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The Giants had a 40-man roster spot to play with after Tim Lincecum's hip surgery, and they had a lot of different things they could have done with it. They could have used it to add an emergency catcher, considering it's September and they only have Buster Posey and Jackson Williams. They could have brought up Steven Okert to give the Giants a third lefty out of the bullpen. They could have used it to take a look at a pitcher like Clayton Blackburn, who might be a part of next year's team.
They brought up Brett Bochy.
An extra arm certainly makes sense, don't get me wrong. But the Giants' star player is running on fumes and large hawks seem to be carrying his backups away and dropping them down a mountain. It was probably Eli Whiteside time, which would be the most hilarious odd-year development since the last one.
Instead, here's Brett Bochy.
Like it matters. I guess you can at least let the guy watch his son pitch if the season is on fire. Young Bochy had a 2.95 ERA in Triple-A (good) with 43 strikeouts and 22 walks in 58 innings (less good).The 27-year-old was generally a middle reliever at Sacramento, and he had a strong finish to the year, striking out about a quarter of the batters he faced over the last month. He was removed from the 40-man roster earlier this year, so it's somewhat of a surprise that they added him again.
On merits, if the Giants were committed to bringing up a reliever, the spot probably should have gone to Cory Gearrin (28 strikeouts in 16⅔ innings since August 1, throws harder than 88 mph) but, well, have a dad in charge next time, Cory. To be fair, it's a little reckless to assume nepotism, considering that Bochy would still be on the AAA/majors bubble if his last name were Floogenstein. Maybe the scouts saw something they liked over the last month. It's not like this has ever been a Toby Gardenhire situation.
Still, the Dodgers have Corey Seager as one of their September call-ups. The Giants have Brett Bochy. That's, well, that's just about perfect. The 2015 season sure keeps surprising us, and the only surprising thing is just how unsurprising the surprises have been.