Advertisement

Yankees’ Johnny Damon seeks a way out of his slump

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon hit better than .400 in two of his first four playoff series. So he’s performed well on the big stage before. But this fall? Well, not so much.

Damon had just one hit in 12 at-bats in the Yankees’ first-round sweep of the Minnesota Twins, so he came in for extra batting practice Tuesday. Today, Damon said he felt he was moving his head too much in his at-bats in the Division Series and hopes to have that corrected by Friday’s opener of the American League Championship Series.

But if Damon has known success in the postseason, he has also known struggle -- he batted .171 in Boston’s World Series win over St. Louis in 2004. And that experience is something he’s drawing on now.

‘That’s why I’m not going to beat myself up over what happened in Game 3,’ said Damon, who struck out four times in the Yankees’ clinching win. ‘I felt like I had a chance every time I stepped to the plate. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way. But my teammates picked me up ... and they us get to this part.

‘It’s very easy to put it behind you when you win three games to nothing.’ Related stories:

Joe Saunders to start Game 2 of World Series

Yankees have plan to slow down Angels’ running game.

Advertisement

A-Rod finally earns his salary

Jay-Z throws his support to Angels

No brotherly love for World Series

For more on the Angels and Yankees, check out the Angels Unplugged blog.

-- Kevin Baxter

Advertisement