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Why bother making picks so early in the year?
The closers could be different! Eventual post season heroes could be starting the season with another team.
But as of right now, the Chicago White Sox look like a very dangerous team.
It is a worthless prediction episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
Don’t laugh… Bruce Bochy already has a pretty amazing resume as a manager. If he wins 4 more games as a manager this year, it might be time to start whispering his name around Cooperstown.
Don’t believe me?
Well first of all he has already padded his resume with some solid credentials.
He took over a Padres team after the 1994/1995 strike/lockout.
Remember the Padres were a team lost in the woods after the 1984 pennant. They went through managers (Larry Bowa… Jack McKeon… Steve Boros… Jim Riggleman) and philosophies (We’re all about our deep farm… no wait, we’re all about signing free agents like Bruce Hurst and Jack Clark… no we’re keeping our prospects… no we’re trading them for Joe Carter… no we’re trading Joe Carter and Robbie Alomar away…)
In his second season (1996) and just three years removed from the 1993 101 loss firesale debacle, Bruce Bochy had the Padres back in the post season as National League West Champions, beating the defending Division Champion Dodgers on the last day of the season.
We won manager of the year that year.
In his fourth season, 1998, he beat out two 100 win teams in the post season (the Astros and the Braves) and stormed into the second World Series in the history of the franchise. Granted, beating the 114 win Yankees was a BIT too much to ask, but he became a World Series manager.
The Padres dismantled again, running off 5 straight losing seasons and making Bochy’s future uncertain. But the Padres and Bochy stuck together and by 2004 they were winners again.
By 2005 he had the Padres back in the playoffs (granted with the single worst post season team I have EVER seen). In 2006 they were legit and had home field advantage in the Division Series as back to back champs.
Only Trevor Hoffman played on all four division winners for Bochy. The turnover of talent from 1996 to 1998 was tremendous… as was the turn over from 2005 to 2006. Bochy remained the steady force.
He came over to the Giants, a team whose philosophy seemed to be “Hey! People are showing up to see Barry… so why bother putting a good team on the field?”
He had nothing to work with, especially after Bonds retired after 2007. But by 2009 they were winners again… and now, counting his two rebuildings in San Diego, has built his third division champion from the ground up.
Manager of the year… turns teams around… multiple playoff trips… pennants with two different franchises…
That sounds like a GREAT manager’s resume.
All he is missing is the ring.
If he wins a World Series title this year… and do what teams featuring Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Perry and Bonds could never do… and do it with a cut and paste line up… do it defeating the much heralded Phillies… then what else does he have to prove?
Yes you can point to a sub .500 career record. But also remember that he managed the Padres who had firesales under his watch… and took over a rudderless Giants team that was looking to shake off their Bonds identity.
Bochy could be giving them the identity they’ve been seeking since they played at Seals Stadium: World Series Champion.
And then the consideration for Cooperstown will need some good long thought.
Last Friday I wrote a blog post about the biggest post season upsets in the Wild Card Era.
And I implied that if the Giants somehow could beat the mighty Phillies that they would have to be included in that list of upsets.
Well guess what?
The Giants did… and they SHOULD be included.
Want to read something creepy?
When proposing that the Giants COULD pull off the upset in the NLCS, I tried to make a comparison with the end of the 2006 NLCS with Carlos Beltran taking strike three.
I wrote:
“Maybe one of the Giants pitchers will get Ryan Howard looking to end the series!“
Eeerie!
1997 ALCSIT LOOKED BAD WHEN:
The Orioles shut out the Indians in Game 1 and had a 2 run lead in the 8th inning of Game 2.
THINGS TURNED AROUND WHEN:
Marquis Grissom hit a 3 run shot off of Armando Benitez in Game 2. Then the Indians won in 12 for Game 3 and finished Game 4 with a walk off win.
THE DAGGER
The Indians overcame a brilliant Mike Mussina outing in Game 6 to win in 11 innings and stunned Baltimore.
The Braves had won 4 of the last 5 pennants. With a 101 win season, a 5th pennant in 6 years looked all but assured. The Marlins won 92 games and the wild card, but they were playing the varsity team and looked over matched.
IT LOOKED BAD WHEN:
The Marlins won a pair early but the Braves tied the series when Denny Neagle threw a complete game shutout in Game 4. With Maddux and Glavine looming in Games 5 and 6, it looked bleak for Florida.
THINGS TURNED AROUND WHEN:
The late Eric Gregg called any pitch that Livan Hernandez threw a strike as long as it didn’t hit the ground. He struck out 15, giving the Marlins the lead.
THE DAGGER
Tom Glavine imploded in the first inning of Game 6, letting the first four batters read base and having them all score before the Braves even came to bat. It would be all Kevin Brown would need to clinch the pennant.
The Yankees were in full dynasty mode. The Angels had never won a post season series and looked like a bunch of inexperienced kids heading into Yankee Stadium. No doubt this would be a forgettable series much like the Yankees manhandling the Rangers all of those years.
IT LOOKED BAD WHEN:
The Yankees rallied to win game 1 in the 8th and took a lead late into Game 2. It was going to be a sweep a la the Yankees/Texas series of the past.
THINGS TURNED AROUND WHEN:
Garret Anderson and Troy Glaus hit back to back 8th inning homers off of El Duque to take the lead in Game 2. Then in Game 3, the Yankees blow an early 6-1 lead and the Angels break the tie with a Tim Salmon home run in the 8th.
THE DAGGER
David Wells melts down in the 5th inning of Game 4 as the Angels score 8 times and go on to win their first ever playoff series.
Thanks to a 20 game winning streak, an MVP season from Miguel Tejada, a Cy Young season from Barry Zito and 103 wins, the A’s looked poised to stampede into the ALCS. The Twins, who were rumored to be contracted just the year before, were just happy to be there.
IT LOOKED BAD WHEN:
A series of Twins blunders gave the A’s a 5-1 lead in Game 1, making it clear that this series was Men versus Boys. Later, the A’s were up 2-1 with Hudson and Mulder ready for games 4 and 5.
THINGS TURNED AROUND WHEN:
The Twins came back to win that Game 1 and scored 11 unanswered runs in Game 4.
THE DAGGER
A. J. Pierzynski’s homer and David Ortiz’s double broke open a tense Game 5 in the 9th. The Twins would need every run as Mark Ellis homered to bring the A’s to within 1 but Ray Durham, the potential series winning run, popped up to give the upstart Twins a most unlikely series win.
The Tigers slumped badly down the stretch and went from a lock for the Division title, home field in the Division Series and playing the A’s to claiming the Wild Card and going to New York to face a stacked and eager to wipe away 2004 from their memories Yankee team. They were no match.
IT LOOKED BAD WHEN:
The Yankees torched Nate Robertson for 5 runs in the third and cruised to an 8-4 Game 1 win. Then Johnny Damon hit a three run shot in Game 2 and it looked like the sweep was on.
THINGS TURNED AROUND WHEN:
Carlos Guillen hit a game tying homer off of Mike Mussina but Curtis Granderson drove the Yankees crazy. He got a run scoring sacrifice fly in Game 2 and gave the Tigers the lead with an RBI triple. In Game 3, former Yankee Kenny Rogers out pitched Randy Johnson in what turned out to be the Big Unit’s final game for New York.
THE DAGGER
Joe Torre dropped the slumping Alex Rodriguez to 8th in the fourth game and gave the starting assignment to Jaret Wright. He was bombed and the Tigers finished the Yankees in 4.
With the Yankees eliminated in the Division Series, the Mets looked poised to capture the city’s baseball heart. Neither American League team (the Tigers nor the A’s) looked dominating and all they had to do for the pennant was beat an injured and underachieving Cardinals team who won only 83 games.
IT LOOKED BAD WHEN:
The Mets shut out the Cardinals in Game 1, scored 3 in the first of Game 2 and were tied going into the 9th of Game 2. The Mets were clearly in control.
THINGS TURNED AROUND WHEN:
So Taguchi hit a go ahead 9th inning homer off of Billy Wagner to give the Cardinals a Game 2 win. Then, behind Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver, took a 3-2 series lead back to Shea.
THE DAGGER
The Mets forced a Game 7 which was an all time classic. Endy Chavez preserved a tie with a mindboggling catch that turned a go ahead homer into an inning ending double play. Yadier Molina homered in the 9th to give St. Louis the win and rookie Adam Wainwright got Carlos Beltran to strikeout looking with the bases loaded in the 9th to win the pennant. The Mets have never recovered.
The 2 time defending National League Champion Phillies had the best record in baseball and steamrolled over the Reds in the Division Series. Roy Halladay threw a no hitter, Cole Hamels pitched a complete game shutout to clinch the series and Roy Oswalt was no slouch. The Giants, saddled with a stagnant offense, barely squeaked by a Braves team that was battered with injuries.
IT LOOKED BAD WHEN:
The Phillies responded from a Game 1 loss with an offensive explosion in the 7th inning of Game 2. The Phillies bats were back and they knew Roy Halladay wasn’t losing twice!
THINGS TURNED AROUND WHEN:
Matt Cain out dueled Cole Hamels in Game 3 and Juan Uribe won Game 4 with a walk off sacrifice fly.
THE DAGGER:
Uribe again was the hero, this time with an 8th inning home run to give the Giants the lead in Game 6. And with the tying and winning runs on base, Brian Wilson struck out Ryan Howard looking to win the pennant.
There is no great favorite in this World Series, ergo no chance of an upset as large as any chronicled here.
Just goes to show you… you never know which team lead by cast off from Florida and Tampa can derail a potential dynasty.
Sully Baseball 
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