Brandon Wood will always remember his first Opening Day in the big leagues.
He might wish he could forget the week that followed.
The highly touted third base prospect for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim went 2-for-22 with seven strikeouts and just one walk in six of the club's first eight games.
His performance was so poor, manager Mike Scioscia had to start backup infielder Maicer Izturis in his place—twice.
“[Wood's] going to play, he's going to get his opportunity,” Scioscia told the press before holding Wood out of the lineup on Saturday. “At times, you need to take a half-step back and let the air out.”
Using Izturis this early in the year is a telling move on Scioscia's part. He has always been a wait-and-see type of manager, for better or worse. It takes a lot for him to make such a sudden move.
Apparently batting .091 is enough.
“He's not in a rhythm, but why? Is it because he's trying too hard, or is it that he's addressing the wrong issues?”
Even two-time Managers of the Year don't have all the answers. But Wood's teammates might.
“We just try to calm him down, tell him to go play your game, don't think about nothing,” said outfielder Torii Hunter, who has taken Wood under his wing this season. “Forget about the fans, forget about the media, forget about the hype and have fun.”
Of course, Wood isn't the only batter struggling right now.
With a shocking record of 2-6, the Angels are off to their worst start nearly 40 years. Erick Aybar and Bobby Abreu, the No. 1 and 2 hitters in the lineup, are both hitting under .270.
Last year's breakout star, Kendry Morales, is only just now starting to get back into his 2009 groove.
The difference is those guys have already proven they can handle the bright lights of the big leagues.
Abreu has had seven consecutive seasons of 100-plus RBI, and last year Aybar lead the Halos in batting while Morales lead in homers and RBI.
Wood has yet to prove anything.
In 246 major league at-bats over four seasons, Wood is a .186 hitter who slugs just .293. By comparison, his average in the minors is 100 points better with almost double the slugging percentage.
It's easy to see why so many are so high on the 26-year-old's abilities. But those numbers in Triple-A don't mean a thing in the majors.
For now, Wood says he is trying to follow the advice of those around him and keep things simple.
“Just working on clearing the head, having fun,” he said after launching a couple of batting practice home runs to the opposite field. “My swing's going to come, it's going to be there.”
Wood is working off the premise that doing less at the plate will result in more production.
Unfortunately for him, this could very well be one of those rare cases where less isn't more. It's just less.
Maybe, then, the answer is more.
More confidence when he steps into the box, more authority in his swings, more focus on having good at-bats rather than putting pressure on himself to drive in runs.
Nobody is looking at Brandon Wood to be the next Chone Figgins. Except for Brandon Wood, a fact Hunter has tried to steer him away from.
“You don't want to put too much into his head, especially when he's taking the place of an All-Star, a fan-favorite, a guy at third that was almost a Gold Glover,” he said. “Figgy was everything to this organization, so for Brandon Wood to step in and try to fill those shoes, pretty big shoes to fill.”
Clearly, Wood has plenty of natural ability to play the game. Despite his issues at the plate, he continues to flash the leather at third, making diving stops and showing off his strong throwing arm.
If he can keep his head on his shoulders and not let those bright lights blind him, his bat might not be far behind.
Already in New York he did much better, working a walk and pounding a single over the head of Randy Winn after Nick Swisher took an awkward tumble to rob Wood of a double earlier.
“He seems like he's feeling a lot better than the first couple games,” Hunter said. “He's not afraid to swing. Just give him a little time.”
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