Los Angeles – Of all the things that require suspension of disbelief in April – ‘ magic carpet ride, the bullpen collapsing worse than last season – none is more surprising than the performance of . `
He is hitting .267 with one home run and eight RBIs, leaving him responsible for more stinging zingers than line drives.
“Somebody brought up the Baltimore (trade rumor), and we said the only uniform he’s going to be wearing is the Sky Sox’s if he doesn’t tighten things up pretty soon,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “He likes that (we joke with him).”
Told of Hurdle’s quip, Helton, without missing a beat, responded: “Well, if I am in Colorado Springs, he’s going to be managing in the Northern League.”
Success has embraced Helton like a bear hug throughout his career, but April, in context with his potential Hall of Fame numbers, never has been kind. He hits .298 in April, his lowest mark, and 41 points shy of his career average.
The first theory on Helton’s slump, which ended his streak of 14 consecutive months of batting at least .300, is technical: He’s swinging from his front side, depriving himself of his customary power. Hurdle has conducted a pair of one-on-one sessions with Helton this week, including one Saturday.
“It’s just mechanical. This is probably the longest funk he’s ever been in, and it is wearing on him. But a hitter is a hitter,” Hurdle said. “He will get out of it.”
The second theory is Helton is left exposed by the inexperienced lineup surrounding him. He has walked 15 times and pitchers have shown no interest in letting him beat them. Still, Helton insists he’s had plenty of pitches to hit, though he’s not eager to discuss it.
“No, I feel like I will never get out of this,” Helton said sarcastically. “Really, I just don’t want to talk about what’s wrong.”
Barmes caps big month
Perhaps a few accountants did, but only one rookie has had a better April than Barmes. He’s finished with a .410 average, second only to Andres Galarraga (.415, 1986 Montreal).
But Barmes has seemed oblivious. “I don’t read the good stuff and believe it, because then I’d have to do the same thing with the bad stuff,” Barmes said.
Hurdle didn’t hold back, summarizing Barmes’ month aptly: “Wow.”
Footnotes
Reliever Byung-Hyun Kim threw a bullpen session Friday and believes he’s close to correcting mechanical glitches that have left his roster spot tenuous. “I definitely feel like I am making progress,” Kim said. … Hurdle is not bothered by the fact has not walked this season, because he’s “not throwing away at-bats and he’s working counts.”
Hurdle said, however, that he would like his leadoff hitter’s on-base percentage to be at least .375, more than 40 points above where Miles’ sits.
