NEW YORK – Seiya Suzuki seemed to commit to swinging before he recognized the changeup. The result was a half swing for strike three in his only at-bat in the Cubs’ 11-2 loss to the Mets on Monday.
“I think I’m just hesitating,” Suzuki said through interpreter Toy Matsushita before the game Tuesday.
The pinch-hit at-bat Monday was emblematic of Suzuki’s recent struggles. But he’ll be back in the starting lineup on Wednesday against Mets lefty David Peterson, manager David Ross said. Suzuki has been relegated to the bench for the Cubs’ past four games while the Cubs have faced four straight right-handed starting pitchers.
“Just sad that I’m not out there,” Suzuki said. “... I’m not in the best condition right now. All the guys that are out there are the guys who are getting results. That’s just part of the game. And so that’s where I’ve got to step up and make sure I can get my spot back.”
With the addition of Jeimer Candelario before the trade deadline and left-handed outfielder Mike Tauchman hitting .349 over the past three weeks, Suzuki has been in a right field platoon with Tauchman.
“When things don’t really work out, obviously, for a long stretch, it becomes a mental thing,” Suzuki said, “And during that span, I just couldn’t organize what was the first thing to work on.”
Just a few weeks ago, it looked as if Suzuki was finding his rhythm. He had sat down with the Cubs hitting coaches, went through film and created a plan. Part of that was condensing his pregame routine.
He recorded 11 hits over a span of six days, including a four-hit game against the Nationals and a three-hit game against the Cardinals. But entering Tuesday, he was batting .128 in 11 games since.
“So many hitters are feel-oriented, and they want to make sure that they feel good,” Kelly said. “And some of the best hitters understand that they’re not going to feel great every day, their swing isn’t going to feel really good, and they have the next ability to overcome that and get into a really good compete mode. And I think that’s where we’re going to see Seiya get to.”
Kelly and Suzuki agree, his mechanics look and feel good in the batting cage. They had him zero in on two things: controlling his leg kick, and steading his head instead of racking back too far in his load.
“Confidence comes with the results,” Suzuki said, “and as of right now, I’m not playing, so I’m not getting those results. But one thing I can definitely say is that I’m confident in what I did to get here.”
The break was designed to give Suzuki time to work on his swing in the batting cages but also take off some of the everyday pressure.
“When you sit back and watch the game, you can slow it down a little bit,” Kelly said. “It’s not moving as fast as it is when you’re actually in the game. So, him getting a chance to step back and watch for a little bit, I think it’s going to give him the chance to see, the game isn’t as fast as what you’ve been making it.’”
That perspective can be hard to maintain during a slump.
“When I get into the game, I guess I get too eager to get those results,” Suzuki said. “And so in order to get those results I feel like I need to relax a little bit more and just be more calm. And that’s what I’m going to do when I get in the box.”
The last step is channeling that calmness into a game plan, and stubbornly sticking with it.
