The Chicago White Sox have been waiting for over two years for 2B Gordon Beckham to regain his rookie season excellence. In 2009, Beckham hit 14 homers with an impressive .351 weighted on base average (wOBA), but since then, he has not mustered a wOBA over .305.
White Sox manager Robin Ventura tried to help tweak Beckham's approach this offseason, and though Beckham is still looking to find a rhythm this season, Venture thinks he will eventually sort it out:
"Any time you do something different, it's going to take a little time. But it's not like we're asking him to hit left-handed," manager Robin Ventura said prior to Thursday's game. "We're just asking him to get started a little earlier. It's something that happens to most guys -- everybody changes an approach or tinkers with things enough during the season that you're used to doing that. I don't see it taking a whole long time for him to do that."
The team's new hitting coach, Jeff Manto, echoed the manager's sentiments:
"What we're asking is not invasive at all," Manto said. "It's a very easy fix -- it's a timing mechanism, it's not like we're moving hands, moving feet, moving heads -- it's just a matter of getting your foot down and the at-bat's over. Let the at-bat take care of itself once you get ready to hit. If we got a little bit to where it's invasive, that would be a problem."
Beckham is not in Thursday's lineup, but is expected to return soon.
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