Give Belt a Chance!

Peace also deserves a chance, but I'll talk more about that once I start a hippie blog.

Today, I want to talk about Brandon Belt, specifically his game-winning two-run double in the seventh inning of Saturday's game against the Padres.* Can he just stay in the starting lineup until at least the end of May before any big decision (benching him, sending him to Triple-A, or keeping him in the starting lineup) is made on him? I don't think that's asking too much.

Look, I'm not going to say this double means he will start hitting like Matt Kemp, but isn't one clutch hit by a guy multiple people said would be the Rookie of the Year last season enough to keep him in the starting lineup for a reasonable amount of time?

Look at his individual game stats from last year. He's hit fairly well when in the starting lineup, but Bochy (or Sabean, or whoever makes the decisions on Belt) refuses to keep him there. If he doesn't perform as the starter, then send him to the minors or trade him (the wiser of the two options, in my opinion), but there's no point of keeping him on the team if he's only going to occasionally start.

I'd understand putting Belt on the bench if the other first basemen on the squad were hitting well, but they aren't. Aubrey Huff's been struggling mightily on the field, although nobody should be worried about baseball with him at the moment because he's on the DL with very serious anxiety issues. Brett Pill's been solid (.839 OPS), but he's only had 22 ABs and is barely hitting any better than Belt.

There's hardly any risk involved with starting Belt. If he doesn't hit well, the lineup won't be that much worse off because Huff and Pill probably wouldn't hit any better. If he does hit well, though, the below-average Giants lineup would get a much-needed boost, and Belt might gain enough confidence to be a solid threat for the rest of this season and beyond. Am I missing something?


*Yes, it's 1:30AM as I'm writing this and yes, I'm a college student, but I haven't been doing what you might think I have. I had work until 11:30PM (gotta pay the bills) and the Giants game didn't end until after I started my shift, so I couldn't start this post until I got home around 12:30AM. I should be applauded for writing this so late. Will I be doing the same thing next Saturday night (May 5th)? We'll see.