Coolbaugh on Machado's slump

It was a line drive up the middle last night that found the grass in center field for a two-out single in the first inning. Another ball died along the third base line in the sixth - big swing, short distance, another single.

Pretty routine unless you're hitless in the last 18 at-bats and your average is down to .205.

Manny Machado needed those singles last night. He needed something to go right for him at the plate. The baseball gods kissed his cheek instead of giving him a wet willy.

The slump extended far behind 18 at-bats. Machado was 7-for-53 in his last 13 games and had 10 strikeouts in his last four. He seemed lost, whether on the road or in his own ballpark.

Chris Davis talked in Houston about not seeing the ball. It's been the same issue with Machado. Just not in the literal sense.

"Trying to do a little bit too much with the ball," said Orioles hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh. "I think every hitter that goes through any period of where they feel like they're not at their best, they're usually going outside the zone and trying to do too much, so they're not really seeing the ball as well as they normally do.

"In other words, and I tell people all the time that seeing the ball isn't not seeing the baseball. It's having the ability to see the ball where you're slowing the ball down. And I think right now he's trying to do that, and consequently he's just going through a period in time and I know he knows the level of play he's capable of playing and he's trying to get there right away for a young hitter."

How does this happen to an accomplished hitter, to someone with a .294/.343/.533 slash line last season in 157 games?

"I think the thing about that is, the head movement, there's a lot of head movement, and whether it's in the loading process or after the stride foot lands, your head is moving in the swing. So, it actually speeds everything up," Coolbaugh said.

"You see the ball all the time, but there are times where when guys are calm and their head is staying still that you're actually slowing the ball down. That's what he typically does, but right now he's just fighting from that extra movement. And he's trying some things a little differently, I think, that on his own experience of wanting to see the ball better he's opened up his stance this year more than he had in the past and I think that's created a little bit more movement. Consequently, he's trying to get back to where he was a little more square and able to minimize the head movement. The same thing with Chris Davis."

Davis has homered on back-to-back nights after shortening his stance. It's baseball's version of head games.

"The head moves a lot, it's like anything else," Coolbaugh said. "You just speed everything up and you're not recognizing the pitch. You're actually just seeing a ball, seeing an object, basically.

"That's typically what happens with a lot of guys. If you see guys that are going really well and they're swinging the bats well, usually their head is at minimal movements. And that's a hard thing to do once you're in there competing and you're just trying to compete against you and the pitcher. You're not thinking about keeping your head still. You're trying to have a clear mind and just get a good pitch and hit. Consequently, things kind of get repetitive and the muscle memory kind of takes over and the movements happen that you don't realize. So, it's a constant focus every game, the work habits and things like that, to get back to normal."

Davis was 4-for-44 with 25 strikeouts in 11 games before hitting a two-run homer Wednesday night, his adjusted stance paying dividends.

"That's the same thing," Coolbaugh said. "We talked about it. Typically our guys have a lot of power, the big guys, but also we have guys with some bigger movements. And with that being said, it can cause some problems, so we're just trying to minimize some of that movement and make everything a little slower and easier so that his head movement would be minimized to be able to recognize the ball better.

"That gives you a better chance to get a good pitch to it. And when they get that good pitch to hit, they're able to adjust to it and feel like they have time to do it. Whereas, if they're not seeing the ball, everything feels rushed and you're already manipulated or already committed to your swing because you think, 'Oh, the ball's on me' and it's still pretty far out."

Machado went 2-for-4 last night to leave his average at .211. He hit .224/.343/.424 in April and .191/.238/.391 in May.

Maybe he's just getting the worst out of the way earlier in the season. Let's not forget that he posted a .204/.288/.337 slash line last July after batting .344/.394/.667 in April, .292/.385/.566 in May and .370/.396/.600 in June. He hit .243/.288/.409 over the last 29 games, but those torrid months kept his season average from plummeting.

"As I told him before, you have two months last year maybe like these first two months, but you didn't notice it because you got off to a good start," Coolbaugh said. "Every player goes through that adjustment and I just think he needs to take what the game's giving him and being able to get back to just slowing things down and seeing the ball a little better."