Torres, DeRosa return to create crowded bench
In the interest of efficiency, Giants manager Bruce Bochy should have made a recording of his pregame meeting with Miguel Tejada to explain why the veteran infielder wasn’t in Tuesday’s lineup.
It’s a message Bochy might have to repeat to multiple players every single day.
With Andres Torres and Mark DeRosa joining the fold from the disabled list, the only set positions on the diamond belong to catcher Buster Posey, first baseman Aubrey Huff, and to a lesser extent, second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Bochy plans to let matchups and the hot hand govern his daily decisions as he splits up playing time.
Put another way, he’ll be doing more managing, more ego stroking and more consoling than ever.
First, it was Tejada’s turn.
“The last thing I want is for Miggy to get a message we’ve lost any confidence in him, because we haven’t,” said Bochy, who sat the struggling infielder along with left fielder Pat Burrell in order to start Torres in center and DeRosa at third.
Bochy said he plans to find equal time for DeRosa, Tejada and Mike Fontenot on the left side of the infield.
He also pledged to rotate all five outfielders, and yes, that includes Nate Schierholtz.
“I don’t want anybody sitting too long,” Bochy said. “How they’re swinging and playing will help us make out the lineup.”
There’s a danger in that. Bochy has preached for his players to keep the line moving and resist trying to do too much. That’s easier said than done when an 0-for-4 could find you on the bench the next night.
Bochy said he addressed that topic with his players, too.
“You hear that all the time, and you know what? It’s part of the game,” Bochy said. “Do the best you can to produce. Get on base, score a run. It goes with the territory. Hopefully they don’t feel that way. It can be an excuse. But we’ll try to keep guys involved.”
— ANDREW BAGGARLY
