Schierholtz: Giants ‘Short Leash' Was ‘Frustrating'

Nate Schierholtz took some shots at his former team upon arriving in Philadelphia, lamenting the fact that he was on a "short leash" with Bruce Bochy, which became "frustrating."

Now that Nate Schierholtz is gone, Giants fans will remember the good times, not the time he smacked a home run in Philadelphia the day after he got traded. Jerk.

But it might not be the same with Schierholtz, who had some less than -- ahem -- positive things to say about his time in San Francisco.

Specifically, Schierholtz lamented to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that he thought Bruce Bochy gave him a "short leash" and that his inconsistent playing time was "frustrating."

"I just felt like I had a short leash," Schierholtz said. "It was series by series, if I didn’t perform for three games, that was my chance. It got frustrating at times. We didn't see eye to eye."

Man, does that sound familiar or what? (*Points in direction of Brandon Belt*) Anyway, Schierholtz accurately figured out how Bochy intended to use him: not every day!

“It got to the point [in San Francisco] where I didn’t see myself having an everyday role," Schierholtz said. "I felt like I needed a chance to earn more playing time, maybe get 100 at-bats in a row, but it wasn’t going to happen.”

Charlie Manuel hasn't guaranteed anything for Schierholtz beyond this year, but he's going to get some run for the rest of 2012. Which means, if Schierholtz plays well, perhaps he could find himself landing a starting gig next year.

But there are some issues for Schierholtz. One, if you're starting Nate Schierholtz, your outfield is not good. Sorry, but he's no better than a fourth outfielder. And two, look at his game log: he doesn't hit well for extended stretches of time. He just doesn't. Give him a couple starts here and there and the dude will rope a couple taters and get some big hits. But extended playing time? Nah.

Look, there are many, many, many questionable things that Bruce Bochy does when filling out his lineup card. Overusing Nate Schierholtz was not one of them.

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