Burroughs out to increase power, production at plate

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Monday, June 13, 2005 9:21 PM PDT ∞

Sean Burroughs fires a throw to first for an out.
Bill Wechter
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SAN DIEGO ---- It was a rare sight this season at Petco Park ---- or in any other ballpark, for that matter. In the sixth inning of the Padres' loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, Padres third baseman Sean Burroughs drove a pitch into the alley in right-center field.

He rounded first base and, with a head of steam, chugged into second for a leadoff double. There's no truth to the rumor that Burroughs stopped to snap a picture of the unfamiliar bag.

The issue of Burroughs' power production was a hot one during spring training. Theories abounded as to why a player with his sturdy frame and stellar hitting pedigree could manage only two home runs and 23 doubles in 523 at-bats, as Burroughs did last year.

Who could have imagined that the Burroughs of early 2005 would make the Burroughs of 2004 look like a slugger? His double on Sunday was his third one of the season and just his fifth out of 48 hits to go for extra bases.

Among major-league third basemen with at least 175 at-bats, Burroughs' .320 slugging percentage is better than only Cleveland's Aaron Boone ---- a player whose average is almost 100 points lower than Burroughs' .274 and who, coincidentally, hit two home runs in a game when the Indians came to San Diego last week.

"Obviously, stats don't lie," Burroughs said. "I just have to keep working. My next-door neighbor the other day was like, 'Look at (Padres second baseman Mark) Loretta ---- he has no homers, (five) doubles.' People just don't understand. It will come."

Burroughs' power numbers might not stick out so much if his run production was better. Yet he has a paltry total of eight RBIs in 175 at-bats. By way of comparison, Pittsburgh's Rob Mackowiak has 34 RBIs in eight fewer at-bats, and Boston reserve Kevin Youkilis has driven in the same number of runs as Burroughs in 49 at-bats.

"We need production from everybody, and you always want it from your corner positions," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's had some nagging injuries that slowed him down, but there does come a point where we need to get production there. I think there will be a huge improvement from this point on, hopefully, now that Sean looks like he's healthy."

As Bochy suggested, Burroughs isn't without an alibi to explain his troubles at the plate.

He was bothered for most of May by muscle pain ---- first in his left hamstring, then in his quadriceps. A quad strain caused Burroughs to miss eight games starting on May 26, and he finished the month with a .216 average, no extra-base hits and two RBIs. While he was out, Geoff Blum started at third base and went 15-for-35 with four doubles, a homer and six RBIs.

The leg injuries hindered him, Burroughs concedes, but he refuses to use them as a crutch. He thinks that the more significant factor was an ill-advised decision in early May to incorporate a tap step as a timing mechanism leading up to his swing.

"I did that for a couple weeks, and that was probably the dumbest thing I could have done," Burroughs said. "I lost a lot of at-bats because of that. I went back to cocking my hip and picking up my foot for more of a timing thing.

"It feels pretty good now. I'm not so much on my back leg. I'm using my whole body, staying more balanced. Just small things that the ordinary person doesn't want to know."

Whether because of stronger legs or a better batting stance, Burroughs can now see a light at the end of the tunnel. Since returning to the lineup on June 3, he has recorded three of his five total extra-base hits to raise his slugging percentage by 26 points.

"Now that he's healthy, we'll see him getting some better swings," Bochy said. "We're hoping that we'll see more of the Sean Burroughs that we know."

Burroughs understands that he must produce because, if he doesn't, Blum has shown that he can.

The versatile infielder will receive most of the starts at second base until Loretta recovers from thumb surgery, probably in late July. After that, third base is Blum's most logical position.

"In this ballpark, with his type of swing, I doubt that (Burroughs) ever will have much success with the long ball," Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. "We feel we should get power production from other places in our lineup, and the biggest thing for him is on-base (percentage), drawing walks.

"Certainly, it would be nice to get more home-run production and more RBIs out of him, but where he's hitting in the lineup (usually seventh or eighth), I'll take singles and I'll take walks."

Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at b_hiro@hotmail.com.