Shooting Dead Horses; Beating Fish In A Barrel

The central question of the entire spring has been whither Endy Chavez. Jim Bowden's focused on it. Frank Robinson's focused on it. The Post and Times focused on it. The fans have focused on it. He's under a microscope. He knows it. We know he knows it. On and on it goes.

So, a few weeks into spring training, how's it going?

"I certainly like what I see so far," Robinson said Wednesday.

Yay! It's going well! Tell us more, Frank!

"He's trying to bunt. He bunted safely [in Saturday's game] in Fort Lauderdale for a base hit. He tried to bunt the other day," Robinson said. "He's working the count a little bit. He's not swinging from his heels as much. He's stealing a base or two. He is starting to do some of the things we've asked him to do."

Yes! We're getting results! Endy's finally turning into the leadoff hitter this team so desparately needs him to be!

Hey WaPo beat reporter Dave Sheinin! What do his numbers look like?

A 2-for-4 day Tuesday lifted Chavez's batting average to .250. Although he has yet to draw a walk in 12 plate appearances -- giving him an on-base percentage that is also .250 -- Manager Frank Robinson said he sees an improved plate approach in Chavez.

Waaah? Que? Como? Is this what Moynihan meant when he talked about defining deviancy down?

You've focused on getting him to be more patient at the plate and emphasized how important it's going to be to get him to walk from time to time. He quite possibly has been more patient, but it hasn't manifested itself in any walks. Hell, before that 'breakout' game, he was 1 out of 8 at the plate. He wasn't even getting results with the bat.

I really hope that this is a case where the manager is trying to build up some confidence by encouraging him. Maybe Chavez is doing better with his approach, and maybe his confidence was down. He's been facing a lot of pressure and it's quite possible that the unquantifiable, but not meaningless psychological side was starting to eat him alive, affecting his performance.

When you factor in the the recent love-fest of Terrmel Sledge and his hot hitting, you'd imagine the pressure was getting even more intense. I hope this is Frank monitoring the steam gauge and not a case where he’s blinded to the reality.