Bochy on Belt: ‘He needs a break'

SAN FRANCISCO -- In 95 games this season Bruce Bochy has used 71 different batting orders, including one on May 16 that had Madison Bumgarner hitting in front of Emmanuel Burriss.When Bochy posted Mondays lineup for the Giants seriesopener against the San Diego Padres, one thing stood out. Not Nate Schierholtzleading off for the third straight game. Not Brandon Crawford in the lineupagainst left-handed starter Clayton Richard. Instead, its the decision tostart Pablo Sandoval at first base and keep Brandon Belt on the bench thatraised some eyebrows.
With Sandoval moving across the diamond, Joaquin Arias will start at thirdbase. Bochy explained his decision to reporters prior to first pitch:With the lefty going, Arias was going to play. It waseither Crawford or Belt and, lets be honest, Belt is struggling right now.That was a rough road trip for him. What? 1-for-20 with the strikeouts. Heneeds a break. Hes not swinging the bat very well right now. Hes working onsome things.
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While Bochy said that Belt needs some work in the cage, heacknowledged that his young first basemans problems are more in his head thanhis body.I think its probably more mental, Bochy said. But at thesame time, this is a tough game. Youve got to man up and battle through thesethings. We all go through it. We all have our tough days at times. But at thesame time, the only thing you can do is keep working and believe youre goingto get through it and keep that confidence.Belts confidence has been a talking point since he was yo-yoed betweenTriple-A Fresno and the big-league club last season. Bochy was asked if theGiants brass has considered sending Belt back down to the minors to work onhis swing and regain some of that confidence.Brian Sabean and I talk about a lot of things, especiallynow with the trade deadline coming up, Bochy said. Ill leave it at that.Two hours before Belt was in the cage working on his swing, Sandoval was in theinfield talking with bench coach Ron Wotus and working on his footwork.Sandoval has played just an inning at first base this season after starting sixgames there in 2011. Hes shown he can play over there, Bochy said. He cameout early and took some ground balls.Without a first basemans glove of his own, Sandoval had to borrow BusterPoseys. But he may want to invest in one if Bochy decides to keep benching Belt.I cant say its going to be permanent, Bochy said of his new-look defensivepositioning. But more than likely youll see Buster at first base tomorrow.Im going to use them all. Sometimes guys need a break when things arent goingvery well. Thats whats happening right now.Bochy even acknowledged that he could potentially use thesame arrangement against right-handed pitchers moving forward. Obviously, a lotdepends on Belts ability to work himself out of this slump and Sabeansattempts to acquire a new bat at the trade deadline for Bochy to utilize.The next day or two were going to be working on a lot ofthings with Brandon and hopefully get his confidence back, Bochy said. Youwant to mix this kid in, but right now hes going through a tough time. We alldo and we have to make adjustments to see if we can get some production atfirst base.
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A power hitter usually mans first base, but the Giantsgroup has combined for just seven home runs this season, four of which came offBelts bat. For comparisons sake, the Giants have received 13 home runs fromtheir catchers, 26 from outfielders, and nine from third basemen. You need 25 guys, Bochy said. Your guys are going to have their ups anddowns and you have to give them a break. And when you do, hopefully the guythat goes in there, takes advantage of it and plays well.The Giants also have two potential first basemen on the disabled list in AubreyHuff and Hector Sanchez. Huffs natural position is at first, but he had an abysmalstart to the 2012 season following a disappointing 2011 campaign and has sincespent most of the year on the shelf. According to Bochy, Huff is still dealingwith tendinitis in his right knee and is not real close to activation.Sanchez, on the other hand, is expected to be ready to return from the disabledlist when eligible on August 2, Bochy said. The 22-year-old switch hitter isrecovering from a left knee sprain sustained on July 17.Today hes getting down in catchers position and will do afew things, Bochy said. We expect him to be ready in 15 days.Bochy is confident in Sanchezs health, but what about hisability to play first base?Hes taken ground balls there, Bochy said. We have allthese guys moving around and will keep our options open.