Brandon Belt didn't have the best series against the Diamondbacks. And that's putting it nicely: he's batting .100 with one hit, one walk and five strikeouts.
Of course, it's only 10 at-bats, so it's not like such a performance could get him benched. Or maybe it could -- Bruce Bochy sat Belt on Monday in the series opener against the Rockies at Coors Field (which you can follow LIVE right here).
“We’re probably overstating this a little,” Bochy said of the discussion surrounding Belt's benching, via Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury-News. “He’s getting a day. We wanted more speed in the outfield. It’s not like there’s any panic there.”
With the overstatement stuff, Bochy's referring to the #FreeBelt talk on Twitter. (He's not a big social media guy, obviously). But Bochy says it was something of a mutual decision.
“He was fighting it a little so we’ll give him a couple of days here, with the off day tomorrow,” Bochy said. “He was pressing a little bit but he wants to do what he can to help the club."
And by getting Melky Cabrera, Angel Pagan and Gregor Blanco in the outfield, Bochy's giving Barry Zito more defense. Of course, that doesn't say anything about Aubrey Huff at first, but whatever.
This is something we've come to expect, and something we need to get used to. And if the Giants win on Monday afternoon, it won't be the last time that Belt gets yanked in favor of Huff.
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The problem is that yanking Belt out of the lineup three games into the season doesn't do anything to alleviate the pressure; it only makes it worse. If you thought the youngster was pressing before, wait'll you see what happens during his next start.
