Adam Dunn is coming off one of the worst seasons anyone could possibly have, but former White Sox manager and new Marlins’ skipper Ozzie Guillen claims that he knew the high-priced slugger was doomed from the start.
During an appearance yesterday on the “Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000 in Chicago, Guillen said that he and his coaching staff knew that Dunn had some major issues with his swing just a couple days into spring training last year (via J.J. Stankevitz of CSNChicago.com).
“I looked at his swing and I told [bench coach] Joey Cora going home, ‘We’ve got a big problem,’ ” Guillen told the show.
Dunn ended up batting .224 with three homers and 27 strikeouts over 67 at-bats during Cactus League action. He appeared to find himself just in time for the start of the regular season, going 4-for-14 with one home run and five RBI over his first four games, but he never got back on track after undergoing an appendectomy on April 6 and returning less than one week later.
Many have pointed to Dunn’s offseason habits, primarily that he doesn’t usually swing a bat over the winter, as the major reason for his historically bad 2011. And maybe there’s some truth to that. In fact, Dunn has made an effort this offseason to hit a couple of times a week. But rushing back from his appendectomy surely didn’t help matters, either.
