I think he realizes what they are doing. I talked to [hitting coach] Gerald Perry and he thinks he's starting to come around. But I just thought it was good to give him the day off.

Gerald [Perry] likes the guy's stroke. He's a bright guy and knows a lot about the game.

We can make sure to get him game ready hitting-wise. He went through minimal rehab when he came back last year and hit 12 home runs in 100 at bats. I take that as an indicator he'll be fine.

We led the league in hitting into double plays last year. We don't have a whole lot of team speed and that's what happens.

The hitting kind of has been riding the roller coaster, so maybe we've got some guys feeling good about themselves after [Sunday].

I don't think anybody can go out there and perform when they're uptight.