The Detroit Tigers entered the MLB season with high expectations. They were supposed to give the Chicago White Sox a run for their money in the division, yet they're far below .500 and have struggled to keep up all year long.
Moreover, Javier Báez has been widely disappointing, hitting .188 after signing a huge $140 million contract in the offseason.
The fans are starting to lose their patience. Báez hasn't found his groove since coming back from the IL, yet he doesn't want to get caught up in this moment:
"I got no comments on that,” Báez said. “I’m just gonna go out there and be myself and play hard. It’s obviously frustrating for us when we struggle. It’s frustrating for them too when they want to see you do good. But obviously, we’re struggling. It’s part of it. Sometimes we’re down on ourselves. But it’s not about that. It’s about coming out the next day and being better.”
Báez isn't having a good time right now. But even though it's been quite difficult for A.J. Hinch's team towards the first third of the season, he's still confident in the team's ability to turn things around:
“Obviously, it’s kind of weird,” Báez said. “But it is what it is. Hopefully, everything goes back to normal.”
A.J. Hinch continues to have his back and he knows he's trying to get past this slump. However, he thinks Báez is putting way too much pressure on his shoulders right now:
“I don’t think he’s having fun with the results, hitting-wise,” Hinch said. “But the overall vibe, he’s always upbeat. It’s energetic inside. But he carries the burden of the expectation of huge performances. So every out or every chase or like last night, when he punched out with the bases loaded, he carries a little extra burden with that because his expectations are so high.”
Hinch doesn't want to put all the blame on just one player. Overall, the Tigers have had terrible luck with injuries and have underperformed from top to bottom, coaching included:
“We are accountable to the performance,” Hinch said. “This is unacceptable. We are better than this. We have not lived up to the standard that we expect. What the solution is, it’s something we talk about all the time. We’re all accountable: the players, coaches, manager, front office, everybody. It’s been below par.”
They still have plenty of time, but the clock is ticking.
