Grand Jam
Van Meetren just flied out to right field, dropping him to 0-for-3 on this night with two strikeouts. His struggles only continue to compound. He entered the game with a .154 average, easily the low for Outlaw regulars. This was the same guy who appeared to snap out of this snafu last weekend with a grand slam in one of Chico's wins over the St. George Roadrunners during the four-game sweep.
If you're curious why Outlaw hitting coach John Macalutas wasn't overly thrilled about that, read on:
“I almost wish he wouldn’t have hit that home run. That’s probably the worst thing that can happen to a guy in a slump. He’s tried too hard to recreate that one swing. He’s taking four at-bats every time he goes to the plate.
"The tough thing is when he makes real good contact with pitches for outs. Then he tries to adjust when he just had a real nice at-bat. That's where patience comes in and sometimes he runs out.
"He’ll get it. We know he’s going to come around. We like to poke fun with him about it because we know it’s not a permanent deal.
"He's been out at (Mac's Professional Baseball School) working with me every morning, just really attacking things that have gone wrong. I don't have a whole lot to tell him other than to keep taking it one quality at-bat at a time. You can have 10 of those in baseball and still not get a hit. But you can't try to over-think what you're doing. If you trust what you're doing at the plate, you'll notice those outs will turn into hits in time."