COMMENTARY : Lambs In Like Lions in Turnabout Spring--Some Slump Early

Don Mattingly and Ryne Sandberg are super, Dwight Gooden and Kirby Puckett are subpar. Yep, it’s sure been a strange spring.

Some players known for their slow starts are doing great. Others who usually love April now hate this month.

“It was pretty much the other end of the spectrum from a year ago. I can’t explain the difference,” Seattle’s Pete O’Brien said.

O’Brien, a lifetime .299 hitter in April, batted .400 with 10 RBIs during the first month last season. This year, he’s stuck at 4-for-31 (.129) since signing as a free agent with the Mariners.

Fred McGriff, Nick Esasky and Ozzie Smith are among the other usually hot hitters who aren’t so hot so far this year, while pitchers Mike Scott, Mike Moore, Bert Blyleven and Gooden have struggled early. But Mattingly, Sandberg, Willie Wilson and Benito Santiago are enjoying this time of year more than ever.

Sandberg, a career .229 hitter in April, is batting .333 with six RBIs in nine games for the Chicago Cubs. He also set a major league record for infielders by playing his 98th consecutive game without an error.

“I’m just trying to be consistent, on offense and defense,” Sandberg said.

Mattingly is a lifetime .285 hitter in April. Good, but still 47 points below his career average. After hitting .221 with zero home runs last April, he is now 10-for-23 (.435) for the New York Yankees.

“I really spent a lot of time in the winter thinking about getting off to a good start,” he said. “I’m concentrating more on that.”

Maybe the lockout and shortened spring training is making a difference to some major leaguers. Certainly that has something to do with the trouble Gooden is having as he tries to recover from last year’s arm problems.

Gooden always starts strong, going 4-0 with a 2.41 earned-run average last April. This season, he’s 0-2 with an 11.74 ERA and is below .500 for the first time in his career.

“The consensus is he’s throwing too many pitches down the middle,” New York Mets manager Davey Johnson said.

Could be these early slumps are contagious, too. Puckett has caught one--more precisely, he hasn’t caught enough.

Puckett, a Gold Glove outfielder for four straight seasons, made just four errors all last year. He’s already made three errors in center field for Minnesota.

“I’ve never seen so many errors,” Twins manager Tom Kelly said of the quality of fielding in the majors this season. “I look over the box scores every morning and all the numbers are crooked. You’ve got to wonder what’s going on. Maybe we aren’t focused on what we should be doing.”

McGriff, last year’s American League home run champion, said he’s trying as hard as ever. He hit .315 with seven homers and 17 RBIs last April for Toronto and has averaged .305 in the first month, but now is batting just .206 with three RBIs. He ended last year in a slump, without a home run in his final 24 games.

“I’m not concerned with quick starts or slow starts,” he said. “I’m more concerned with being consistent over the whole season.”

Wilson is anxious not duplicate what he did last year. He hit .194 in April and finished at a career-worst .253.

This spring, Wilson was expected to be a backup in Kansas City’s outfield. But an injury to Danny Tartabull moved Wilson back into the starting lineup and he’s responded by going for 10-for-21 (.476) with three stolen bases.

“I didn’t feel I had anything to prove,” said Wilson, 34. “I just wanted to go out there and play well to help the team. If I go out there with that kind of attitude, I’m just going to put undue pressure on myself.”

Esasky, who signed a free-agent contract with Atlanta, might be a little too anxious to prove his worth. He hit four homers with 13 RBIs last April for Boston, but has just five singles in 31 at-bats (.161) and has not driven home a run for the Braves.

“Maybe we’re pressing too much. Maybe we’re trying to do too much,” he said, talking in terms of his team, not himself.

Smith certainly hasn’t been a wizard yet. He has three singles in 22 at-bats (.136) after hitting .296 last April for St. Louis.

But Santiago, San Diego’s All-Star catcher, is doing fine. He hit .207 last April, but is 14-for-31 (.452) this year.

A lot of top pitchers also are showing some signs of role reversal. Scott, 4-1 last April, is winless in his first two starts for the first time since 1986, the year he won the Cy Young Award.

Moore also began 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA last year, but is 0-1 for Oakland and has given up six runs in 12 1-3 innings. Blyleven was 3-1 last April, compared to 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA after two starts.

Then there’s Bob Welch. His turnaround has been even more dramatic and more sudden.

In exhibition play, Welch was 0-3 with a 17.72 ERA. He’s won his first two regular-season starts, allowing only one run in 11 2-3 innings.

“His spring training numbers were ugly, so it was important for him to get off to a good start,” Oakland manager Tony La Russa said.

Said Welch: “Sometimes you have to take your lumps as you’re getting ready. I can’t say I was concerned. The regular season offers a lot more on what you’re about.”