Croix De Candlestick: Yet Another Argument About Why Brandon Belt Should Play

Belt seat legislation strictly enforced…seemingly since 1968.

This of course brings me back to the draconian standards that Bochy has instituted for Belt, as evidenced by a choice quote that comes to us from Andrew Baggarly:

  “Pressed further on Belt, Bochy made it clear he is not interested in developing players who aren’t ready.”

And by “not ready” I’m assuming Bochy meant “had ten at-bats and didn’t get a hit in every single one of them.”  Now I’m no manager, but the idea that our manager isn’t interested in developing players seems a tad counter-intuitive to what a Major League team is for.  You know what the best way to learn how to hit Major League pitching is?  I’ll give you a hint, it involves hitting against Major League pitching.  But now that Aubrey Huff has had one game where he hit a home run, there’s a good chance Belt is ticketed back to Fresno.

...The real terror strikes when you imagine how the careers of Mays or Pedroia would have gone had Bruce Bochy been their manager.  Mays’ request to be back in AAA would have been honored by Boch’ faster than you can “Say Hey” and one of the most prodigious careers in the history of sports likely never would have taken place.  Pedroia’s horrendous first month would have seen him benched instead of winning the AL MVP the very next season.  As a manager, if you claim that you’re not interested in “developing players who aren’t ready,” you’re not doing your job.