Pablo Sandoval's former trainer speaks out: He needs a babysitter

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The Boston Red Sox and their portly $95-million benchwarmer Pablo Sandoval find themselves in something of a standoff these days. While it's unclear how much time, if any, he'll see in a Red Sox uniform again, one ex-Sandoval confidant knows at least one way to help the Panda.*
Get him a babysitter.
If you've missed the recent drama: The Red Sox soured on Sandoval in spring training, when he, in turn, lost his starting job at third base. Sandoval got his first start this week and, in a moment that felt lifted from a comedy sketch, his belt broke while he was batting.*Sandoval went on the disabled list Wednesday, a surprise since his left shoulder injury appeared out of nowhere.
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Yahoo Sports' own Jeff Passan, however, has sources telling him that the Red Sox don't want Sandoval to play unless he loses weight. Sandoval, meanwhile, wants out of Boston unless he's going to play every day.

On the outside looking in is a man who knows the struggles of Sandoval well. That's*Ethan Banning of Triple Threat Performance in Arizona.
He's*Sandoval's ex-trainer and he told reporter Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald that Sandoval needs someone to babysit him and watch what he eats. Furthermore, Banning compared Sandoval to an alcoholic. From the Herald:

“I care about him greatly,” said Banning, who lost touch with Sandoval after the 2011-12 offseason. “But it’s a tough love. He needs to be smart enough to say there’s a problem. It’s like the alcoholic that won’t admit he’s an alcoholic: well, you can’t address that you’re an alcoholic if you don’t ever admit there’s a problem. He’s got to address that.
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“He’s proven to me and shown consistently that he’s got to have somebody like me holding his hand doing that. And it’s not an exercise thing, it’s an eating thing. Obviously exercise is an important factor in it, a very important factor, but eating is going to be the component that needs to be managed and monitored. We had a chef on staff that cooked all his meals.”
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Banning recounted at one point in their relationship Sandoval gained 21 pounds in 21 offseason days. Banning says he and Sandoval then went into emergency training mode, so that the San Francisco Giants (Sandoval's employer at the time) didn't find out.*
[From Jeff Passan: The Red Sox-Pablo Sandoval marriage could be coming to an end]
Knowing Sandoval the way he does, Banning told The Herald that the best way to help Sandoval now is to get him a babysitter.*

"Hey, that’s a pretty harsh statement. At the end of the day, I’m speaking truth. … I love the guy.”
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What made Sandoval a productive MLB player (and a rich one) was his ability to produce at the plate despite his size. That didn't happen last season, when Sandoval hit*245/.292/.366 with 10 homers. This season, coming off the bench, Sandoval was hitless in six at-bats before the disabled-list stint.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz