Bochy's Veteran Loyalty

DISCLAIMER: This is not an endorsement of Bruce Bochy, but I did want to dig a little deeper on the seemingly widespread consensus that Bochy is blindly loyal to veteran players

I don't know what's going to need to happen to get Ray Durham and Rich Aurilia to permanently be out of the lineup. I actually don't mind the thought of carrying Rich as a backup - he can play three of four infield spots adequately and short in a pinch and is a good clubhouse guy - but Ray's got to go.

This leads me to the thought as to whether or not Boch has fairly received criticism regarding a blind loyalty to vets. When the Giants hired him, there were myriad articles by local beat writers referencing the Padres' displeasure with him as he continued to rely on an aging Vinny Castilla, prompting his release against Bochy's wishes. I believe it was a reference to this retrospective piece by Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

One thing I noted was that, in addition to a real sense of leadership that Castilla brought to the clubhouse, there were absolutely no alternatives at third for the Pads at the time, unless you count Geoff Blum and Mark Bellhorn, themselves no spring chickens. So the Castilla situation isn't particularly reminiscent of what's happening at second and first base here.

Eric Young was another oft-bandied example of a vet playing over a deserving youngster, but Boch played youngster Josh Barfield almost exclusively at second base in 2006 on his way to amassing 530 ABs, with Young playing the role of utility infielder. Now that may have been an edict by higher management, but it doesn't necessarily support the theory that Boch is blindly loyal to vets.

Other overly-coddled veterans in the article included Phil Nevin and Brian Giles. Again, in both cases, there didn't seem to be a particularly competent kid pushing them, unless you include Xavier Nady and Ben Johnson. Condemning Nady and Johnson may be a fallacy as they were not given a chance in the first place, a charge that has been made against Giants management in the past in the way we handled our youngsters. However, not watching those Nady and Johnson closely, it's very tough to say. And the Padres did win back-to-back division titles in 2005 and 2006.

So, I guess my point here is that, while, at this point in time, it looks like Boch is completely clueless in playing Durham and Rich over Velez and Ort, respectively, that this may not be a reinforcing of a previous "known" notion that was perpetuated by the media - that, in fact, other factors may be in play, including a decree for him to showcase those vets from Sabes.

The thought at least gives me (false, perhaps) hope that our regular lineup will fundamentally change from what we're seeing very early on in the season.