[fhomess]

Since Baseball is so focused on stats, it's easy to get down on players who are struggling. This is especially true early in the season when his slump shows up more clearly in his season totals than if he had the exact same slump after hitting well for two months.

There's numerous theories on what to do with slumping players. Sitting the player might give him some rest to help him get out of it. Playing the player might help him get back into his groove faster than playing him only occasionally. Moving him in the lineup might take some pressure off of him. Moving him in the lineup might make him uncomfortable because he's trying to fill a different role than he's used to. This is where a stats game like OOTP struggles to imitate real life. In real life, managers make those decisions based on player personalities, personal managing style, and public/ownership pressure. For me in OOTP, I usually play the players anyway if they're not playing hurt and if they've got good ratings/track record. Who knows, they might break out of their slump tomorrow and go on a hot streak.

The final thing to remember is that it's not uncommon for a superb player to have a year in which they really struggle for the whole year. It's the nature of baseball, and you never really know if they've lost it or if they're just having that bad season until you see what they do in the next few seasons.