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A strategic move: with his team struggling, Padres manager Bruce Bochy started juggling—the lineup

Sporting News, The, June 10, 2005 by Tom Krasovic

What might seem like a routine move to fans rarely seems that way inside the clubhouse, and Padres manager Bruce Bochy knows from experience.

He's in his 11th season managing the Padres, the second-longest tenure in the majors. When the Padres' offense was struggling early this season, Bochy took action. He tinkered with the heart of his order--lefthanded-hitting Brian Giles (a No. 3 hitter most of his career), righthanded Phil Nevin (the team's longtime cleanup man) and lefty Ryan Klesko (the primary No. 5 hitter last season)--a decision that required a delicate approach because of individual egos.

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The frequent shuffling of his 3-4-5 hitters must have done some good. The Padres entered the week in first place in the N.L West. We went inside the Padres' clubhouse to find out why simple moves that don't seem like a big deal certainly are.

Bruce Bochy

I started thinking about our lineup this winter, and one of the things I thought about was the guys in the middle and moving them around a bit. I talked to Giles about it in spring training. Now, there's not a lot of difference hitting third, fourth or fifth. It's all so vital. But I checked out the schedule and started thinking about the pitching matchups. That's part of it. But I also watch how guys are swinging. Coming out of spring training, I thought if one guy was struggling, I could move him and the other guys would pick him up.

When we were going to Chicago, I talked to Phil on the team plane, and told him I was thinking about shuffling the order a little bit. I wanted to put him fifth. Phil hadn't found his stroke, so I thought it would take a little pressure off him.

Sometimes, just a little change can help. And the Cubs were throwing (Ryan) Dempster and (Kerry) Wood and (Mark) Prior. Those guys can be tough on anybody, not just righthanders. Nev's probably been more fixed than anyone as our cleanup hitter the last five years. It was probably more difficult for him than the other guys. It's going to look more like a demotion to him than it would to Brian or Ryan. He's human. But he was fine with it.

Sometimes, a move doesn't work out and you still think it's the right move. This one turned out well. We took the series.

Giles was a little bit different. He was hitting the ball hard, but the ball was going right at people. I knew after the last game of the homestand I was going to move him. There was no question in my mind he was going to get on track. It wasn't about matchups. Sometimes, a change is needed just for the sake of a hitter's mind-set and with the thought it might help get the guy going. So I talked to Brian on the plane when we went to St. Louis. I told him, "Really, I'm doing this to change your luck. Maybe there are some hits in the 5-hole." It was change just to change.

I didn't want to move Brian in the last game of the homestand. I wanted to start him fresh on the road. Sometimes, if they're at home, it can be looked at as a demotion. I'd rather do it on the road. And our team was winning a lot of those games. It was a good time. Brian was great about it.

You don't know if that's why they started hitting or if it's just that they found their strokes. I do think it helps sometimes to mix things up. Just like when you're in a rut, you throw all your role players out there one day.

Another thing is, Ryan is healthy this year. He's swinging well. So when we moved Phil, Ryan was hitting fourth. And when we moved Brian, Ryan was hitting third. The great thing is they're all interchangeable. It's great. They feed off each other. That happened last year with the Cardinals--with (Albert) Pujols and (Scott) Rolen and (Jim) Edmonds and (Larry) Walker. Each wanted to catch the other guy.

Without question, I'll be doing more of it this year than any year. I'll look at the pitching matchups. I get the data from Jeff Kingston, our director of baseball operations. But I don't rely solely on that. A lot of it is how the guys are swinging. A guy' can be 0-for-7 against a pitcher, but maybe he has hit four line outs. I'm pleased with how it's gone. I like having that flexibility. The guys know it's a work in progress. They understand it, and they're not letting it affect their games.

Brian Giles

I've been a No. 3 hitter for most of my career, but it's all about the team. Boch talked to me before he made the move. I said, "Hopefully, that changes my luck." Boch said, "I hope so, too." I've heard guys get upset when the manager moves them down. Maybe they had too many Wheaties when they were growing up. Everybody has pride. But you separate your pride from your ego. You still get to go out and play baseball and have fun. You have to stay positive. In this sport, you can't get negative. It's a long grind. We're having so much success with Boch tweaking the lineup that I don't mind it at all. We're winning. That's all that matters. I started getting more hits after I went to the No. 5 hole. 1 don't know why moving two spots would make a difference. Really, your approach is the same. This game is weird, man. You can't figure it out.

A strategic move: with his team struggling, Padres manager Bruce Bochy started juggling—the lineup

Sporting News, The, June 10, 2005 by Tom Krasovic

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