From Astros.com:
"I've had bad luck hitting balls right at people," Ensberg said. "The key is to keep a positive mind frame during this time and accept the fact that I'm seeing the ball well and hitting the ball hard, and I just have to wait for those balls to drop. Because I promise, at some point they will drop. They have to.
"I do know that guys had some really great at-bats today and did some really positive things. I think you saw some very good signs. But you're only on the verge [of a turnaround] once those balls start landing."
While many fans have questioned the psyche of a team in its longest losing skid in a dozen years, those in the clubhouse aren't losing hope.
"I'm coming out each day more and more fired up," Ensberg said. "I recognize that this is a dogfight and a battle, and I refuse to give in. I'm not going to lay down. I'm going to go out there and do everything that I can to do something positive. This is one of those terrible times in baseball during a season and I refuse to give up."
You know, ol' MoBerg sure sounds fired up there. And you know what, he has been more aggressive lately. I'm not kidding, he's actually looked a lot better as a hitter. Last night, Jimmy D was talking about his favorite subject of hitting... he of the anti-Tom Emanski instructional video of course. Actually, it was a little nugget he said when Jason Lane took a 2-0 fastball right in the heart of the plate. Lane stepped away from the plate and almost on cue, Jimmy D said "He's not
seeing the ball right now" as Lane rubbed his eyeballs a little before he stepped back in. Now, some may think Jimmy D is talking literally, and in some respects, yes he is. But seeing the ball is also a way to say he's not swinging at a pitch with the same approach a hitter who is aggressive and sure of himself would do. The pitch isn't going to get past such a hitter, he'll swing and do something with it. He knows, I mean seriously knows that he can hit any fastball at any time in any count. So seeing is also saying confidence. Confidence breeds aggressiveness. Aggressiveness breeds a propensity to swing the bat. Swing the bat and making contact can lead to go things. See: Pence, Hunter.
So right now, there are some guys on the team not seeing the ball, yes... I'm looking at you Lance Berkman. His swing on a fastball looks tentative and unsure. He looks as lost on what to do with a pitch as Lane, but at least Berkman is still hacking. His results will tell you that he's just not mechanically sound right now because he's not driving anything. Lack of confidence just enough to throw his swing off? I dunno, maybe. Injury of some sort? Same thing, I dunno, maybe. What is sure is that he is not a confident hitter right now, his swing being the most evident at this point. So that leads us back to Mo.
I've ripped him as much as anyone else in here for his lack of want to be a middle of the lineup hitter. In fact, his desire to transform into a slappy #2 who will walk more than anything else is strange. Stranger than strange. So several days on the bench, no... several weeks on the bench has gotten to him so it seems. He has come out more aggressive, more sure that he belongs, that he can help and most certainly that if he just does what he knows he can do to drive a baseball, it will be fine to strikeout on occasion... with the bat moving *through* the strikezone instead of on the shoulders. I've seen a much better Mo, and it helps to think he can turn it around.
So tonight, he sits. Go figure. Must have bad career stats against Arroyo. Oh well.
