The writing was on the wall even before we ended the season .500 … again. This time it happened quite fortunately, because the Dodgers chose to beat the Diamondbacks on the last day of the season. Bob Melvin was done.
I read a lot of criticism of Melvin this year and I defended him often, because he does pay attention to the minutiae of the game. There are wins that are signature Bob Melvin wins – for the A’s, for the Padres, and for the Giants. Unfortunately, there are signature losses, too.
On a windy Tuesday night in Chicago at Wrigleyville, Bo-Mel’s brilliance as a manager was apparent in a win over the Cubs this year, a very good team.
Read my write up of that game
** HERE **
but I mentioned it in the corner as well:
The Jordan Hicks experiment was another good example of Melvin exercising his experience. Hicks was dealt only after Bo-Mel and staff worked him hard in a variety of circumstances – including using an opener.
Melvin was patient and creative in his approach. But also decisive. I was at the game when he finally pulled Hicks as a starter, for good, and expressed my appreciation:
I have fond memories of BoMel because I was there when he took the 2012 Athletics side into the postseason, too:
But ultimately, a manager will always be fired if they consistently lose close games – it’s a broad measure of their managerial acumen.
Even if there were ten blown saves by Ryan Walker and Camilo Doval, the manager will be blamed for having too many games that close. Ending .500 two years in a row wasn’t going to cut it.
So long, Bob. I’m a fan and wish you the best of luck finding a managing job. You know baseball. I appreciate you.
Giants Baseball Corner 