Bruce Bochy's Botch Costs The Giants

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Runners on first and second, top of the ninth in a 2-1 game with the Philadelphia Phillies leading.

Much to my delight, Bruce Bochy takes out Travis Ishikawa and calls on his bench to tie the game or possibly even win it.

We could force the Phillies to extra innings, knowing our bullpen could outlast theirs. We could move up in the Wild Card standings and tie the Colorado Rockies for first place.  

But...

Instead of using the hot bats and the services of a Jesus Guzman, John Bowker, or Buster Posey, we instead bring up Fred Lewis!? 

Now, props to Bochy for not bringing up Rich Aurilia, but seriously, Fred Lewis?

I literally got up on the couch and almost pulled my hair out.  

This is the same Fred Lewis who strikes out way too often and we're bringing him up against Brad Lidge. While Lidge isn't doing too well this year himself, he is still a closer with swing and a miss stuff.

Why Bruce Bochy? Why would you do that? Why would you do that to the thousands of fans who recognize that Sir K's Alot, Fred Lewis, is not the ideal pinch hitter in that situation? Are you asleep when Fred Lewis has come into a game with runners in scoring position and failed us time and time again?

Let's give credit where its due though, because Fred Lewis didn't strikeout, but hit a slow ground ball to end the game. 

Look, I'm a frustrated fan, and maybe I'm venting, but Bochy utilized the wrong move and it cost them. 

Let's not assume that if Bochy did put someone else besides Sir K's Alot, we would win the game. But then again, our chances of scoring goes up slightly, and you know what; I'll take slightly over Fred Lewis any day.

It wasn't just the pinch hitter situation that Bochy messed up, it was also the lineup.

Inserting both Randy Winn and Travis Ishikawa was something I knew would not bode well for our chances to score runs. Giants fans have been treated to many bad calls by Bruce, and this one hurt a lot. 

It's not the end of the world though, we still have a whole month of baseball left. It's one game, but it happens to be a game in September when the Giants find themselves in a tight playoff race. 

Moving forward, I'm not so sure if I can take Bruce Bochy's decisions on the field, the screwy lineups, or his loyalty to play veterans who have not played well all season.

Just know this, if the Giants don't make it this year, I hope management will take a close look at Bochy's body of work.

As all Giants fans know, it hasn't been pretty.

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