Tim Bogar Is Moving To The Bench

Red Sox fans, our long national nightmare is over: according to Rob Bradford (and his sources), Tim Bogar will not be returning to third base in 2012, instead joining new manager Bobby Valentine in the dugout as the new bench coach.

With DeMarlo Hale having been a part of the staff shuffle that inevitably seems to follow any managing change, the spot was left open for the first time in two years. While we had heard at the same time that Tim Bogar was set to stay with the organization, there was no indication whether he would be retaining his duties as third base coach, or taking over a new role.

Tim Bogar has long been considered an impressive baseball mind and potential future managing candidate, but neither of those qualities seemed to have prepared him for his role giving signals at third. The heir to the third base throne of "Wave 'Em In" Wendall Kim and "Suicide Signal" Sveum (alright, that last one is mine), Bogar has been a source of frustration for Sox fans in two seasons marked by runners being gunned down at home with some regularity.

The evaluation of third base coaches is not terribly well developed, and is mostly the purview of your average fan a few beers in shouting at the television. We may never know exactly what sort of effect Bogar had on the team by choosing to send runners in situations that many would have deemed too risky. To be sure, whoever takes over for him will be entering one of the most criticized, least appreciated roles on the team.

But, for now, if only as that fan in front of the television, it feels good to say that the Era of Bogar has come to an end.