Well, it looks like that day has finally come, and after going 0-for-3 in Friday night's shutout, long-time minor league first baseman Brett Pill finally returns from whence he came, Triple-A Fresno.
According to the Giants Twitter, the G-men have activated All-Star third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who missed several weeks with surgery, and demoted Brett Pill back to the minors.
This move marks a refreshing change as the San Francisco Giants show their rejection of the lineup consistently marched out to face lefties, a lineup in some ways defined by the right-handed swinging Brett Pill.
Despite their unlikely victories, the Giants have hit terribly against left-handers as evident by their team wRC+ of 78 against them (wRC+ is a batting stat that incorporates everything a batter does and represents their offensive contributions in percentage above or below average which means that the Giants have hit 22 percent below average against left-handers).
This is in no small part to Brett Pill, who starts over platoon mate Brandon Belt every time a southpaw starts a game. Brett Pill, just as his minor league numbers would suggest, has struggled in limited playing time in 2012 boasting a pitiful line of .215/.271/.367 in 79 at-bats.
Ironically, Pill was even worse against lefties as his .200/.262/.350 line against them inspired much doubt to manager Bruce Bochy's decision to consistently start him against the southpaws who so easily bested him.
Giants fans can look forward to two attractive outcomes of this move as not only will team MVP Pablo Sandoval return, but Pill's departure should open the door for consistent playing time for former top prospect Brandon Belt. Belt's infamous mismanagement has inspired enormous backlash from fans and experts alike as the "Free Belt" movement has been going on since fans first saw how short his leash was in 2011.
Hopefully this marks the beginning of a commitment to consistently start Belt which should further sweeten the return of the beloved Kung-Fu Panda.
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