Poll: Slump or worse?

[Wahoo]

So I was reading through the threads and I'm looking over the astoundingly crudy starts that some of our guys are having, and I had a general musing.

At what point does a slump become something more, say a trend or what have you? At what point can we no longer say a player is just in a slump? I realize there is some subjectivity on this, but I want to see if we can reach a consensus on this. When is it no longer "just a slump" (i.e. a cause for concern)?

I'm not suggesting any of our guys are yet at that point, but I am curious as to what people's thoughts are on this.

Secondary question, what is the next stage up from a slump? I don't have term for it, and was just pondering this.

[Lauren T.]

I think you have to look at each player individually. Mark Teixeira and Adam LaRoche are notoriously slow starters, but I wouldn't call their Aprils and Mays "slumps" -- that's just how they play year in and year out. Some players might be able to snap out of their slumps faster if they were willing to pull their heads out of their butts, get out of their routines, and try something different. You know, if your feet hurt, maybe you don't need to wear four pairs of socks, that sort of thing. ;)

Then there's Jeff Francoeur, as mentioned in the poll. He's just special. There are players who seem to be in a career slump here, but do great with a change of scenery, like we see KJ doing so far in Arizona. I just think everyone needs to be measured individually.

[-Dr. Brave-]

Secondary question, what is the next stage up from a slump? I don't have term for it, and was just pondering this.

I'd call it Terry Pendleton syndrome.

[Freddy_Ballgame]

The irony here would be funny if it wasn't happening to our team! All the concern about how long our guys will suck at the plate and we still have some folks here wondering when Prado will come back to Earth so they can say "I knew we should've kept KJ!"
Wha???? You mean some are already saying we should have?

[Andy G.]

The irony here would be funny if it wasn't happening to our team! All the concern about how long our guys will suck at the plate and we still have some folks here wondering when Prado will come back to Earth so they can say "I knew we should've kept KJ!"
Wha???? You mean some are already saying we should have?
Do you pay attention? They're saying we should have kept KJ and moved him back to left field, not that Prado doesn't deserve the second base job.

Goodness gracious. I've already had to remind KB that KJ was given plenty of opportunities in Atlanta. Now I have to remind you that nobody has said Prado shouldn't be our second baseman right now. You people will find anything to gripe about, even if you have to ignore reality to do it.

[quick]

Hard to say, but what we do know is this team has had trouble consistently scoring runs for some years. Our corner outfield and infield spots have been trouble most of the time. We do not have much home run power.

Chipper is simply too old and rickety to be our anchor in the middle of the lineup and we have no one else to fill that role right now. I think it really begins with him. Prado has been getting on base a lot and Chipper cannot do much to drive him in--he is either out of the lineup or if in the lineup is too banged up to do much. McCann is not quite in a groove yet, and Glaus is a double-play/strikeout machine.

There you go. Is this a slump? Chipper I suspect is having disc problems in his back--hence the hip pain (been there, done that, had the surgery). That is more than a slump....