just curious...is there any correlation with Belt's position played and offensive performance? meaning, is his offensive performance better playing his natural position at first rather than when he plays in the outfield?

Last post continued... I don't see a problem with the Giant's handling of Belt up to that point. They gave a shot from the outset and he struggled and lacked confidence. They were poised to give him a shot in late May, which is a great time to get a young player into the mix because if he succeeds he can be part of the team through the season but if he fails he doesn't affect the stretch run. Since July 19, you can quibble with the Giants' handling of Belt. But as others have noted, Huff has played well since the ASB. They could have played Belt in the OF more, but then they acquired Beltran and Schierholtz had been a consistent performer (until August that is). I would have put Belt in there starting on July 19 to see what the team had before the trade deadline, but I understand why they didn't. Also, there is something to be said for proven experience in the stretch run. Throwing a rookie, who previously admitted to lacking confidence, into a tight race is a risky thing. I would have taken that risk, but I understand why the Giants did not.

While I too would have liked more Belt earlier, I think people judge the Giants too harshly on this front. He was the opening day 1B. He played poorly for about 20 games and he admittedly lacked confidence. So the Giants sent him down so that he could get his timing and mind right. The Giants then bring Belt back up in late May after he played well at AAA for 6 weeks, during which time they get him more work in the outfield. He pencilled in to play several games in a row to give Huff a break, which is code for giving the kid a window. But he gets hit on the wrist in the first game of what Bochy said would have been a 3-4 game run. Belt misses 5 weeks with a broken wrist before he can start a rehab stint at AAA. The Giants keep him down for about 10 games. Arguably they could have brought him up sooner, but he's a rookie who hasn't even played much AAA ball. The Giants call him up on July 19. (cont...)

Anybody that thinks Belt is not a top 3-4 hitter right now on the Giants really has not watched the Giants. To address the 10k versus 3 walks as of late. I know FOR SURE that two of those Ks were walks, but called strike 3 instead of ball 4 on pitches 6 inches or more out of the strike zone on pitch tracker. So you could say he's been UNLUCKY. Sorry, but I would not want my players to swing at pitches 6 inches out of the zone - Obviously I think differently than Dunston, Bam Bam and Bochy, but don't fault Belt for it. The price you pay for striking out a lot, unless you're Bonds, should be more walks and more power. Belt has definitely supported this, so the Ks are fine with me as long as the OPS is up there. Belt batting 7th is just an indefensible strategy - There's no logic to it other than it's the result of a very inept coach. It's almost as bad as leading Cabrera off or batting Jeff Keppinger 2nd versus righties. And nothing worse than people that say leaving Posey in the minors last year helped him developed. There's absolutely ZERO proof of that. For all we know, the Giants' might have run away with the division if they brought him up from the start. Remember, if a guy hits from the moment he's brought up and never stops hitting (See Wade Boggs or Ryan Howard), that just means you left him in the minors far too long.

I'm all for giving Brandon Belt a chance now, while Cody Ross is in a huge slump and Nate is out injured. But your view appears to be biased. You note that Belt's BABIP has normalized. But as we all know, a hitter's BABIP is anyone's guess this early in his career. The average .300 is just that, each player's is individual, that is just where talent usually is in the majors, for those good enough to stay up. One can hope that his results in the minors translate to the majors, but sadly, there have been many in the past who have been unable to make the transition to the majors. So his BABIP did not "normalize", it got higher, we have no hard evidence that .300 is his normal BABIP level, we can only hope that he is based on his one season in the minors, and a large portion of it not even in the higher levels, stats from A-ball is not very useful, as they don't translate to the majors very well. I am still very leery of a young hitter who is striking out a lot. If he is striking out so much against AAA pitchers, major league pitchers should have a field day with him. Let's look at his hitting since he has been starting regularly, since his 2 homer day in Florida. From that game, he has hit .310/.394/.690/1.084 but with a .375 BABIP and I would say much higher than 10% HR/FB: even if all his non-strikeout outs were flyballs, his HR/FB ratio would be 30%, 3/10. I assume there were a few ground balls in the mix, so this HR rate will not continue, nor his BABIP as he is quick but not that quick, to maintain that high a rate. Meanwhile, he has 10 strikeouts vs. only 3 walks in 29 AB. Which is not that far from his overall seasonal rate, 30 K's in 107 AB, showing that he hasn't learned anything yet and appears to be getting lucky in big ways, both HR and BABIP. Plus, if you take out the 2 HR game, he has been hitting .280/.379/.480/.859, with a BABIP of .400 (HRs don't count in BABIP) in 25 AB, 9 K's vs. 3 BB's, 1 HR out of 9 AB, which is closer to his talent level than the above. At this point, his hitting metrics are too high to continue (HR/FB and BABIP) and should regress hard given how high they are, particularly given the strikeout rate. Right now, Bochy appears to be just riding the hot hand plus Nate is injured and not available. However, my support for Belt to start comes from some fan (DrB) scouting that I found compelling. DrB wrote this after Belt's 4 hit game: "OK, I'm ready to say it. Belt is ready to be a starting player in the major leagues! The dinger was an inside fastball that he pulled his arms in for, turned on it and drove it off the facing of the second deck in RF while his parents, wifey and extended family cheered him on. He pulled another inside pitch into RF for a single, went the other way on an outside pitch and pulled yet another one on the outer half of the plate to right-center. He's closed up the holes in his swing and is comfortable enough to be more aggressive." That, to me, shows a hitter who can adjust to the pitching to get hits, and I can accept strikeouts from a hitter being aggressive, but just not when he's getting fooled often, as he was early in the season, he was horrible that first month after he got that first homer, he got too homer happy. That I can get behind, but his numbers suggest a sharp fallback at some point. But some players have been able to keep up such a high pace for an extended period (like Francoeur his first time in the majors), so hopefully Belt can continue it for the rest of this season. But I wouldn't expect it either.

On the bright side, it's becoming ever so slightly possible to squint the right direction and visualize a Giants offense that isn't entirely helpless in the next couple of years. With a Franchez, Sandoval, Posey, Belt top of the order next year, maybe even a top of the order appearance by the Gary Brown Experience, and a side helping of Ever so Average Nate! Alongside our brilliant pitching staff, that should be a pretty good team. Now if everything can please manage to not go all to hell before that happens, I'd appreciate it.

I do think you overestimate the front office's ability to regret, or maybe more accurately, underestimate their ability to rationalize. You are aware, aren't you, of how many games we won due to veteran savvy that doesn't show up in numbers?

Oh great another lunatic fringe post about how things would've been different if they would've played Belt. Belt's play just proves that the Giants did the right thing in waiting to play him the same way they helped Posey by keeping him in AAA last year. #Sabeanthink

Great post. Its been sad to see Huff trot out every day as our #4 hitter with a sub .250 average and a sub .300 OBP (I think). How many opportunities is Bochy going to give the man? Even with Belt's low average (in a limited number of at bats), his OBP has been good for a Giant. Probably a perk of Belt's good eye and ability to show plate discipline. I can remember several times in the past week or so when Huff has come in, bases loaded, and popped out on the 1st or 2nd pitch of an at-bat. The name Belt is also synonymous with hitting the ball hard, Huff is associated more with being tired and winded.