, of course, is the one Giants hitter everyone agrees is worthy oflove from the customers these days. He homers every other time at bat,and has managed to drive in nearly 40 percent of the team's 16postseason runs.But up until a couple of weeks ago, they loved Torres too. Now, he is 5for his last 36 when you include the three-game series with the Padres,with three walks, 14 strikeouts and no runs scored. Now, they wantRowand, who has had his own odd season and was essentially the last addon to the postseason roster.Rowand is essentially a lock to return, but Sandoval is still an openquestion. Uribe's wrist is bruised, although there is also some concernthat he might have also tweaked his left shoulder on the slide intosecond base that finished his game-winning RBI in Game 1.As he has done countless times during the season, though, Bochy istrying to find a way to play Sandoval and get him to magicallyreacquaint himself with his inner 2009.I mean, he did walk in Game 2. That is a radical departure from hiscurrent hitting approach, which is see-any-ball-swing-at-any-ball.He still swings at anything low or wide, which has created even moreagitation under the Bochy cap than the weight, which has merelyimpacted his range at third.But as large as the doghouse in which Sandoval has resided this year,it is again his time to exit to fretful hopes. Perhaps not in Game 3,because of his extraordinary struggles against left-handed pitchers, ofwhich Phillies starter Cole Hamels is one.Both he and Rowand are symptomatic of the wonderful short attentionspan theatre of the standard Giants fan. They know their team is heldtogether offensively by Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey and whomever happensto be going well at any given time (hel-lo, Cody Ross), and everyonedoes their turn in the pooch hut of public opinion.It's called consistency. The Giants offense doesn't really have a lotof it. As a result, Bochy must be the ninja strategist, an image whichis simply too good not to burn in one's lobe. Sort of like the USAToday story about the study of the effects of a night light on mouseobesity rates - you know it is a mostly silly exercise, but you justcan't help yourself.But we digress. Bochy has to make the wild swings of optimism for players he might haveall but buried a week earlier. A week and change ago, Rowand was verynearly a non-combatant, and Sandoval lost his job a week back.That was then. This is now. And Bochy is managing day to day, as itmust be in the postseason. Nothing is forever, not even Cody Ross.Well, maybe that last one is one step over the line.Ray Ratto is a columnist for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.