McClendon: Mariners need Morrison to get going offensively
Over the weekend, the Seattle Mariners' offensive woes were on display yet again as they lost two of three to the New York Yankees.
One of the reasons the club has had such a difficulty fielding a consistent offense has to do with slugger Logan Morrison, an unabashed 'streaky hitter'.
Manager Lloyd McClendon spoke a bit about Morrison with MLB.com's Greg Johns on Sunday, and he stressed the importance of Morrison finding his stroke once again: "When he's going good, it's good. When he's going bad, it's bad. We need him to get on one of those streaks again. He's somewhat of a streaky hitter to start with, but we need him to drive in runs. We need him if we're going to be successful. He's got to get it going."
Johns points out that Morrison entered play Sunday hitting .133 in his past 27 games.
Part of Morrison's issue, McClendon said, is his proclivity for hitting the ball on the ground - not an area in which a power hitter such as LoMo succeeds: "I think it starts with making sure you're getting ready to attack the ball. Sometimes if you're late attacking, the ball gets deep and you end up hitting a lot of ground balls. We have to make sure his trigger is where it should be, maybe get the hands up a little more so he can get on top of the ball a little more."
With McClendon looking for his club to go on a bit of a run in the second half, a productive Morrison would do wonders for the sagging offense.
