Troy Taormina – USA TODAY Sports
Chris Carter stepped out onto the diamond at Minute Maid Park staring at a 3-for-38 slump. Reports say that Carter is putting in extra work in the cages and with Houston Astros hitting coach John Mallee in an attempt to get out of his most recent slump.
Fresh after this report was posted, Carter earned another esteemed Golden Sombrero, a prestigious award/hat reserved for those who have the honor of striking out four times in one game. That puts Carter at 21 strikeouts in his last 41 at-bats. He’s going to need a hat rack for all of his sombreros before long.
It’s great that Carter is putting in extra work. Practice makes perfect, as they say. But if the team really wants this guy to improve, they have to move him down to triple-A or his confidence will completely dissipate. At the very least, he can’t keep batting in crucial spots like fourth or fifth in the lineup where he has been unsuccessful all year.
It’s become a joke. All fans root for the players that wear their teams colors, but Carter may find that more fans pity and laugh at him rather than root for him, and that should never happen.
He has great potential — his size and power are enough for all to see. But as it stands, something has to be done. There is no exception, and there is no more ‘let’s see how he does tomorrow.’ Every tomorrow is another shot to his confidence and another zero in the lineup on a team with plenty of zeroes to spare.
It’s great the way that the Astros are moving players in and out, but they’re going to regret it if they continue to drag their feet with Chris Carter.
