Now batting .200, McCutchen sitting against Braves, but not 'beating myself up'

ATLANTA — Andrew McCutchen showed no signs of frustration when offering his self-evaluation to reporters Wednesday afternoon at SunTrust Park.

Clint Hurdle had asked him late Tuesday night after a 0-for-5 performance dipped his average .200 if taking a day off would help him escape yet another slump. McCutchen accepted the option, but not playing against the Braves Wednesday is far from a day off.

In the midst of a 0-for-15 slump and on pace for the worst season of his career, McCutchen is more confident than in the past that he's close to breaking through, and wanted to everyone to know he has not given up on himself despite the statistics and analytics showing a steep regression from his 2013 National League MVP season.

"I lay my head down at night, and I sleep pretty good," he said inside the visitors clubhouse Wednesday. "Many people would like to think I'm beating myself up. I'm not. I know some people may feel I should be. But there's a lot of other things in the world that matter. I just try and put things in perspective every single night. I'm healthy. There's a great group of guys around me. I'm here. I'm working. I'm doing everything I can to produce."

That does not mean McCutchen does not care about the numbers he is producing. Quite the contrary. It's the reason why he's put more work in the batting cages before games than any other player on the roster, often standing the clubhouse eagerly waiting for his turn to get more work in.

A game like Tuesday's does not sit well with him. McCutchen stranded seven runners on base and grounded into a pair of double plays during the 6-5 loss, and he's now batting just .211 with runners in scoring position.

His batting average reached the Mendoza Line, but that alone does not show the steep decline of his offense. According to Fan Graphs, only 31.4 percent of the balls he has put into play are hit hard — the worst mark of his career since his rookie season.

His -0.1 wins above replacement is the 22nd-worst in baseball and is more than nine full points lower than his MVP season just four years ago. His average exit velocity has declined in every season since he was one of the best hitters in baseball and he's batting just .156 against right-handed pitchers.

Hurdle declined to elaborate late Tuesday night on what is causing the issues for McCutchen, but he was much more open with reporters just 14 hours later and scheduled a meeting with the center fielder prior to first pitch Wednesday to discuss a plan to fix what is ailing him at the plate.

One thing is clear, though: Hurdle is willing to do whatever it takes to get McCutchen back on track, even if that means giving him more than one day off.

"Right now it’s hard. It’s hard for Andrew right now, so we have to find a way to help him," Hurdle said.

The day off is not unusual in a busy month for the Pirates, but it is very similar to what unfolded in Atlanta less than a year ago. McCutchen was batting .241 — more than 50 points below his career average at the time — when Hurdle decided to sit him for a three-game series against the Braves from Aug. 2-4.

At the time, McCutchen was unsure what was causing his issues at the plate. He was pulling outside pitches instead of spraying them to the opposite field, and he began to press at the plate when frustration mounted.

The decision to sit him seemed to work, though. During the final 32 days of the season, McCutchen owned a .287/.373/.513 slash line with six home runs and 22 RBI in 31 games.

His ability to overcome what he described as the most difficult time of his career has him feeling optimistic despite his recent troubles.

"You have your struggles; you learn from them," he said. "I definitely think it helps you. Last year helps me. It's going to continue to help me. I just have to stick with the plan and keep going. Keep working. It's the end of May. I just want to keep working. That's it."

That does not change the reality, though. Over the past 25 years, only one other National League MVP batted .200 beyond May 23 within five years after winning the award. The other is Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, whose average dipped to .200 on May 27 one year after winning the trophy in 2006.

Howard, though, was an entirely different player than McCutchen. His free-swinging ways always led to a poor average, and he still hit 47 home runs that season and 48 the year after that. Hard luck can play into McCutchen's issues so far, as his .214 BABIP is the eighth-lowest in baseball, but both he and Hurdle said that's not the only issue.

The hope is this day off will clear McCutchen's mind and provide him a chance to work on what he said is the issue. Instead of keeping his upper body straight, McCutchen said he is twisting his torso during his swing. He began to notice the trend in recent days, and said he simply needs time to correct the issue.

Opposing pitchers have caught on, peppering the outside corner of the zone with both fastballs and off-speed pitches knowing they will go to left field instead of right. He said pressing at the plate is the least of his concerns: