Aubrey Huff had a salient thought about rookie first baseman
Brandon Belt. Then he had a sobering one.
”
If it’s last year in spring training, he’s making this team,
”
said Huff, who joined the Giants as a free agent a year ago.
”
Jeez, I might not have had a job.
”
With Huff’s ability to play left field, there could be plenty of
room for both players in the same starting lineup. That’s how Belt
and Huff were arranged Sunday in a 6-4 exhibition loss to the
Athletics. The question is whether the Giants will open the season
that way or send Belt to Triple-A Fresno for more seasoning.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.
Aubrey Huff had a salient thought about rookie first baseman Brandon Belt. Then he had a sobering one.
“If it’s last year in spring training, he’s making this team,” said Huff, who joined the Giants as a free agent a year ago. “Jeez, I might not have had a job.”
With Huff’s ability to play left field, there could be plenty of room for both players in the same starting lineup. That’s how Belt and Huff were arranged Sunday in a 6-4 exhibition loss to the Athletics. The question is whether the Giants will open the season that way or send Belt to Triple-A Fresno for more seasoning.
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Some veteran players would demand weeks of advance notice on whether they’ll be the everyday first baseman or left fielder. Huff is placing no such requirements on Giants manager Bruce Bochy.
“I don’t put too much thought into it,” Huff said. “It’s not rocket science. I don’t have the speed most guys have, but I’ll get to all the routine balls and blah blah blah.”
Wait a second. Doesn’t have the speed? Isn’t Huff the self-professed best athlete on the team?
“Oh, I am,” he said. “I’m just not the fastest. Probably best body, too.”
Bochy said he still expects the decision on Belt to go down to the final days before the March 31 season opener at Dodger Stadium. Trades and injuries always can change the calculus.
But Belt already has one believer in Huff, who likes the way the fellow Texan takes professional at-bats and quietly goes about his business.
“Big guy, good stance, he stays inside the ball, goes the other way, has some power — he reminds me of me when I came up,” Huff said. “Except a little shyer, maybe.”
Belt has replaced Buster Posey as Huff’s favorite clubhouse target. And like Posey last year, Belt is taking his daily ribbing with aw-shucks grace. Huff even dragged Belt into the manager’s office one day, when the rookie started at designated hitter and Huff was penciled in to play first base.
“It’s pretty hilarious, if you ask me,” Belt said. “He says he doesn’t mind playing left field. It’s only if I’m the DH that he starts getting on me.”
Huff has seen “can’t-miss” prospects veer down many paths. They can become franchise players like Carl Crawford or get dragged down by injuries like Rocco Baldelli. So he wouldn’t say Belt is sure to duplicate Posey’s success from last year.
But Huff believes there might be something special about this smooth-swinging first baseman.
“Watching Posey last year, he was as impressive as any young player I’ve been around,” Huff said. “Belt has a great approach, but you still have to produce at the big league level. Some guys can’t make that jump, but I don’t see that happening with him. He’s humble, and he’s got a good head on his shoulders.
“If he makes the team, he’ll be the starting first baseman for the defending champions. That’s a lot of pressure right there, but I think he can handle it.”
— Huff’s three-run shot off A’s reliever Fernando Cabrera was the Giant’s third hit of the day and his fourth homer in five games. He’s hitting .362, and his five homers are tied for the Cactus League lead.
“I don’t need this anymore. I really want to get started,” Huff said. “I feel as good as I can feel at the plate.”
— Madison Bumgarner admitted he lost focus because of a tight strike zone and completed just two innings as a result. He needed almost 40 pitches to escape the second inning and compounded his problems with a throwing error to third base.
“Good learning experience today,” Bumgarner said. “Well, I’ve already learned it a few times.”
— Left-hander Dan Runzler continued to raise his stock for the long relief job, limiting the A’s to one hit while striking out three in three impressive innings.
— The other Giants split-squad lost 3-2 to the Cubs in 10 innings at Mesa.
— The Giants are off Tuesday, but Jonathan Sanchez will throw in a minor league game.
— Story by Andrew Baggarly, San Jose Mercury News
