Congrats to the Giants front office for getting this one right! They choose to keep youngsters Brandon Belt (1B, LF), Brent Pill (Utility infield/outfield), and Hector Sanchez (C) on the 25 man roster to open the 2012 season. We have to commend the Giants brass for moving past the "we love veterans more than our mothers" attitude and taking a chance on the youth. It's been a long time, so enjoy it while you can Giants fans, God only knows how long their leashes will be.
Brandon Belt- Ironically he made the team last year as the starting first baseman, only to be demoted, then brought back, injured, then demoted, then brought back again (or something like that). He has been written about a lot this Spring because of a "hole in his swing." This notion that the hole is a proble or news worthy is absurd. Name one guy in the game who doesn't have any weakness at the plate, you'll need one hand and probably not all 5 fingers to count them. BTW- if he does have such a hole one of two things will happen; pitchers will try to attack the 'middle-in' hole, only to leave the ball out over the middle where Belt will mash the ball (because how many pitchers have that kind of consistent accuracy? Again, one-hand-not-all-fingers rule) OR they will pound the 'middle in' spot and Belt will see so many pitches there he'll naturally learn to hit it, like a major league hitter does. There's a reason why the game is hard to play.
Brent Pill- He's a "poor man's Dan Uggla." Lots of power, not big on BA, suspect defense, lots of power, in that order. I say that with hope, hope that he actually might get a shot at the same position Uggla plays, second base. I love that Joe Panik is on the way, but we may have a year or two before we actually see him. With Freddy Sanchez out, and not looking good, it would be great to sacrifice some defense there for decent power. Pill has a legit shot at 20-25 HR's and a .250 BA.
Hector Sanchez- "He's a younger version of Pablo Sandoval but more patient." I actually read that this Spring and if it's true then this team is in for a treat, as are us fans. With Sanchez being the only back-up to Posey, this means that we could actually see quite a bit of the youngster, and that we can take a collective deep breath that Posey's replacement's, behind the plate, have already begun to arrive. Sanchez should hit for avg. and show some pop, and be valuable as a switch hitter; the sky's the limit with him at the plate. Defense is where Sanchez will have to pay attention, thank God he has Bochy (former catcher) and Posey (greatest catcher ever) to learn from.
With these 3 guys up it makes you wonder what a 2014 opening day line-up may look like;
1. G. Brown CF
2. J. Panik 2B
3. P. Sandoval 3B
4. B. Posey LF
5. B. Belt 1B
6. H. Sanchez C
7. B. Pill RF
8. B. Crawford SS
9. Pitcher
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