NewsBruce has right mind-set to bust slump
Youngster taking it one at-bat at a time to end woes
By Jeff Seidel / Special to MLB.com
06/11/09 5:44 AM ET
WASHINGTON -- Jay Bruce may be mired in a slump, but he's sticking with a plan that he believes will lift him out of his woes.Bruce fell into a bad slump in the past two weeks and was 3-for-36 heading into Wednesday's game. His average slipped to .213, but the Reds' right fielder said he's seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.
"Lately, I've gotten back to sticking to my plan and working toward [it], focusing on having quality at-bats," Bruce said. "Since I've been doing that, I've been feeling a lot better at the plate."
Bruce looked good in his first at-bat on Wednesday, blasting a monstrous two-run homer to right off Shairon Martis halfway up into the middle level of Nationals Park for an early 2-0 lead for the Reds, who topped the Nats, 4-2, in 12 innings.
Bruce feels taking it at-bat by at-bat -- and literally pitch-by-pitch -- will help him find success to snap out of the slump. For example, he went 0-for-3 in Monday's 3-2 win over the Nationals, but he drew a walk and scored.
Bruce got a pinch-hit double in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Cubs and went 0-for-3 the day before, but he drew two walks and scored a run.
"I've been feeling a lot better at the plate," Bruce said. "I've been drawing some walks. I haven't been getting myself out as much."
Bruce leads the Reds with 15 homers and is now ranked seventh in the National League, and manager Dusty Baker said he's noticed some improvement recently.
"The last few days, [he's been better]," Baker said. "Like he explained to me, any plan is better than no plan. It might not make sense to me, but it's your plan."
Bruce burst onto the scene last year with 21 homers and 52 RBIs in just 108 games. In addition, he got 15 hits and three homers in his first week in the Majors.
The right fielder isn't expecting weeks like that all the time, but he said the fact that the Reds are playing well now has made his slump a little more bearable.
The bottom line is that Bruce said he wants to do his part to help the Reds -- and for right now, sticking to his plan is the key to working out of this slump.
"You have to be confident," Bruce said. "We all want to do our part, but sometimes that doesn't happen. All in all, it takes 25 guys to do it. I expect a lot out of myself, and I think it's going to come, so I'll stay focused and get good at-bats."
Jeff Seidel is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
