Austin Kearns thinks he's finally figured it out, with an assist from new hitting coach Rick Eckstein. Kearns has tweaked his approach at the plate, and he thinks it's going to pay dividends -- of course he could probably live off the interest payments of his bloated $8 million contract.
Kearns has focused on his hands, and opened up his stance. He's trying to learn (again) how to hit the inside pitch.
Anyone who watched him last year saw how easily he could be busted inside. There were times when he looked hyper-conscious of the ball inside, but was utterly paralyzed with how to hit it. In the process, he altered the mechanics of his swing, rendering him unable to do anything but make outs.
You can probably count up the number of times he truly hit the ball hard last season without taking off your socks.
Lenny Harris, last year's hitting coach, didn't seem to have a clue on how to get him to adjust, and Kearns hit a death spiral, resulting in a batting line that would've made a shortstop in the 1960s blush.
He's clearly not as bad as he was last year. Can Eckstein get him to hit his career averages?
When he's going well, Kearns does a lot of things well without really excelling. He hits .260 or so. He smacks a few doubles. He has some power, even if he's not a slugger. He's got a good batting eye. Sum it up, and he's got a league average bat for right field.
Where he really adds value is in the field. He turns more flyballs into outs than the average corner outfielder. And even small plays, like how he zips quickly into the corner to dig a ball out, or how he stretches into the gap to cut a ball off before it rolls to the wall help to keep runs off the table. You just don't see them in the box score.
But none of that matters.
No matter how many small things he does well, if Eckstein can't get him right, Kearns won't be in the lineup enough anyway.
Chris Needham used to write Capitol Punishment. He does not own any John Deere hats.
