Bochy ‘Bothered' by McKeon, Hurdle ASG Complaints

Over the past few days, some of Bruce Bochy's fellow managers took a few shots at his All-Star Game selections.

Jack McKeon, Bochy's old boss in San Diego, questioned Bochy's decision to select Tim Lincecum as a member of the pitching staff.

And on Tuesday, Clint Hurdle lamented the fact that rising Pirates stud Andrew McCutchen wasn't selected as a reserve member of the outfield.

"I think everybody whiffed on this one," <a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/pirates/s_745205.html#ixzz1RHzC1bAHHurdle told reporters before Tuesday's game. "Absolutely whiffed."

Hurdle was also, obviously, pointing out that the players -- who voted for Jay Bruce, Hunter Pence and Matt Holliday -- messed up. But he continued his blasting and called out Bochy specifically.

"The numbers don't lie," Hurdle said. "It's unfortunate. A manager [Bochy] had a chance to go get him. That didn't happen.

"I think Bruce whiffed on him. As for the final five, how he doesn't get in that mix, I have no clue."

Naturally, the fact that two other coaches -- who happen to have known Bochy for a long time -- publicly blasted the Giants skipper went over real well with Bochy.

"What’s bothered me are some comments made from other managers because now you start getting a little personal and [you] disparage other players," Bochy told Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury-News Tuesday. "I don't think that's what the game is about. But the two that are complaining I've known for 25 years. I didn’t hear from them.

"Sure, that bothers me."

This is the same stuff that happens every year -- managers have players who they think deserve to be All Stars, those players don't get chosen and then those managers get angry.

The simple solution to this problem is to have the manager in question win the World Series. Then they won't have to worry about complaining, because they'll be the ones who get to pick what players become All-Star reserves.

That probably won't work.

So, here's a more complex answer: don't complain. And if you do, do so in a manner that won't end up with a pile of articles about how the All-Star Game is messed up.

Taking away the right to vote for players would ensure better annual performers landing on the All-Star rosters, but it would also ruin the whole "this is for the fans" vibe that MLB's got going on.

Besides, everyone knows that the midseason classic is flawed.

But complaining about whether or not Bochy did the best job selecting players in a public fashion that embarrasses a colleague and isn't going to do anything to fix that.

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