What’s wrong with Pablo Sandoval?

From Andrew Baggarly

The Giants didn’t need
unexpected power from the bottom of their lineup. They just needed their
best hitter to come through. Unfortunately for them, their Panda seems
to have forgotten his Kung Fu grip.

Sandoval is getting tied in
knots by inside fastballs and is in perhaps the deepest slump of his
young career. For the season, Sandoval is 0-for-13 when batting with two
outs and a runner in scoring position. For the month, he’s hitting .071
(2 for 28).

Sandoval struck out on three consecutive pitches –
all swing-and-miss inside fastballs from Mike Pelfrey — to strand Aaron
Rowand at third base in the fifth.

Sandoval came to the plate in
the ninth with the tiebreaking run at second base but fouled out when Davis
flipped over the dugout rail while making a spectacular catch.

“He’s
pressing. He’s really fighting it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.
“You know, he’s our guy. He helps make it go. We’re trying to get it
done until he gets going again. Pablo is going to have his little
streaks, too.

“The guy can hit. He’ll come out of it.”

Sandoval,

23, was found to have a slight astigmatism in an offseason eye exam; he
has alternated between sports glasses, contact lenses and nothing at
all. The tinkering is part of the natural compulsion that all slumping
hitters feel, Bochy said.

Sandoval insisted he is seeing the ball
fine. He had a lengthy pregame session with hitting coach Hensley
Meulens and said he’d look at video to break down each of his at-bats
Friday.

His swing might not be the same. But his high-energy
spirit seems to be.

“Nah, I’m fine,” he said. “It’s part of the
game. I feel great, and I’ve been working hard. “… Everybody passes
through these moments. To get out (of them), you have to be 100 percent
positive.”

He’ll re-find his mojo. I’m 100 percent positive.