3 best things Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said at the MLB Winter Meetings

Will the extra work in the playoffs have an impact on Texas Rangers pitchers moving forward?

A very real thing that Bochy was asked a few questions about in Nashville, was how the Rangers would monitor, and handle, the pitching staff coming off of a World Series championship that saw the team play an extra month of highly competitive baseball. When asked specifically if the extra workload of the playoffs has an impact on pitchers, Bochy had an interesting response.

"I don't think as much as people think. I don't. Today's game is a little bit different. My previous experience, those guys were logging over 200 innings. We didn't have anybody really come close to that but Dane, so a little bit different."

Bruce Bochy

There was a follow-up question about if he thought that all of the extra postseason innings in San Francisco was part of the reason that Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, and Matt Cain had shortened careers. Bochy's answer was fantastic, as he indicated that all three of those guys had wonderful careers. He also talked about how it is hard to know and impossible to measure if there was anything to that or not.

Bochy also talked about the important balance of taking care of the pitchers when they come back for spring training, but also having them ready to go when the season starts. His best way to help the pitchers, he said, is to manage their workload throughout the season. To know when to leave someone in longer during the regular season and to understand when to get them out and give them a break. There is a certain feathering of the gas pedal, so to speak, that goes into handling a pitching staff and Bochy is one of the greatest to ever do it.

In just two and a half months the Texas Rangers will be reporting to spring training. When they do, manager Bruce Bochy will have a plan to maximize the abilities of each player into getting the greatest output for the team. Bochy knows baseball and he knows people. He has consistently said that he is blessed to have this opportunity, and I appreciate his humbleness. It is also apparent that as Rangers fans, we are blessed to have a living legend manage our team.

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