San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy benched third baseman Pablo Sandoval in favor of Mike Fontenot early on this postseason. It was a move made with defense in mind. Sandoval was mediocre in 2010, committing 13 errors and ranking 13th among all MLB third baseman in ultimate zone rate per 150 games (+1.5).
He just hadn’t done enough with the bat to offset those fielding issues. But Fontenot’s performance at third base isn’t exactly what Bochy had in mind. He’s made two errors in four postseason starts and misplayed an infield pop fly in Game 2 of the NLCS on Sunday.
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So Bochy put Sandoval back in the lineup for Game 3 Tuesday, right? Nope. Try door No. 3 — veteran Juan Uribe. He started the first four playoff games at short, but moved to third to get Edgar Renteria into the lineup. Why? Well, someone had to bat leadoff with center fielder Andres Torres struggling (3-for-25 in playoffs). But is benching the Panda a smart move for a club with such offensive deficiencies? He has a .901 OPS at AT&T Park this season.
