SAN FRANCISCO -- Yes, Bruce Bochy has seen the lineup card. He knows he's sitting Buster Posey with Mat Latos pitching for the Marlins.
"I see that too, trust me, but you've got to do what you've got to do," Bochy said. "We talk to the guys to see where they're at. He needs a break today."
Posey is hitting .364 over his last 12 games but Bochy said he "is a little beat up." Angel Pagan is hitting .339 over his last 14 games but his finger "has been bothering him." Brandon Crawford leads this team in homers and RBI and is 11 for his last 33, but Bochy said he has "general soreness."
"You like to break it up a bit," Bochy said of the off days, "But it's hit us pretty good."
So, we've got Matt Duffy in the lineup at shortstop, Joe Panik hitting third and Andrew Susac catching Ryan Vogelsong. Panik said he has not regularly hit third since the low minors, when he did it for Salem-Keizer and the San Jose Giants. "Ichiro is hitting third for the Marlins," he pointed out. "Two power hitters up there today." Panik said Crawford helpfully pointed out to him that he actually has more homers (2) than today's cleanup hitter (0). I'm sure Brandon Belt has heard that stat a time or two this morning.
--- A Mother's Day memory from Bochy, on his mom, Melrose Bochy: "My dad was in the service and he was in Korea, and she was the one throwing BP to us. Just an amazing woman. She had polio as a kid. I just remember her going out there and playing ball with us. An amazing woman, I couldn't have had a better mom."
I would hope most of us feel that way. Happy Mother's Day to mine if she's reading/watching, and to all of the mothers out there.
