CSN Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO --Bruce Bochy said he hates to use the word slump, buttheres no other way to describe what Brandon Belt is going through right now.Consider these numbers:- Two hits in last 32 at-bats, including 13 strikeouts
- 6-for-45 with one extra-base hit in July
- No hits in last 16 at-bats with runners in scoringpositionTheres no sugarcoating those numbers into anything other than a slump, whichis why Bochy doubled down on Mondays lineup, keeping Belt on the bench withPablo Sandoval starting at first base.Belt,who has taken a beating in multiple publications for a perceived lack ofconfidence, took to his own blog to clarify his mental state.One, I have not lost my confidence, Belt wrote. Two, I have no trouble withBruce Bochy sitting me while Im struggling. The managers job is to put hisbest possible lineup on the field every night. Of course he should sit me rightnow. Thats whats best for the team. Thats why there are 25 guys on a roster.When one guy is hitting the skids, theres someone else to pick up the slack.While Belts writing suggests he is fully aware of how bad hes been at theplate lately, it also shows a confidence that its only a matter of time beforehes back to being the player he expects to be.I have zero doubt I will back in the lineup, Belt wrote.Zero. Every player in this clubhouse has gone through droughts like I am now,when you cant do anything right at the plate. Its part of the game. If youcant fight through it and come out on the other side, you dont belong in thebig leagues.Bochy hasnt suggested that Belt doesnt belong in the big leagues and would bebetter served in the minors. Instead, Bochy is just planning on giving hisyoung first baseman a mental rest from game action while he hones his skills inthe cage. It didnt help Belts cause that last nights lineup put up a fewcrooked numbers without him.You give a guy a day sometimes and you want to give them a couple days, Bochysaid. I thought Pablo looked comfortable at first base. He made a nice play.So we will probably see some changes in the lineup tomorrow with the early gamebut I just didnt feel the need to change a lineup that worked well lastnight.Sandoval takes over for Belt at first base despite a cold streak of his own,with just 10 hits in 41 at-bats (.244 average) since his impressive All-StarGame performance. Belts struggles dwarf Sandovals, but both had a talk withBochy about their approach at the plate before the team left Philadelphia.I talked to Sandoval and Belt and hitting coach Hensley Meulens was theretoo, Bochy said. We just talked about a lot of things. Basically, there aretimes when the hitters get themselves out, and thats what they were doing.While Bochy wont commit to when he will give Belt his next start, he isconfident that Sandoval is close to snapping out of his funk.I thought the last game in Philly, he slowed things down a bit, Bochy said.A hitter like Pablo, when he gets locked in he can carry a club too.Theres no question whos carrying the club right now: Gerald Buster DempseyPosey.He had three hits in Mondays 7-1 win over the Padres, including a toweringopposite field home run.Its fun to watch good hitters swing when theyre locked in, Bochy said. MelkyCabrera is the same way. Hes been a pleasure to watch with Buster. Busterhas the power to hit to the opposite field. Hes staying on the ball well.Over his last 10 games, Posey is hitting .513 with four doubles and three homeruns. His 17 RBIs over that span are the most by a Giants player over a 10-gamestretch since Edgardo Alfonzo drove in 17 in June of 2004. Despite needingregular rest as the teams starting catcher, not to mention one coming off adevastating injury, Posey still leads the Giants in both home runs (13) andRBIs (60). Busters been putting on quite a show the last few weeks,Bochy said.