San Diego

As Dodgers Celebrate, Bochy Turns Eyes to Franchise-altering Talent

LOS ANGELES - The Giants left their dugout quickly after Friday's loss, escaping a celebration on the mound and a fireworks show in the sky. As Dodger Stadium shook with cheers, Bruce Bochy sat in the visiting clubhouse and smiled. He nodded at his laptop, which earlier had been used to pull up highlights of Japanese two-way star Shohei Otani. 

"He's good," Bochy said, laughing. "I absolutely would play him every day."

Earlier in the week, when it became known that Bobby Evans and Jeremy Shelley were headed to Japan to scout Otani, Bochy said he couldn't imagine a player pitching and then moving to the outfield between starts. What changed? 

Perhaps it was the tape Bochy saw. Otani throws 100 mph and hits homers with ease. Or perhaps it was the game he watched Friday. The Giants lost for the 94th time, with the big blow coming from a 22-year-old Dodgers star. Cody Bellinger's blast was the difference in a 4-2 win, and the Giants don't have a Bellinger, or anything close. Otani, 23, is a long shot for a team that very well could finish with the worst record in baseball. Still, he's the kind of talent that could help pull the Giants closer in a hurry. He's the  kind of talent they haven't developed in years, and Bochy certainly sounded a bit wistful as he talked of the power Bellinger has put on display. 

"You call up a guy and he does that - that just doesn't happen," he said. "It's a rare deal."

The ninth inning of the Dodgers' clincher reinforced that point for the Giants. They got a homer from Pablo Sandoval, but he's playing only because Christian Arroyo - the Giants' best prospect bet this year - is hurt. Ryder Jones, their 23-year-old prospect, struck out to end the night, dropping his average to .180. 

That set off a celebration for Bellinger and the Dodgers. They have won five straight NL West titles, with three of the last four clinched against the Giants. 

"Congrats to them," Bochy said. "They've had a tremendous year across the board, and they've played great baseball. They brought some guys up that really did a great job for them. It's well deserved."

Bochy said it was not difficult to watch this one. The division has been wrapped up for months, with only a September slide keeping the Dodgers from clinching earlier. 

"We knew what we were facing here," Bochy said. 

The Giants have two more against the Dodgers and then six more before a long winter. The Dodgers, on the other hand, will host an NLDS series here at Dodger Stadium. Both Bochy and starter Jeff Samardzija made the same observation, that the Dodgers will have a hard time cutting their deep roster down to 25 postseason players. 

That's a nice problem to have. It's a foreign one right now for the Giants, who have a serious talent gap and no clear solutions internally. It's no wonder, then, that Bochy has all of a sudden become so intrigued by a wondrous talent overseas. 

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