How To Handle Belt’s Slow Start
Body language can be a powerful tool when trying to understand the mood or attitude of another person. In baseball, body language ebbs and flows and seems to both drive and interrupt the production, or lack thereof, of most baseball players. When he’s going bad no one has worse body language than Brandon Belt. He addressed this last year when he told the media not to read anything into his slumping shoulders, that’s how he looks all the time. Of course, slumping shoulders is but a single message one can send non-verbally.
At fanfest, I was struck by how Belt sounded–not really the words he said, but how he said them. He gave off an air of confidence that he didn’t have last year (or at least, that he didn’t show publicly). He went on to have another of his usual dominant springs and I actually thought this was going to be a very productive year for him. Then he got sick and lost 10-12 pounds. Then the season started. And 19 games in, we’re still waiting for Belt to get started. Bochy talked with him yesterday and it sounds like he’s going to sit vs the lefties coming up in the Arizona series.
I haven’t heard him interviewed since fanfest. I hope he’s still carrying the confident tone he had with him that day. If I was Belt I would chalk my slow start up to the pre-season illness and bad luck–he’s hit many balls hard, especially earlier in the year, that found gloves. And that’s just baseball.
I like the fact that Bochy called him into his office because running him out there over and over, especially if he’s failing, isn’t the way to handle every hitting slump. In fact, i wish more players would sit during a slump. Watching the game can sometimes be better for you than playing it or practicing it (somewhere far far away, I’m sure Aaron Rowand is still perfecting his swing in a cage). As long as Bochy reassured Belt that he is the starting first baseman, I think this break will be good for him.
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This has to be the ultimate “spring training numbers mean nothing” example. Belt was SO freakin’ hot. and now he is hitting the ball hard with nothing to show. More recently he looks like he is pressing; questioning his luck, the baseball Gods, whatever.
I really expect a lot from him over this season. He is my man – firstbaseman – and I want to see him driving in Pense and Mudbug and all the others.
I also thought Belt was stinging the ball earlier on but right at someone, which is usually a sign that balls will start dropping in. Lately he has seemed to be guessing at the plate (IMO). The kid can rake when he’s on so I sometimes wonder if he has too many people telling him what they think he’s doing wrong and it gets in his head. I know the Giants had Will working with him for awhile, now what kind of teacher Clark is, I don’t know but Brandon also had Bam Bam and who knows how many others trying to help. Getting a breather and being a spectator for a couple of days isn’t a bad thing, hopefully it lets him clear his head.
See, this is the context I miss – good post HAHA – without you mentioning the fact he is stinging the ball, but right at someone, I would think he is just lost. Thanks Clown.
By the by, besides Bozo, Clown, and John – I will also use his Flap baseball league nick of “HAHA” to refer to Mr Circus World (Hey, another alias for ya John). 🙂
How will the FBI ever keep up with all these aliases?
No idea HAHA, but I think you have just been added to their terrorist database for that comment. Don’t worry though, I have said some really seditious un-American things and consequently, have a drone following me 24/7. 🙂
John (notice that I used your real name. Watch your money and wallet. Grin), I sent you another trade proposal where I give you an absolutely, unbelievable player and I get one of your putrid also-rans. Are you still contemplating this trade or what?
Belt losing all that weight had to affect him. Shit look at Posey. Talk about slow starts. HE got a day off and some people didn’t like that. He then gets his first dinger. Coindicence? maybe. But Belt should be fine.
Well, he’s been hitting the ball hard throughout, not just earlier. The difference now is as so many can see, it’s frustrating him. Moving him down in LU was hardly a good idea, the notion that it would take pressure off of him is just nonsense- if hitting 6th was too much pressure, the answer isn’t hitting him 7th, it’s to get rid of him .Anyway, a couple days off won’t hurt and he does need to be reminded that his patience at the plate is an asset, he’s not demonstrating it this year.
Agree. Give him a day or two off to relax, then put him back in the lineup where he was. Knocking him down a peg or two in the LU sends a wrong signal — again. As BF said, some games he hit the ball hard several times, but at somebody. The whole team was hitting pretty lousy out of the gate, who else did they push down the LU?…
When we submitted our predictions, my crystal ball had big things in store for Mr. Belt. I still think he will rake this year. I have always liked his patience at the plate and this is probably the single reason why I think he will have an outstanding year. The dude knows how to hit and hopefully, he can relax and show that he has what it takes to play outstanding big league baseball.
New blog post. I arrived in Rome (wallet intact), but it rained hard today. Frickin St. Peter’s Square was still packed, with a 500 yard line to see the Sistine Chapel, Basilica, and museum. I was on a tour (they don’t have to stand in line), but canceled because it was raining so hard and will try again tomorrow.
I agree, Belt will come out of this and have a banner year. I still think only 20 games into the season is too early to grade a player. So he is struggling, lost weight, etc, etc. no biggy.
I’ve always pulled for Belt and was excited to see him have such a great Spring. But, even watching him on opening day of 2011, his body language has shown a “poor me” attitude. Or, there has been times when he hustle down the line with his head down. Like he mentioned, maybe that’s just how he is, but I would like to see more fire out of him.
Sitting him now has to be done. But, if he’s the real deal as far as an everyday player, there can’t be much more waiting.
Maybe Buster got off to a slow start because he was too busy posing for GQ.
And, maybe Zito’s at a new level because now he’s into religion and…. guns.
Sigh…
http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2013/04/22/buster-and-barry-pose-for-gq-barry-talks-guns-and-religion/#11525-2
BTW, both photos are hilarious. They both should and will get absolutely roasted for this by the guys in the clubhouse. Buster wearing those capri-style $375 sweatpants has a “get me outtta here” look. Reminds me of Mary Tyler Moore’s capris in the old Dick van Dyke show — though she looked better in them…
You spelled that wrong, Snarkk. They are crapi pants . . .
Oh good Lord. Nice sweats, Buster. $325.00 and they don’t cover your legs? Brilliant.
I see a new book on its way out. Zen and the Art of Machine Gun Maintenance.
I hope that if/when he has to protect his family with “firearms”, his aim is better that the first four+ years here on the mound. I would think he has enough scratch to hire a small private army of security personnel rather than a DIY routine…
Regardless of how much money I had, I would always want the protection of my family to be in my (and their) hands. Happiness is a warm gun…bang bang, shoot shoot…
If a gun makes you happy Chi, OK then. You and Zito are apparently simpatico on that…
Micah, I sent ya a trade offer for Trumbo.
I preferred the zen lefty rock roll zito to the born again gun toting one but if he pitches better believing God is in his corner, fine. I’ll just skip the interviews, which I usually try to do anyway. Usually find the less I know the better.
Yeah, with most baseball players, that’s a good rule to follow. We’re not exactly talking about rocket scientists or spiritual gurus, are we?
Yep, I shouldn’t have read some of that. Just when he’s getting into the good graces of fans, me included, Zito finds it necessary to give another one of his patented “thinkum” interviews with some national media that leave you just shaking your head. Fine if he’s dropped Zen and dope and found god and guns. Whatever. But, why does he have to broadcast it? My very amateur couch sleuthing says he has some serious narcissism issues, despite being a good guy per just about everybody that speaks about him. Hey Zeeeeets, just pitch shutout innings and shaddup…
Belt…….just play him. It’s April so quit sweating the details. Let Bochy earn his big bucks. Media types make a big deal about everything……even a little girl running from CF!
Maybe a day or two off will help clear the cobwebs…but I sure as hell hope there is no platoon forthcoming. Belt is and should be the first baseman. Let Brandon play.
Barry Bonds’ record 756 sign “disappeared”. Hmmm…
http://tinyurl.com/cgww6tg
Speaking of appearances, does Pence really dress like a USS Enterprise ensign? You know… the guys who bounce off the walls when the Klingons breach the warp core or whatever gets breached when Scotty gets all worked up and forgets his Scottish accent…
I didn’t know Bluto went to the Star Fleet Academy before Faber College. Or, maybe a “joint” program?…
AmyG tweets breaking news (or PR) from 10 minutes ago.
“@AmyGGiants Bochy is out with Belt working in the cage….literally. I have never seen Boch this “hands on” working with a player.”…
Boch helping Belt. Personally. Out in public. This is good; I think…
I guess Bochy figgers that Belt is a few thousand swings short of Rowand,,
Heck, call in the Gamer. He’ll get Belt in the cage for 500 swings a day, at least. Kruk will be ecstatic…
Bochy true to his words…BB with the night off:
CF – Pagan
2B – Scoots
3B – Pablo
C – Posey
RF – Pence
1B – Arias
LF – Torres
SS – Mudbug
P – VogelSTRONG
Gamer helping Belt….This constipation swing is what you need to dial in.Sliders away in the dirt were my specialtys for the K or the weak-ass grounder to 3rd for a DP.
Snarkk: I haven’t seen Animal House in so long I forgot about it. I’m happy to find out that Pence doesn’t really dress like that. I love the guy but he’s dorky enough to do it .
No worries. That flick came out a long time ago. I forget what movie I saw on Netflix last week…
The Giants are re-making the outfield wall sign for Bonds? Wtf? What legitimate reason would they have for doing that?
They’re likely going to make it smaller and/or put it in a less public spot. If that happens, that is despicable. The Giants made hundreds of millions of dollars off Bonds. And without him, they probably don’t get the new park built.
I’ll wait before I go ballistic but if it’s what I think it is, FUCK THAT
I thought Henry was saying the sign was probably stolen, and the Giants were replacing it.
It’s hard to think how it could have gotten stolen, but the ballpark is rented out for other events, and the sign probably wasn’t attached as permanently as we thought (and why wasn’t it?)
As for various events, for example, a couple of weekends ago it hosted a motivational speaker event.
The Giants could still be investigating the mystery.
Rusty took it…
I actually heard about the sign on Saturday, I think, listening to a caller talking to Marty Lurie. Lurie said he hadn’t noticed, and would look into it with the Giants. Then, this column by Ostler. The Giants PR machine use of the word “disappeared” is a little unsettling. Either they disappeared it intentionally themselves or it was stolen. No middle ground, seems to me, so the explanation seems fishy. Knowing the Giants MO when it comes to PR, I naturally smell a rat. I doubt they’ll make a BIGGER sign. They can’t possibly have thought nobody would notice. Payback for not showing up at the MVP ceremony? Yep, the Giants seem to be wiping the memory banks of Bonds, like the GOP can’t seem to locate Bush anymore — except his library is opening this week…
Dunno if any of you saw the first quarter of the Bulls/Nets game from Brooklyn. These are playoff teams? I think it ended 20-18 or something. What a horrific quarter of so-called basketball. It looked like football on skates. And, Bob Fitzgerald has the audacity to say that pro basketball is far better than college. Horrible D, horrible brick shots, terrible passes, turnovers du jour, missed foul shots. Did I miss anything? Never be mistaken for the ’60s Celts, ’70s Knicks, or 80’s Celts and Lakers. I almost gouged my eyes out, then quit watching…
Nba b-ball is really tough to watch these days. No one runs set plays anymore. A designed play for most teams is to just whip it around the perimeter 3 times. And if we’re down to the last play, forget it, it’s a clear out isolation play. That’s why I loved the play that ended the Dubs/Heat gm a couple months ago. It wasn’t set but Jack found Green underneath for the winning shot– it wasn’t your normal brain dead fall away jack up shot.
and like I said, I’ll reserve my wrath for the Giants if it turns out they make a sign that honors Barry’s great accomplishment in a smaller, less public way.
If someone stole it, so be it. I could see that if it was at a smaller event
If anything, the Giants should build a statue of Bonds IN THE PARK in the arcade. Make it fucking huge and ostentatious. It would be the perfect backdrop, even if only for a second, on splash hit replays–the ones that happen every blue moon now that Barry is gone. There just aren’t enough *Bond’s* and *Felipe Crespo’s* for the world to appreciate 🙂 ……..
Just sent you a link to the YouTube clip of the famous necklace at the trophy showing. Larry Baer took a picture of it with his cellphone. Macdog is prominently featured, me less so — except for my big mouth. I LOVE THIS SHIT.
Pandoval has been an RBI dynamo.
And great fun watching him do it.
new post with MacDog and Pawlie interviewing Bead/Necklace chick.
Is that sweet or what?
Sergio Romo was historic tonight throwing one pitch, getting the win and being the Oral B dental floss player of the game.