PITTSBURGH — In hopes of getting his bat going, third baseman Pedro Alvarez has incorporated a toe tap while at the plate.
“I think he was trying to find something that maybe he could take ownership of,“ Manager Clint Hurdle said. “I think he identified a little bit with [Milwaukee’s first baseman] Prince Fielder. It was actually a conversation we had had, I think, the first time in Milwaukee about identifying with something, maybe somebody else, look at and compare, model. It’s an athletic movement. You have to be able to be an athletic guy to do it. I think he’s working on it. I think the thing that we’re holding on to is that he’s taking ownership of it.“
Alvarez has gone just 1-for-9 with a triple in four games since being called recalled from Triple-A on September 6th. Overall in 60 games this season, Alvarez is batting .192 with eight doubles, one triple, three homers and 15 RBI with 71 strikeouts.
“I think he’s trying to maximize his skill set,“ Hurdle said. “He wants to be a run producer. Will he be a guy that will probably have some strikeouts? I would anticipate. But we want that barrel to come into play. We want him to score runs and we want him to drive in runs. When the balls hit, the balls hit. I think we’ve seen a little progress.”
Although Alvarez is having good results at practice, he is having trouble trusting that work into game action.
“We need to have some consistency in one lane for a significant period of time and that’s something that he’s done very well in practice,“ Hurdle said. “Then in the game, I don’t think there’s been enough trust come game time to trust the preparation, all the preparation he puts in early. I don’t think that trust has been put in the game for any significant period of time. I really think that’s one of our biggest challenges.”
Alvarez does have an opportunity to play in winter ball this off-season, but he has not yet decided whether he will commit or not.
Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports
Discussion about this post