Carlos Gonzalez: Anatomy of a slump and why Rockies' slugger thinks he'll bust out of it – The Denver Post

CINCINNATI Carlos Gonzalez sat at his locker, flashing his bright CarGo smile.

It seemed a bit out of place considering the topic at hand: a hitting slump that began with a 2-for-17 start and remained in place deep into May.

Gonzalez, however, refuses to dwell on his ugly numbers.

When you are going bad, its easy to get negative, but I just dont let myself go there, the three-time all-star right fielder said. You have to remind yourself that you can do damage at any time. And every time you come to the plate, you have to think, Im one step closer to getting hot.

But when the Rockies arrived at Great American Ball Park Friday for a weekend series against the Reds, Gonzalez wasnt even lukewarm. He was hitting .210 with a .279 on-base percentage and just two home runs in 138 at-bats. Though hes hit mostly from the third or fourth spot until getting dropped to fifth in recent games, he had just 11 RBIs to show for it. Thats what happens when you hit .182 with runners in scoring position.

But the Rockies, ever mindful of Gonzalezs ability to break out at any moment, are keeping the faith.

When you have been good for as long as CarGo, you have to believe that after game No. 162, hes going to be hitting .290-something, with 30 homers and 90 RBIs, assistant hitting coach Jeff Salazar said. So CarGo can truthfully tell himself, Im hitting .180 right now, so there is a good chance Im about to hit .340 for the next stretch.

That takes a lot of confidence, trust in yourself and trust in the organization. And trust from the organization, too.

When Gonzalezs swing is on, its one of the prettiest in baseball, drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. But when its not, Gonzalez flails at breaking pitches and frequently hits weak grounders to second base.

Gonzalezs strikeouts, contrary to conventional wisdom, dont risesubstantially when hes in a slump. His strikeout rate is 25.4 percent this season, compared to 24.2 percent for his career. He is, after all, a slugger. Perhaps his whiffs are just more noticeable when they arent offset by second-deck moon shots.

Its also a misnomer that Gonzalez always starts in a funk. This is Gonzalezs eighth season with Colorado and hes had really three poor Aprils: 2011 when he hit .228 with one homer; 2015, with a .200 average and two homers; and this season, .216 with two homers.

But in 2012 (.303 average, four homers) and 2013 (.306, five homers), he came out of the gate slugging. Gonzalezs ebbs and flows are more about being in sync at the plate than about the calendar.

Gonzalezs swing is all about timing, and when his timing gets a few ticks off, he gets out of whack.

With CarGo, the leg kick is his timing mechanism, manager Bud Black said. When hes off, hes going to be out way out front on breaking balls and behind on the fastball.

But I see that gap narrowing, where hes becoming on time for both pitches. Youll know hes back when hes on top of fastballs and his hands are sitting back enough to handle the off-speed pitch.

Thats why Black was encouraged to see Gonzalez rip a double down the right-field line Tuesday night in Colorados 7-3 victory at Minnesota.

CarGo hit a low breaking ball, Black said. He was out in front of it, but he stayed back enough to be able to drive it.

A 95 mph fastball takes aboutfour-tenths of a second to travel the 60 feet, 6 inches from the pitchers mound to home plate. At the big-league level, pitch recognition is paramount, and right now, Gonzalezs is still off.

With CarGos swing with the leg kick, the timing there is a lot that can go wrong, Salazar said. When your body moves the wrong way at the wrong time, it can make any pitch look desirable. So its easy to find yourself chasing pitches or becoming vulnerable to other pitches.

That leads to bad habits and the slump deepens.

Thats when you start to tinker with it and start questioning, and then it becomes a mental thing, Salazar continued. Thats when guys will switch batting gloves or do something to break the routine.

Gonzalez is, unquestionably, a streaky hitter.

When youre going good, its easy because you dont think about anything, not even executing, Gonzalez said. Youre just having fun. Youre going 3-for-4 and hitting homers and doubles and making diving plays and its so easy, because you are clean up here.

He pointed to his head when he said up here, knowing that his battle to produce is as much mental and emotional as it is physical.

There is a lot of psychology in baseball, said veteran first baseman Mark Reynolds, whos off to a terrific start, batting .319 with 12 homers and a 1.007 OPS (on-base percentage, plus slugging). Ive been through a lot of slumps before, so I know you have to be able to take a deep breath and know you will come out of it. If you are zero for your last 10 but you get a hit, then youre 1-for-1. Thats the way you have to look at it.

Gonzalez, 31, is in the final year ofa seven-year, $80 million contract. Hes the teams highest-paid player, collecting a $20 million salary, plus $428,571 as the final installment of a $3 million bonus. Hes playing for a new contract and chances are he wont be back with the Rockies in 2018.

But those who know Gonzalez dont think the pressure of a contract year has gotten to him.

I have seen guys in a similar situation and I would expect bad body language or attitude in this situation, Salazar said. Im not getting that from CarGo. Its been a pleasure to see the leader hes been, his work ethic and the way hes communicated through this.

He knows himself better than anybody else, so if he thinks hes about to starting hitting, then I might as well get on the train right now because I believe him.

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Carlos Gonzalez: Anatomy of a slump and why Rockies' slugger thinks he'll bust out of it - The Denver Post