Herrera’s latest oh-for not helping his psyche
PHILADELPHIA >> Odubel Herrera swears he’s close, says he sees those pitches “perfectly,” knows he’s going to turn on a few soon and make solid contact.
The numerical facts remain just as elusive as that old feeling of bat on ball, however.
“It is very frustrating because I feel that I’m being selective,” Herrara said Monday night after an 8-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. “I feel that I’m waiting for my pitches, but when I make contact things don’t happen. It’s very frustrating.”
In another downer of an evening for the flopping Phils, Herrera went oh-for-3, his average dropping to .232 in the process. At one point in the seventh inning that was started by an Aaron Altherr double, then saw strikeouts by Tommy Joseph and Maikel Franco, Herrera had a pitch seemingly squared and promptly cued it off the end of his bat for a dribblerout to third baseman Nolan Arenado. That moved Herrera to test the quality of his helmet when it bounces off the ground.
“I feel that I’m swinging the bat well, but I kind of miss the ball,” he said. “They don’t go to where I want them to go. I’m seeing it perfect . ... The good swings don’t go, it’s just missing it. Missing it by a little bit, you know? If I hit it, good things can happen but it’s foul, foul. ... That’s why I’m frustrated.”
Herrera’s hitting woes have mirrored that of teammates this season. Right now, Franco (0-3, .221) and Michael Saunders (0-3, .227) — who was demoted to the No. 8 spot in the order for this game — are missing right along with Herrera.
“We need (Herrera) to get back to where he’s supposed to be,” manager Pete Mackanin said. “And we need Franco to start hitting no question.”
Mackanin said he thinks Franco has at least started to make adjustments and has been hitting the ball toward the middle of the field. But as for Herrera, Mackanin said he’d had a talk Monday with hitting coach Matt Stairs about him.
“(Stairs) said, ‘How do you fix a guy like this? He’s unorthodox,’” Mackanin said. “I talked to him and said, ‘Odubel, don’t swing so hard. It’s all about timing. It’s not how hard you hit the ball, it’s a timing thing.’
“It’s not fun when I see guys erratic and not hitting. Believe me, it’s not something I like to see, because you don’t win games if you don’t hit.” better,
*** With Aaron Nola back and looking sharp Sunday against the Pirates, and Mackanin saying Jeremy Hellickson looks fine despite pulling up with an apparent injury Saturday in Pittsburgh, the manager’s hopes are up about his starting staff.
Hey, Jerad Eickhoff was a loser again Monday night against the Rockies, making him 0-5 with a 4.70 ERA in nine starts, but at least he went six full innings en route to the defeat.
That’s the Phils’ 18th loss in 22 games, by the way. But we digress...
“Guys haven’t been (going) every fifth day,” Mackanin said. “They’ve been moved around for various reasons; five days, six days. Now that we’re on a stretch with no days off, I’m hoping that the fact that they’re on their regular rotation every fifth day is really going to help us.
“You need starters to go deeper into a game, at least four out of five times. Then it becomes easier to handle (the bullpen).”
*** NOTES >> Eickhoff (6.0 IP, 4 runs, 9 hits) has gone six innings in two consecutive games now, which he attributes to finding a mechanical flaw during the road trip. He said, “These past two (starts) have been night and day different, and that’s what I’m going to keep doing. I’m not fighting myself and that’s a huge difference.” Both of those starts were losses but who counts that when the team doesn’t give you any run support? ... Howie Kendrick, out since mid-April with an oblique strain, is close to returning to game action. “I’m hoping that within the next few days, he’s going to be available,” Mackanin said. “I would like to see him go on a rehab (assignment), at least for a couple of games.”