Moises Alou has had better weeks.
Not only is the Chicago Cubs' left fielder mired in a hitting slump after a fast start, he's been dogged by questions about his unorthodox hitting preparation.
Alou is one of only a few major league players who doesn't use batting gloves, and it was reported that he urinates on his hands to harden them. Alou doesn't dispute the report, but also doesn't want to discuss it anymore.
"I don't want to talk about that because I told that to somebody who wasn't supposed to print it," Alou said before Wednesday night's game.
The story has spawned jokes and snickers, though, especially on talk radio.
"That's not anybody's business, really," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said before Wednesday's 2-0 loss to Arizona. But Baker acknowledged that Alou will have to live with some ribbing for a while.
"I know guys don't want to shake his hand now," Baker added. "Everybody just gives him the fist."
Not that there's much celebrating going on these days, with the Cubs losing three of their last nine and dropping two games behind Houston in the NL Central. Chicago has managed only 22 runs in the last nine games.
Alou had been on a tear, hitting .450 with six homers and 15 RBIs during a 14-game span. But he's now 0-for-16 in his last four games, and he flied out to center with the bases loaded to end an eighth-inning rally in Wednesday night's 2-0 loss to Arizona.
Baker gave Alou the day off Thursday, but said it had nothing to do with his woes.
"It's daytime after nighttime. And Moises been playing his butt off," Baker said. "When you play a tough series in St. Louis and we have a left-hander against us tomorrow, two days after that and an off day on Monday, today was a perfect day for Moises to sit.
"I don't care if he went 2-for-4 yesterday, he probably would have sat today anyway," Baker added. "So 0-for-16 has nothing to do it. Like I said I didn't even know he was 0-for-16, you guys keep these numbers."
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