Slump, Angel Losses Test Salmon’s Patience

ANAHEIM —  It’s not what Tim Salmon or the Angels expected as they entered the second month of the season, but this is what it’s come to: The Angels have lost nine of 10 games, Little League baseballs are being hurled from the upper deck at their pitchers and their 1993 rookie of the year is being heckled by fans in the right-field bleachers.

Hero today, bum tomorrow.

“Actually, (Sunday) wasn’t too bad because of all the kids out there,” Salmon said after the Angels lost to Boston, 10-1, on Little League Day. “I hear a lot of that ‘sophomore jinx’ stuff, but they pay their money and can say what they want.”

Salmon, who leads the American League in strikeouts with 32, struck out twice Sunday and picked up his third RBI in 10 games when Boston left fielder Bob Zupcic did a pirouette in the eighth inning while chasing a fly ball that landed at the base of the fence.

Salmon hit the ball hard, but it may be no coincidence that Zupcic is on his way to triple-A Pawtucket today.

Salmon doesn’t have to worry about that fate, but he’s not apologizing for the hit. When you have 18 strikeouts and only 12 hits in your last 55 at-bats, you take what you can get.

“The strikeouts don’t really bother me that much, I’m going to strike out some,” he said. “And it’s not like I’m going up there without a clue. It’s just one of those situations where I’m getting behind in the count and when I do get a pitch to hit, I’m fouling it off.”

Salmon had only five home runs and 14 RBIs in April last year and he ended up with 31 homers and 95 RBIs, so he can rationalize a three-homer, 14-RBI April this season. But he admits losing has only intensified the frustration of his slump.

Hitting instructor Rod Carew is waiting for Salmon to destroy a water cooler or a light fixture. “Sometimes, you’ve got to do that,” Carew says, “but keeping an even keel, that’s OK, too.”

Salmon has swum upstream before and the exasperation spawned temper tantrums in the minors. But he found the release a temporary diversion that was counterproductive in the long run.

“I’m as intense as anybody,” he said, “and it’s harder to take a deep breath and stay in control. I’ve been down that other road and found out there’s three things that can happen. You can embarrass yourself. You can put your teammates at risk of injury or you can end up hurting yourself.

“Anyway, you’re always going to hit again, and if you’re not in control, you can’t focus on the next at-bat.”

Manager Buck Rodgers thinks Salmon “is cheating with his body a little” and consequently committing to swing at pitches he would normally take. But Salmon is convinced watching hours of videotape searching for mechanical flaws isn’t the answer.

“I’m a firm believer in paralysis by analysis,” he said. “A week ago, I looked at some tape and started getting so concerned with technique that I wasn’t concentrating on the pitches. Thinking too much can be a real problem.”

So Salmon will revert to the Dick-and-Jane approach that carried him to the heights as a rookie.

“See the ball. Hit the ball,” he says, managing a smile.