http://ppt.cc/Sluz
The Los Angeles Angels may finally be atop the AL West, but the team is still
waiting for slugger Josh Hamilton to join the party and manager Mike Scioscia
says his cleanup hitter is lacking in confidence and not the same man at the
plate that he was with the Texas Rangers.
"Josh is not the same as he was when we were looking in the other dugout in
Texas," Scioscia said prior to Saturday's 5-4 win over the Rangers. "Right now,
he's not in the batter's box with the confidence that we know he has. He's
working hard to try to find it."
A career .292 hitter, Hamilton is batting .266 with just eight home runs and
35 RBIs this season for Los Angeles. He hit a double in Saturday's victory,
but it was just his second extra-base hit in the past 10 games.
Part of Hamilton's current woes at the plate could be tied to the nearly two
months he spent on the disabled list this year with a torn ligament in his left
thumb. Prior to the injury, which occurred in early April, he had been batting
.444 with two homers.
Despite the lefty slugger's swoon, Scioscia said he's not inclined to move
Hamilton down in the lineup.
"You move guys around if the whole product becomes better," Scioscia said
Saturday. "If our whole lineup becomes better, you'd definitely consider it.
But Mike [Trout] and Albert [Pujols] connected