Sports

Sean McAdam: What, me worry? Triston Casas isn’t concerned with his slow start. ‘The confidence is high’

BOSTON — For some players, especially those who aren’t fully established, the prospect of a slow start to the season can be a mental grind.

Self-doubt, even panic, can set in.

And then there’s Triston Casas, who exudes a “what-me-worry” ethos. For the Red Sox’ first baseman, poor results are simply an aberration that can be easily ignored.

A .158 batting average in late April? No big deal. Just one homer through the first 24 games? Merely the result of some bad luck. Four RBI, by far the fewest for any Red Sox regular? Not a big deal.

Similarly, when Casas connected for a massive three-run shot into the center field bleachers in the seventh inning of the Red Sox’ 8-3 win over the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night, it wasn’t met with any relief, but almost a literal shrug of the shoulders.

“It felt good to give us a little more cushion,” noted Casas, citing the Sox clinging to a one-run lead at the time. “It definitely felt good to extend that lead a little bit….It felt good to finally connect with one, contribute and put on the Wally Head.”

But any suggestion that the homer could serve as a confidence boost was met with a dismissal from Casas.

“The confidence is high,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been getting my swings off. I really didn’t change much on that (home run) swing. It felt good to hit it on the middle of the barrel for once. But I’ve been swinging hard, swinging at strikes.”

If Casas hasn’t been alarmed at his results, the Red Sox have taken notice, dropping him from the cleanup spot earlier in the year down to seventh in the order, where he was Tuesday night.

Early in the season, when the entire team seemed to forget how to hit with runners in scoring position, his struggles hardly stood out. But one by one, as most of the hitters emerged from the collective slump, Casas was lowered in the order. He’s occupied a spot in the bottom third for some time, as the Sox wait patiently for him to get hot.

“Obviously, there’s a process in place. A lot of people are working with him, grinding with him,” said Alex Cora. “Hopefully, this is the beginning of something good. We’ve just got to stay patient and help him out throughout the process. Sometimes, us as coaches, we let the players do their thing and (say) ‘He’ll figure it out, he’ll figure it out.’

“But we’ve got to push. We need him. We need him. We need him to hit the ball hard.”

Cora said coaches have ruled out an issue with pitch selection, though Casas’ walk rate is down. Generally speaking, Cora hinted, Casas needs to be a little more aggressive.

“We like him to get on base,” he allowed, “but we like him to drive the ball.”

Casas can sound like a clinician when discussing his at-bats. Recounting his game-winning, wall-scraping walk-off single against the White Sox, he immediately cited the exit velocity (98 mph) and the launch angle (45 degrees), then quickly referenced his first at-bat Sunday (99 mph and 30 degree launch angle), puzzled over why the latter died at the warning track.

“So it’s like, how do I quantify success here at this park? It’s just the right day and the right timing,” he said, as if wrestling with an algebraic equation. “I’ve hit balls better than I feel like I hit that ball today, and those died at the track, too. I’ve got to pick the right day to hit the right balls. If I do, I’ll be lucky enough to get results.

“That’s just the roll of the dice and the luck of the draw, I guess, in terms of results and outcome and my process and what I’m looking for at the plate.”

To hear Casas tell it, despite his detailed approach to hitting, much of it is completely out of his hands, with weather conditions, backspin, and yes, some luck, serving as determining factors. That way, at least, it’s a lot easier to accept a protracted slump when you can rationalize the randomness at work.

Regardless of the reason, the Red Sox would like more production; first basemen are expected to be significant offensive contributors. Add in the fact that the Red Sox don’t have a lot of alternatives for the position and their dependence on him grows.

“I think this is the worst statistical month of my career so far,” acknowledged Casas. “But that’s OK. There’s still a lot of games left and I’m going to stay positive every day and try to figure this out sooner rather than later.”

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