How to Turn a Season Around in 13 Games; Mikey Bryant Style.

April was a rough month for Jersey.  Pitching, hitting, defense.  The team was among the worst in the CL in every category.  Was it still a hangover from the 119 win season? Maybe.  Among the worst players on the team though was the back-to-back MVP winner Mikey Bryant.  After opening the season with a rough series, he came out of the gate during a 2 game stretch with 3 HR and 7 RBI and everything was looking right again the world.  Leaving that game with triple slash line of .261/.346/.652 would be the best it would get all month long.  Bryant would not hit another HR until 4/18, a 12 game stretch.  That 12 game stretch that only included 6 hits.  Bryant would hit his first and only double of the month of 4/28, this coming from a player who has averaged over 40 a season in his career.  Ending the month in a game in Chicago, Bryant went 0-4 with 2 K's in a 5-3 loss to the Machine.  His April numbers ended like this: .173/.214/.373.  1 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 19 RBI and 24K in 110 AB.  

"The kid is so fluid, has such a great swing and the more he struggled the more he tried to get out of with 1 swing.  He has never struggled in his career, he got in his own head," Manager Kevin Davis remarked, "What was I going to do? Bench him?  It's not an option.  I knew if I let him swing and play through it he would turn it around.  I hoped at least.  April was tough."

Bryant got May started right and went on a 5 game hitting streak which included 2 HR, but it only pushed his average up to .189.  After a home loss to Los Cabos on May 7th, Davis sat Bryant in the last game of the series even though the next day was to be an off day as well.  Was the double off day a recipe for success?  What did Bryant do in those 2 off days?  The next 13 games would be one of the greater stretches we have seen in awhile.

Traveling to St. Louis, who has started the season red hot, Bryant finally found his stroke.  He had his 5th career 5 hit day, including a double, HR and 5 RBI in an 18-6 romp of the Browns.  A hit-less day, which included 2 walks, the next day would be his last in awhile.  The next 8 games Bryant was a hit machine. 8 straight multi-hit games, half of them 3-hit performances.  His total line for those 8: 20-33, 11 runs, 5 doubles, 3 HR, 10 RBI.  Jose Brito would cool him of on 5/20 with an 0-4 performance, before putting in two more mutli-hit games to get where we are today.

A comparison of the two months thus far:

April: .173/.214/.373   10 R, 1 2B, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 5 BB, 24K, 110 AB
May:  .447/.500/.788   21 R, 8 2B, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 7 BB, 11K, 85 AB

In the last 13 games of this month he has raised his average 101 points, OBP 103 points, 157 points and OPS 259 points.

Welcome back MVP, you were missed.