ARLINGTON, Texas — One of the few positives for Josh Hamilton in June is that he's trying to give up his smokeless tobacco habit.
Other than that, not much has gone right for the American League player of the month for April and May.
Hamilton entered Monday's game against Detroit carrying a .194 average for the month. And while Hamilton still has 22 home runs and 64 RBI on the season, only one homer and seven RBI have come this month.
"There's no specific thing that's going on," said Hamilton, who started gnawing on toothpicks Sunday to try to end his use of smokeless tobacco. "I go through phases of being a little jumpy, trying to do too much."
Hamilton said it's hard to explain exactly what's wrong with his swing. His timing has been off lately, and that's forced him to try to make adjustments during at-bats. Because he's struggling, that hasn't worked for Hamilton, who is 1-for-12 with eight strikeouts in the homestand.
"It's just about focusing while I'm up there doing it," said Hamilton, who continues to lead all vote-getters in All-Star balloting despite his struggles. "It's the same old story we talk about all the time. You've got it on tape."
Hamilton admitted there are times he's gone up to the plate frustrated, but he knows he can get out of his recent slide. He said he felt better Sunday when he went 1-for-4. He hopes it's something he can build off.
Texas manager Ron Washington continues to preach patience to Hamilton. Washington said it's one thing for Hamilton to be swinging at pitches just off the plate, but now he's swinging at pitches a foot outside.
Washington said it's up to Hamilton to figure out his way out of the slide.
"I'm not trying to put too much on Hamilton's mind," Washington said. "He'll figure it out. As I said, it starts with patience. It's not going to be a quick fix."
