Where does the blame lie in this collapse by the Texas Rangers?

Bochy's Bullpen Management

One of the strengths of Bochy's managerial career has been his ability to masterfully handle a bullpen. He knew when to pull his starters and how to deploy his bullpen to maximize their strengths. His managing of the pitching staff in San Francisco led to his winning three World Series titles.

The problem he has had this year is that Chris Young saddled him with a 94-loss bullpen and told him to turn it into a 90+win bullpen. There is only so much he can do. I have a hard time believing he does not have a say in who is in the bullpen. Chris Young is the GM and ultimate decision maker, but I am sure he is consulting with Bochy on who to call up and who to send down. I am sure he consulted with Bochy at the deadline when trade discussions were happening. If there are players in the bullpen then they are there because Bochy thinks they should be there.

Bochy also does not manage the bullpen with the urgency that I think the situation demands. Too often they will decide before the game that they are saving a pitcher for the next day. They have a sketched-out game plan pre-game and do not want to deviate from that even if it means losing the game that day.

Monday was an example of that. Dane Dunning was "available" in the pen, but Bochy had no plans on actually using him. Nathan Eovaldi is being activated on Tuesday and will start in game two of the series. He has not pitched since July 18th and his pitch count will be limited. So the plan obviously is to pair him with Dane Dunning and try to get five to six innings from the two pitchers. Dunning could have been used today. Heaney only was able to go 4 2/3 innings. Dunning could have been called instead of Otto and likely would have kept the game to a 3-1 or 3-3 score long enough to hand off to the bullpen in the late innings. Otto did get out of the fifth but then gave up back-to-back home runs in the sixth to give the Astros their first lead of the day.

The season is now in September and the Rangers are in a dire situation. Lose tomorrow and good chance they will be on the outside looking in on the playoff field. The goal should be to do whatever it takes to win today and then deal with tomorrow when it comes. It is fine to hold pitchers back in June or July when there is still plenty of season left. This is the biggest series of the season and he is managing it like it is an early summer game.

Next: Is Bochy slow to get pitchers up in the bullpen?