Chris Davis talks about his struggles at the plate

Chris Davis is not starting for the Orioles tonight. Physically, he is fine but Davis is struggling at the plate. During a seven-minute interview with reporters at his locker today, he talked at length about his struggles this year. First he talked about not starting tonight. "Physically no (issue). It's probably because I've been sucking lately," Davis said. "That is pretty evident. It's about putting the best nine out there every game and lately I just haven't been very good. Maybe a chance to clear my head. Hopefully it's just a one-day thing." In 59 games, Davis is batting .216 with 12 homers, 37 RBIs, 78 strikeouts and a .749 OPS. In 19 games this month he is batting .187 with five homers, 12 RBIs and 28 strikeouts. "Every time we've had early hitting I've been out there, been looking at video, trying to figure it out," he said. "I know it's frustrating for people to watch me go through. Can you imagine how much more frustrating it is to actually go through it? "At the same time, we still have a lot more baseball to play and I know I'm going to get an opportunity to come out of it and I know I'll come out of it. Just would like for it to be sooner rather than later. "As far as feel, not really feeling a whole lot at the plate right now other than frustration. I've hit the ball hard a few times into the shift, just missed some balls. When you are hitting .330 it feels like you get every hit. When you are hitting just over .200 it feels like every pitch you take is a strike. Every ball you hit hard someone is standing there. The big thing is these guys have been picking me up and have my back, which is huge." Davis was asked about his stats. He does have the 12 homers but a low batting average. While he said he doesn't focus on the stats much, it's clear his batting average is bothering him right now. "I really try to stay away from the numbers," Davis said. "For me, I want to know how my at-bats are going. Am I swinging at balls out of the strike zone? Am I getting myself out? That is going to tell me more about what I'm doing then my numbers. "You could hit .200 and hit 30 or 40 home runs. In my opinion for me, that's not a productive year. I try to look at my at-bats, my pitch selection. It's no secret how they are pitching me. We have video here, but for whatever reason I just haven't been making contact." Davis was asked about all the defensive shifts he sees. Is that challenging for him? "Same challenge I've dealt with last two years. Anytime you are being shifted you are going to lose hits. I'm not a guy that is too proud to lay down a bunt but at the same time I'm not going to go up there and drop four bunts down in a game. That is not the player I am. "I don't think that is my job with this team. Now if I continue to hit below the Mendoza line you might see it a couple of times. But we'll get there when we are there." Some feel with Davis it just comes down to the pressure on him to produce after a season when he hit 53 homers and finished third in the American League MVP vote. "To be honest with you, I've forgotten about last year," Davis said. "People keep bringing it up but last year was over with when the season ended. I can't rest on those numbers, that success. This game is about going out every day and proving you can compete. If you had asked me in the offseason if I would struggle like this I would said you're crazy. But I'm going to continue to work as hard as I can to get out of it." Over his last nine games Davis is 4-for-36 with two homers, six RBIs and 14 strikeouts. There are times it seems he is taking some hittable pitches and swinging at those that are not. "They've (opponent pitchers) obviously been a lot more careful this year," Davis said. "They are not making as many mistakes, but I'm not capitalizing on the mistakes they're making. I'm not consciously going up there and taking pitches that I think I can drive. "There are times when you don't feel good that you are taking pitches that if you are locked in you'd be hitting. For me I try not to get too in my head at the plate with everything I've got going on mechanically. I just try to go up there and hit." After spending a lot of time discussing his troubles with the large group of reporters, Davis paused and let out a big sigh. "Like I said, it's frustrating, but I'll come out of it."