Pros and cons of the Melvin extension

The what-have-yous will have to wait for another day

The Giants announced on Tuesday that they exercised the option on manager Bob Melvin’s contract, ensuring that he will remain in San Francisco through 2026. While all involved agreed that the timing wasn’t ideal, considering the team’s stretch of Hey Let’s Play Like Dogshit games had at that point been going on for a couple weeks, it was important to Buster Posey to commit to Melvin for another year, because in his view, the players have never stopped playing hard for him.

Of course, playing hard doesn’t necessarily produce winning baseball, and we’re all firsthand witnesses to how true that statement can be. Taking Posey at his word that the effort hasn’t been lacking since the end of the Red Sox series, well, something else has gone wrong then, and you know who hasn’t fixed it? Why, that’s correct, literally everyone on Earth! Great job. But you know who hasn’t fixed it but is presumably at least somewhat responsible for the team’s play? Right again! That would be Bob Melvin!

Man, you’re almost too good. Are you a ringer? Is this a Charles van Doren situation? Well, no matter, so long as the money and accolades keep pouring in, you can keep answering as many of these questions as you want. We’re here to please.

But! We’re here to talk about the option getting exercised. Was it good? Was it bad? Was it a third option NO IT WASN’T WE WILL ONLY BE CONSIDERING THE TWO OPTIONS.

So, to come up with an answer for this important issue, we’re going to be using a pros and cons format. Except pros always go first in that format, so today we’re going to switch it up and lead with cons. Because it’s all about equality around here.

Con: Buster Posey knows the team is playing like shit, right?

I mean, clearly, Melvin can’t be that good if the team plays like this. Yes, they’re missing Matt Chapman, but look at what they do have and look at how they’ve been playing, and tell me that they shouldn’t be able to do more. Who’s the guy whose job it is to get them to do more? Hmm. HMM. How interesting!

Pro: That just makes it more important to provide stability

You don’t want a clubhouse where everyone feels like they’re one bad game away from being sent down. That’s how you get edge, nervous players who are too busy thinking about their futures to really focus on the game. Keeping Melvin around sends an important message to everyone that the team won’t give up on them overly fast.

Con: Melvin was always an uninspired pick

Well, yeah. Farhan originally hired Gabe Kapler for his innovative ideas on both baseball and tanning. Fast forward a few years, and the pressure (especially from season ticket holders) meant that Kapler lost his job, and a new, more old-school manager was able to shape the team. But that doesn’t mean a better manager, just one whose ways we’re all familiar with. Is that really that important? Doesn’t seem like it, honestly.

Pro: WELL SO WAS BRUCE BOCHY

COUNT THA RINGZ, SUCKAAAAAA

Con: Can’t the Giants do better?

It just seems like it’s settling to go with Melvin. He hasn’t been a difference maker with the Giants. He hasn’t done a whole lot, honestly. When you look at some of the other guys around the game, the Craig Counsells and AJ Hinches and Kevin Cashes, doesn’t it seem like they would provide a spark that Melvin doesn’t? Wouldn’t they bring new ideas and ways of relating to the players that Melvin can’t? Wouldn’t it be worth the Giants’ time to try to find the next one of them, instead of going with a retread?

Pro: Probably not

You don’t know that! You don’t know anything about this, and neither do I. Things that seem appealing from the outside can turn out pretty badly. Remember when Joe Maddon was the cool manager everyone wanted, and then it turns out that he wasn’t anything special? Remember when the hot manager prospect was Manny Acta, who flamed out pretty quickly when given a chance at the job? Remember when AJ Hinch, who was named in the above paragraph, won a World Series because his team cheated? There is no way to tell how a different manager would turn out, and it’s silly to pretend otherwise.

In conclusion, it probably doesn’t matter at all remains to be seen how Bob Melvin sticking around for another year will impact the Giants. There are more factors to consider than anyone would ever actually consider, and as we evaluate Melvin for the next season and a half, we’ll likely all just pick evidence to fit our preconceived narratives about his value as a manager. If the Giants do well, Melvin will be praised; if they fade away, Melvin will be criticized. The grass will always be greener on the other side of the fence, and no one will ever learn anything.

This is the way of baseball. So it has been since time immemotial, so it shall be until the end.