Don't panic about Glaus; his dry spell fits a pattern

By Bernie Miklasz
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
It's way too early to start dissing Troy Glaus, who went into the weekend with a .218 batting average.

Here are two reasons:

— According to John Dewan's revised zone rating system (RZR), Glaus is the top-rated defensive third baseman in the NL so far this season. That high defensive mark (.871) is supported by other sabermetric defensive rating systems. Glaus is saving runs with his glove.

— Glaus is a notorious streak hitter who has struggled mightily in specific months during his career. It's been a random thing; it has nothing to do with cold weather, hot weather, early season, late season.


We can find a bad month in every season. Some examples: in May 1999, Glaus batted .130 with 30 strikeouts in 92 at-bats. In July 2000, Glaus batted .194 with 31 Ks. In 2002 there were two consecutive bad months; and despite batting .198 with only six homers in 182 at-bats over June-July Glaus still finished with 30 homers and 111 RBIs. And there were some lean months in some of Glaus' more recent seasons.



Given the Glaus history, it's foolish to overreact to his slow first month.