Morneau finds swing when Twins need it

ShareThis

From last Aug. 1 until the end of the 2007 baseball season, Minnesota's Justin Morneau hit .a measly .222 (45-for-203) with 20 runs, 12 doubles, one triple, three homers and only 22 RBI. He struck out 30 times in those 56 games, and the Twins went 24-32.There was more concern about Morneau when he didn't hit that well in spring training and failed to record a hit in his first four games this year going 0-for-12 with one RBI, two walks and two strikeouts. But things have turned around for the outstanding first baseman since April 4. From then on, he has batted .306 (26-for-85), with 12 runs, six home runs, 21 RBI, nine walks and four doubles, including one that drove in the winning run against the White Sox on Wednesday."Yeah, the swing has felt pretty good for the last couple of weeks," he said. "I think I was probably trying a little too hard at the start of the season -- trying to live up to everything, the contract and all that stuff, and the first series."Then I finally got a hit and just relaxed and I'm enjoying myself now," he said.Earlier this season, Morneau said, his swing didn't feel good."I didn't feel good at the plate," Morneau said. "I lost a little bit of confidence and went into the offseason, worked hard, and swung a lot and got stronger -- I'm probably six or seven pounds heavier than I was last year -- and I feel confident at the plate, and that's what carries you. As a hitter, confidence will take you a long ways.""(I'm) just sticking with my routine, trying to be consistent in the cage and pre-game batting practice and try not to do too much, and get up there and hope you're in that situation (to help win a game)," he said. About the chances of the team doing well, he said: "We believe we can play and we have confidence in ourselves, so it's something that, hopefully, we can surprise a lot of people."(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)