Napoli: “I Have To Keep Working”

Mike Napoli isn't ready to say his recent slump is over

On Tuesday, Mike Napoli told reporters--and manager Ron Washington agreed--that two home runs in his last two games didn’t necessarily mean that he was out of the woods, so to speak, with respect to his recent slump.

"You don't come out of a slump in two days," Washington said, per the Dallas Morning News. "You have to keep swinging. He'll let you know in the next week or so if he's out of a slump."

Napoli’s performance on Wednesday night came as a sign that he was right in not celebrating prematurely--that this particular rough patch might not be at its end just yet. The Rangers’ catcher/first baseman went 0-for-3 with a walk in the loss to the Mariners. The good news, aside from the walk, is that Napoli didn’t strike out--this in a season (and a slump) in which strikeouts have plagued him.

For now, Napoli is remaining on an even keel, not getting too high (after a pair of performances like Sunday’s and Monday’s) or too low (after performances like Tuesday’s).

“It's at-bat to at-bat," he said. "Sometimes I feel good. Sometimes I don't. I feel better than I did, but I have to keep working."

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