GaryMrMets
06-01-2004, 03:25 PM
http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/sports/s060104d.htm
Byrd just isn't doing the job at the top
Tuesday, June 1, 2004
By KEVIN ROBERTS
Courier-Post
PHILADELPHIA
Marlon Byrd, again, probably didn't sleep much Monday night.
Running through his nightmares was no doubt a showing of his at-bat in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, and the Phillies trailing 3-0, Byrd batted against Mets rookie Orber Moreno with a chance to swing this game back to the Phillies. Byrd had no chance; he struck out on three pitches. He was an easy out.
It's been that kind of season for Byrd, who after an 0-for-4 Monday is riding an 0-for-16 and 2-for-31 slide. He's batting .220, and the Phillies' biggest offensive problem - the leadoff spot - falls squarely on Byrd's shoulders.
And he knows it.
"I don't sleep at night," Byrd said. "I go to bed thinking about it; I wake up thinking about it. I'm trying to figure it out."
It was just exactly this time last year when Byrd took off. On June 1 last year, Byrd was hitting .204. Then he went on a tear that saw him finish the season at .303 with a .366 on-base percentage. But on June 1 last season, Byrd had just 49 at-bats, due to injury and the way Phillies manager Larry Bowa worked him into the lineup slowly.
Today Byrd has 173 at-bats. And the clock is ticking.
The thought here is that Byrd will figure it out, and he will hit. He has done this to one degree or another every year of his professional career. He has always started slow and then come on around June. Always. The best thing to do is just keep running him out there, in the leadoff spot where he was among the most valuable Phillies last season, and let him get it together.
Now. That's easy to say. This is the big leagues. It's harder to adjust up here, harder to survive let alone thrive. Bowa has kept running him out there - Byrd has more at-bats than Pat Burrell, for gosh sakes - and that's how Bowa shows confidence in a guy. He plays him. And he's played Byrd.
But the Phillies are trying to win. Even the most patient manager has his limits, and Bowa is not the most patient manager.
Byrd has, for all practical purposes, lost the leadoff job. Bowa had Jimmy Rollins penciled in Sunday, but Rollins begged off at the last minute with an ankle injury. Not only can't the Phillies get their leadoff hitter on base, now they can't even get him on the field.
Bowa pinch hit for Byrd Friday with Jason Michaels against a right-handed pitcher (Heck, Michaels is hitting only .208; that's a real slap in the face) and went with Doug Glanville Saturday.
"We're giving him every opportunity to battle out of it," Bowa said. "But after a while you've got to have some production."
Bowa dismissed any questions about quitting on Byrd, saying it is way too early to think about that. But he surely didn't offer a stirring vote of confidence in his young center fielder. He directed any questions about changes to the general manager. And, for the record, GM Ed Wade is staunchly in Byrd's corner.
"I know that he's working like crazy to get straightened out," Wade said. "And I know how he rewarded us for our patience last year.
"Do I want Marlon to be at the top of his game? Yes. And I'm sure he will be."
It's possible to win while putting a bad offensive player at the top of your lineup. It's possible. But not probable. That's just math; the higher a hitter bats in the order, the more he'll come to the plate over the course of a game and therefore a season. The guy who bats most has got to be productive for an offense to score consistently.
Byrd has not been productive. He's not even hitting the ball hard. A troubling number of Byrd's at-bats result in weak pop-ups or grounders, as pitchers have been hammering him inside and jamming him. Byrd has managed to get just 69 balls out of the infield in 189 plate appearances - a stunning number.
Byrd puts a lot of pressure on himself, and he takes a lot of responsibility for this. He should. Rollins is what he is - a good player, an exciting player and a Gold Glove shortstop. He's not a leadoff hitter.
At the moment, neither is Byrd. But he can be. And he believes, now that the calendar has clicked over to June, that he will be again.
"I have an idea right now," Byrd said. "I had a bad day today, one of those days you just want to forget. I've just got to keep working and find my swing."
Byrd just isn't doing the job at the top
Tuesday, June 1, 2004
By KEVIN ROBERTS
Courier-Post
PHILADELPHIA
Marlon Byrd, again, probably didn't sleep much Monday night.
Running through his nightmares was no doubt a showing of his at-bat in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, and the Phillies trailing 3-0, Byrd batted against Mets rookie Orber Moreno with a chance to swing this game back to the Phillies. Byrd had no chance; he struck out on three pitches. He was an easy out.
It's been that kind of season for Byrd, who after an 0-for-4 Monday is riding an 0-for-16 and 2-for-31 slide. He's batting .220, and the Phillies' biggest offensive problem - the leadoff spot - falls squarely on Byrd's shoulders.
And he knows it.
"I don't sleep at night," Byrd said. "I go to bed thinking about it; I wake up thinking about it. I'm trying to figure it out."
It was just exactly this time last year when Byrd took off. On June 1 last year, Byrd was hitting .204. Then he went on a tear that saw him finish the season at .303 with a .366 on-base percentage. But on June 1 last season, Byrd had just 49 at-bats, due to injury and the way Phillies manager Larry Bowa worked him into the lineup slowly.
Today Byrd has 173 at-bats. And the clock is ticking.
The thought here is that Byrd will figure it out, and he will hit. He has done this to one degree or another every year of his professional career. He has always started slow and then come on around June. Always. The best thing to do is just keep running him out there, in the leadoff spot where he was among the most valuable Phillies last season, and let him get it together.
Now. That's easy to say. This is the big leagues. It's harder to adjust up here, harder to survive let alone thrive. Bowa has kept running him out there - Byrd has more at-bats than Pat Burrell, for gosh sakes - and that's how Bowa shows confidence in a guy. He plays him. And he's played Byrd.
But the Phillies are trying to win. Even the most patient manager has his limits, and Bowa is not the most patient manager.
Byrd has, for all practical purposes, lost the leadoff job. Bowa had Jimmy Rollins penciled in Sunday, but Rollins begged off at the last minute with an ankle injury. Not only can't the Phillies get their leadoff hitter on base, now they can't even get him on the field.
Bowa pinch hit for Byrd Friday with Jason Michaels against a right-handed pitcher (Heck, Michaels is hitting only .208; that's a real slap in the face) and went with Doug Glanville Saturday.
"We're giving him every opportunity to battle out of it," Bowa said. "But after a while you've got to have some production."
Bowa dismissed any questions about quitting on Byrd, saying it is way too early to think about that. But he surely didn't offer a stirring vote of confidence in his young center fielder. He directed any questions about changes to the general manager. And, for the record, GM Ed Wade is staunchly in Byrd's corner.
"I know that he's working like crazy to get straightened out," Wade said. "And I know how he rewarded us for our patience last year.
"Do I want Marlon to be at the top of his game? Yes. And I'm sure he will be."
It's possible to win while putting a bad offensive player at the top of your lineup. It's possible. But not probable. That's just math; the higher a hitter bats in the order, the more he'll come to the plate over the course of a game and therefore a season. The guy who bats most has got to be productive for an offense to score consistently.
Byrd has not been productive. He's not even hitting the ball hard. A troubling number of Byrd's at-bats result in weak pop-ups or grounders, as pitchers have been hammering him inside and jamming him. Byrd has managed to get just 69 balls out of the infield in 189 plate appearances - a stunning number.
Byrd puts a lot of pressure on himself, and he takes a lot of responsibility for this. He should. Rollins is what he is - a good player, an exciting player and a Gold Glove shortstop. He's not a leadoff hitter.
At the moment, neither is Byrd. But he can be. And he believes, now that the calendar has clicked over to June, that he will be again.
"I have an idea right now," Byrd said. "I had a bad day today, one of those days you just want to forget. I've just got to keep working and find my swing."