CINCINNATI -- When Billy Hamilton walked into a nearly deserted Cincinnati Reds clubhouse early Sunday morning he was immediately summoned to manager Bryan Price's office.
That is not normally a good thing. Usually it is to inform a player that he has been traded or demoted to the minors or, at the very least, fined for an indiscretion on the field.
For Hamilton, it was none of the above. Price wanted to inform Hamilton of a batting order change and he wanted to discuss it with Hamilton before it was posted for all the world to see.
Instead of his normal leadoff spot, Hamilton was batting eighth. Shock treatment? No, more like therapy.
A leadoff hitter needs to bat higher than .212. A leadoff hitter needs an on-base percentage higher than .264. A leadoff hitter needs more than 10 walks in his first 148 plate appearances and needs to strike out less than 27 times in the same span.
But those are the feeble numbers put up so far this year by the 24-year-old outfielder who can outrun the wind. He has 17 stolen bases but, as the cliché goes, "You can't steal first base."
Price patiently explained his reasonings to Hamilton first and then the media.
"That's pretty dramatic since he has hit leadoff every single game that I have had him here," said Price. "We are going to see where it goes. It is like our bullpen. We didn't get off the way we expected and had to kind of find our way. It has been the same offensively, a little more challenging that I expected it to be."
And, of course, Hamilton has been part of the offensive misfires.
"It makes sense to be to get some of our higher on-base guys up in the order, so I'm batting Zack Cozart first and Brayan Pena second," Price added. "We need to get some guys on base for the middle of the order."
For Hamilton, Price hopes batting him eighth will be like opening a valve on a steam pipe -- let some of the pressure escape.
"Maybe this will take a load off," said Price. "There's this whole thing where people say to Billy, 'You go and we go.' It really shouldn't be that way. If we go, we're going because we're all going and doing things well collectively."
Price emphasized that Hamilton remains the leadoff hitter of the future and that this is just a respite, a time for Hamilton to gather his thoughts and play without expectations that are currently beyond his reach.
"It would be nice to have Billy doing some things at the bottom of the order to set the table for the top of the order," said Price. "It could be a good thing. I'm optimistic that it will be."
Price emphasized that there is no lost faith in Hamilton's abilities and batting eighth is not punishment.
"I believe that Billy Hamilton will be an outstanding leadoff man and this, by no means, represents my thoughts on his future," said Price. "Until he gets comfortable with his offensive game he is better suited to be where he is right now."
Hamilton was not distraught nor angry nor reactionary. He seemed almost relieved when surrounded by the we-want-to-know media.
The first question was: "Does this bother you or just roll with it?"
Said Hamilton, "You have to roll with it. When you are playing like I'm playing you can't do anything about it. This won't put me in a bad situation or discourage my confidence.
"This just happens to be a spot in the lineup and at least I'm still in there," Hamilton added. "It has been tough so far. It is his decision and I planned it to be way different but I can't say anything about it. You just deal with it."
Asked if the move might alleviate some pressure, Hamilton sighed, shrugged and said, "Yeah, kinda. Now I can just go out and hit and not worry about being the leadoff hitter. It's tough being a leadoff hitter. So many things to think about. I'm happy to be in the lineup and I'll try to do the same things I've done only do it better, be a better player.
"Leadoff comes with a lot of things -- take pitches, work the count, think about bunting. In the eight spot I can just go out there and hit," he said.
Hamilton was thankful for the meeting with his manager, "Because the reasons he gave me were the reasons I wanted to hear. It's cool."
Price expanded on his reasonings and said, "We brought a kid up from Triple-A and put a lot of expectations on his ability to set the table for us. He is a young player, a switch-hitter, trying to be effective from both sides of the plate, how to improve his bunting, learn to command the strike zone against the calibre of pitching. It has been a bit of a struggle for him since the second half of last season trying to get on base at the rate we need our leadoff guy to get on base."
After a pregnant pause and a deep breath, Price said, "At some point, it is going to be Billy again."
