If Curtis Granderson keeps this up, the Jason Bay comparisons will stop. They’ll be too generous.
Granderson continued his horrific start to his Mets career with another hitless night and three more strikeouts in a 2-0 win over the Cardinals on Monday at Citi Field.
“I feel good,” Granderson said after going 0-for-3 with a walk. “I just need to get results, put the bat on the ball, put it in play and hopefully good things will happen.”
So far, that’s been a considerable challenge. The slugger, signed to a four-year, $60 million deal in the offseason is now in an 0-for-19 slide with seven strikeouts.
And his brief run-in with any form of success — the game-winning sacrifice fly in a 14-inning win on Sunday — didn’t carry over.
Instead, the strikeouts pile up.
Hitting second in the lineup again, Granderson struck out swinging in the first, was hit by a pitch in the third, fanned swinging again in the fifth and then looking in the seventh.
And while Granderson is no stranger to striking out after fanning 195 times in his last healthy season with the Yankees, he is not countering with any production. He still has just one home run.
Despite the ugly beginning to his Mets career, Granderson insists he’s not ready to make any significant changes.
“I’m still trying to get a good ball to handle,” said Granderson, who has been working with hitting coach Dave Hudgens in an attempt to get out of his slump. “I’ve talked to [Hudgens] about trying not to cover everything. Cover your strengths and work on that.”
When asked if he could remember another rough patch like the one he’s currently going through, Granderson couldn’t come up with a specific example.
“I’ve definitely had some,” Granderson said. “I don’t remember exactly 100 percent what was the turning point or what caused the turning point. But eventually it did come. That’s the one thing I do remember.”
In the meantime, he said, he would “continue to stay positive and realize that it is part of the game.”
True enough, but it’s not quite the first impression he wanted to make when he crossed town.