On the Pirates: Moss spinning positive vibes
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Pirates Brandon Moss
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Brandon Moss still is possessed of an open personality.
One month ago, he added to it an open stance.
The latter has restored his confidence -- after a 2009 of "negativity," to use his word -- and his ability to drive a baseball deep.
"I have been doing pretty well the past month or so," said Moss, batting .236 until a midweek 0-for-10 stretch amid the attention on a third Class AAA Indianapolis teammate to get promoted within one week --none of them named Brandon Douglas Moss.
"April and most of May, I was searching down here, still. I went through so many different things last year and went through so much negativity with the way I played that I lost a lot of confidence in myself and my ability.
"When I came here, it wasn't that I was depressed. ... When Neal [Huntington] told me that I was designated, I was actually happy. I told him that I hoped I cleared, really. I knew that I needed to come here to find myself and to find the swing that had made the Pirates want me to begin with."
After being one of the keys in the Jason Bay deal with Boston, Moss, 26, broke off in the Pirates' lock-- knee surgery, the lingering weakness, hitting issues, you name it. This spring, he was designated for assignment and went unclaimed, setting up his return to a Class AAA level where he proved his competency with the Red Sox's Pawtucket club: a .282 average, 24 home runs and 108 RBIs in 176 games.
One batting practice in early May, he decided to make a change.
He didn't so much add the open stance as he reverted to one.
"I went back to extremely open stance, and the ball just started jumping," Moss said. "It was like, from that moment on, my confidence was back.
"My front foot is back behind my back foot a lot. It is kind of like how [former Pirates first baseman] Adam LaRoche hit. I hit like that in the minor leagues with the Red Sox and in '08 I went up with them, didn't play a lot and kind of eliminated it because of timing issues."
First Published June 20, 2010 12:00 am
