Renteria Can't Find Answer
Nothing Seems To Work As He Tries To Break Slump
By Rick Hummel
Of the Post-Dispatch
June 24, 2001
Cardinals shortstop Edgar Renteria had been almost perfectly consistent between the first and second halves of each season in his career. In his first five seasons in the majors, he averaged .281 in the first half and .285 in the second half for an overall mark of .283.
Last year, Renteria hit .273 and .284, respectively, in the first and second halves, with 10 homers in the first half and six in the second. So last year was a wash, too.
This makes it all the more inexplicable why Renteria has done virtually nothing in the first half of this season. Benched Friday night then going one for two Saturday with three walks, Renteria is hitting .227 and is in a two-for-20 dive. He has just 12 extra-base hits through 74 games, compared to 49 extra-base hits for a full season last year.
Renteria has been experimenting with the position of his hands but hasn't been able to put together any kind of streak. He has not hit in more than three consecutive games since late April.
"I don't know what's going on this year," said Renteria, who said he had no reference point because he never had been this bad for this long before.
"He's not making that solid contact that he's capable of," said puzzled Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. "He's hitting a lot of balls in the air."
In his recent spin, 10 of Renteria's outs came on fly balls or popups.
Renteria is not hurt or sick. And it isn't that he isn't trying.
"I can't say it's because I'm not working," Renteria, 25, said. "I'm taking extra hitting. I'm working hard every day. I'm doing everything I can. I know I'm not helping the team right now. This is the first time in my career I've been like this."
Renteria also has appeared unsteady at times in the field, committing 11 errors.
La Russa said, "It's the whole game. Offensively, defensively, he's in a (bad) spell. He needs to fix it. I'm confident he will. He's a better player than that."
And on Saturday he was, making several brilliant defensive plays and driving in a run besides being robbed of another hit.
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