“I thought [the double] was a nice swing,’’ said Magadan. “I thought ordinarily that ball is a home run. The ball wasn’t carrying that well [to left-center]. It was a nice bright spot. It was a positive step forward.’’
Ortiz echoed the sentiment. “I thought I hit it better than that, but that’s the biggest part of the ballpark.’’
In 24 plate appearances, Ortiz has struck out 11 times. He has three hits, two doubles. He has two RBIs, no home runs.
He was taking called third strikes Sunday and yesterday he checked his swing on a called third strike. Yet he’s seeing a lot of pitches, going deep into counts. Will the called third strikes turn into something positive? Will the check-swings turn into good swings that lead to production?
“I don’t know if I’d go that far,’’ Magadan said. “He is seeing pitches and for the most part he’s getting himself in decent hitters’ counts. He just needs to start taking advantage of it. He’s probably not seeing the ball really well.
“When you’re a little unsure of the strike zone and have a fear of recognizing the pitches you tend to get a lot of check swings. I think he had a couple of check swings on fastballs. More often than not you’re on the side of being a little more aggressive and it lends itself to getting out of it. I think you can get a little passive and end up taking some pitches you can normally put a pretty good swing on. I think he’s a little bit in-between right now, but I think he took a step forward from [Sunday].’’
If it was, it was a baby step.
Ortiz said he felt encouraged by the hit, but he’s had two other hits and neither garnered him momentum.
“I just have to keep swinging the bat, man,’’ he said. “Just battle every day and hope things start to turn.’’
Magadan thinks it’s not just a mental block, “I think it’s a combination of a few things.’’
“I think he has to realize, and I think he does, that he’s 24 at-bats into the season. I know the questions are asked of him every day, especially when he takes an 0-fer like [Sunday] in a four-strikeout game, but we understand that it’s a process. He’s kind of feeling his way through it now and today was a step forward and now we’ll concentrate on Wednesday.’’
