Brandon Wood Turns To Yankees For Help

Brandon Wood was finally given the keys to third base by the Angels in 2010 and he crashed that thing into an elementary school. I think a case could be made that Wood's 2010 season was a more tragic event than the Chilean miners getting trapped. They at least got ice cream. Wood posted a .146/.174/.208 line in 243 plate appearances and had more than a few at bats that brought tears to my eyes.

Wood was awful in every aspect of hitting. He walked at a 2.5% clip and struck out over 30% of the time. So Wood turned to Yankees hitting instructor Kevin Long for some help...

"He's an Arizona guy who gave me some encouragement last year, who I got to know through small talk, and I wanted to hear his philosophy on hitting," Wood said of Long. "Hitting is like golf. How many ways can you do it and be successful? There’s a lot of different ways; you have to find the one that works for you."

Wood, in camp for the Angels' first full-squad workout Saturday but slowed by a minor back injury, incorporated some of Long's suggestions into his winter batting-practice sessions and said he has a much better feel for his swing.

As an Angels fan, I don't care if Wood turned to the Yankees, Jobu, Yoda or the Batting Stance Guy for help as long as it produces even a modicum of success in 2011. I don't have high hopes though. It's sad to think that a 2011 breakout performance for a major leaguer would be hoping he improves to a .280 OBP.