Bleacher Report - Articles by Ben Huttlinger

Bruce Bochy Needs to Leave San Francisco

Ben Huttlinger — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:11:28 -0400

Bruce Bochy has done some good things for the Giants, especially in 2009 as they're in the playoff race for the first time in five years. However, as much good he has provided for this team, he has tried really hard to make the Giants lose.

First, the pitching has been excellent, but Bochy has come up with a way to weaken the squad. Many games he leaves the starter out too long and after a couple batters get on base at the start of the inning, he then decides to pull them.

This may seem like a great idea for fans watching, but looking back, Bochy has decided to let pitchers continue in the 7th and 8th innings even though they have not had their best stuff in the game and their pitch count is well past 100. This has happened to all the pitchers: Lincecum, Cain, Zito, and especially Jonathon Sanchez.

With the Giants having arguably the best bullpen in baseball, why not hand the ball off when you're winning? And do so at the start of the inning so the relief pitcher can start fresh from the slab and focus solely on the batter.

The question will arise that the reliefs like Affeldt, Miller, and Romo will not be perfect every time, but the group will mostly sit every batter down if not faced with one, two, or even three batters on with a one-run lead.

Offensively, the Giants definitely need some help. Their starting offense should be able to muster enough runs to win if the pitching problem mentioned earlier is done with. That said, Bochy cannot afford to sit his regulars only for much-needed rest in the middle of a chase.

Which brings up my point: Bochy has sat his most dominant 4 hitters the past two games.

Pablo Sandoval, Bengie Molina, Freddy Sanchez, and Nate Schierholtz have all been out of the line-up two games straight. Granted, they have won the previous two against a bad Arizona Diamondbacks team, but they cannot afford to lose with the Rockies playing the 1st place Dodgers.

Not to mention the last two games were won by come-from-behind victories. If they expect to make the playoffs, a playoff-bound team fighting for a spot plays the best players everyday. The Giants have not done so, and consequently, I do not think they can with bogus decisions from the skipper.

Especially when he decides to sit the big hitters on back-to-back games when the two worst starting pitchers take the hill. It's understood that Sanchez and Martinez are not the pitchers who will guarantee a win, so they need all the help they can get.

I can't wait to see a new face in San Francisco come Spring.

Y.E. Yang Shocks World As Tiger Woods Is Tamed

Ben Huttlinger — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:56:03 -0400

The 91st PGA Championship will be one for the record books. Tiger Woods did not capture the Wanamaker trophy for a record-tying fifth time, record his 15th major title, or win 37 straight tournaments after a 54-hole lead.

In fact, the latter of the three was broken by 37-year old Y.E. Yang of South Korea. He stunned the world for starting the day two behind Woods, and did not break down mentally to oust the No. 1 ranked player in the world.

This victory is not only Yang's first Major title and second Tour victory, but he is also the first Asian-born player to win a Major. And he had to beat the best golfer in the world to do it.

There have been many Asian golfers who came close, but unable to get over the last hump. Y.E. Yang has just done that. Some would say the first Asian-born golfer to win a Major would be K.J. Choi, who has multiple victories in the States, and the most prominent Asian-born on Tour. Charlie Wi has success as he has a couple of top 10s.

Nick Faldo, CBS broadcaster and ex-PGA golfer, recalled saying that the first time an Asian-born golfer would win is in five to 10 years. He may have been thinking of the young talent currently on the Nationwide Tour, Sang-Moon Bae.

For South Koreans, there is plenty of promise on the Women's side. Names like Grace Park, Se Ri Pak, and Mi Hyun Kim dominate the field. Despite an abundance of ladies in the U.S., just Yang, Choi, and Wi have made names in the Men's field.

Even though Yang defeated Woods before, at the HSBC Champions event in China, Sunday was the first time the two were paired together. A bogey on the 18th hole to finish the third round ended the possibility of another Woods-Harrington dual just like at Firestone the week before.

Padraig Harrington remained close until another "snowman" on the par-three eighth hole. Lucas Glover played himself into contention before fading on the back-nine. Even Ernie Els remained in the hunt, not close, but enough to where a disaster were to happen, he would steal the prize.

Overall, Sunday was just between Tiger and Yang, and Mr. Woods could not sink a putt for the first time in his life.

Tiger may have lost the tournament in the third round, when he played conservatively all day as he saw his shrink in half. Sunday, compared to the first three rounds, was a very difficult scoring day, and it showed.

The likes of Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson shot in the high 70's, and with a bogey-bogey finish, Tiger ended up with a (+3) 75. Saturday is what is called "Moving Day", and with a four-shot lead, Woods felt content where he was.

The San Francisco Giants: 2009 and Onward!

Ben Huttlinger — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:43:47 -0400

The Giants are in rebuilding mode, and the team is winning. Now is the time for a push for the playoffs and moving forward next year. I understand Bochy will probably keep trying different players at various positions, but now that the Giants have proven they are playoff contenders, the lineup now is good. With the players they have now, here is a suggested starting lineup:

C: Molina (Whiteside has proven a good backup until Buster Posey comes up).

1B: Ishikawa—Great defense, offense is picking up.

2B: Uribe (This is a toss up. I'd like to see more of Kevin Frandsen, and Burriss has played okay. No more of Velez though).

SS: Renteria (Not long-term. Frandsen or Burriss may be that solution).

3B: Sandoval

Lf: Schierholtz (Would like to see it, but also between Fred Lewis and Bowker).

Cf: Rowand

Rf: Winn

For the rotation in 2010:

Tim Lincecum

Alderson/Bumgardner

Matt Cain

Barry Zito

Alderson/Bumgardner/Sadowski/Sanchez

I am assuming Randy Johnson will not go on to pitch another year and either Alderson or Bumgardner is ready to come up from the minor leagues. The fifth spot is a toss up and probably will be decided in spring training. I would like Sanchez either in a trade for a hitter or out of the bullpen.

Bringing up the Sanchez trade, I think a hitter with 25-30 homers and 80-100 RBI's is ideal. Bringing in a power hitter may not be possible and would not suit the team. That would be like having a Barry Bonds and someone who compliments Sandoval is better than a player with the big bat of the team.