On the homecoming of Adrian Beltre

I feel sorry for the trials and tribulations that Adrian Beltre is going through in the rain-soaked Seattle as a top-buck supposedly slugging third baseman. I really do. Tell you the truth I always like the guy, even though when asked for the specific reasons I'd probably start stuttering illegible mambo-jumbo.

Having said that I don't regret NOT having Beltre on this year's team. With Bill Mueller holding the fort at third (as soon as he's back to healthy) and upcoming Willy Aybar and Joel Guzman already in the big picture, I think it was the right time for Adrian to go. I believe he'll come around the sudden dropp-off in production that mires his Seattle days this season. There are already signs of that:

Seattle manager Mike Hargrove switched Beltre on May 30 from the
middle of the lineup to the second spot, which has paid dividends.
With Ichiro Suzuki seemingly always on base ahead of him,
Beltre has hit safely in 16 of 18 games since the shift, including
a home run in Sunday's 5-1 win against the San Francisco Giants.

Hargrove says he has no immediate plans to
return Beltre to the heart of the lineup.

"The whole idea behind the move was to get him in a
different mind-set, putting the ball in play, keeping the ball
in the middle of the field and shortening his stroke," Hargrove says,
"which is more conducive to hitting second than it would be
hitting in an RBI position."

Having said that, I wouldn't mind if slumped for three more games (at Chavez) yet ;)