Manager Pedro Lopez held a long closed-door meeting with his struggling Brooklyn Cyclones after last Thursday afternoon’s loss — the seventh in the team’s last nine games.
The theme, Lopez said after, was simple: “Turn it around now.”
“We are trying too hard,” Lopez told his players. “We started the season 16–2 for a reason [and] we have to go back to that type of mindset.”
The Cyclones’ early season run was the team’s best start ever — and included a 10-game winning streak. But since then, the team has struggled — and Lopez senses that his players are putting too much pressure on themselves.
“At times, these guys are pressing instead of doing what we were doing at the beginning of the season.” Lopez told the cream of the Brooklyn sports press corps after Thursday’s 3–1 loss to Williamsport. “I understand that this franchise is important for this organization, but I want those guys to step up and play baseball.”
Sam Honeck, who has been one of the hotter hitters for the Cyclones also sensed some negativity in the clubhouse.
“We’re in a rut right now,” he said. “Every team goes through it. People don’t hit the ball some days and others they do, that’s just baseball and that’s how it goes.”
Luis Rivera, the team’s clean-up hitter and soul, said he hadn’t felt any additional pressure, but appreciated the meeting.
“Everyone feels good now because of the meeting that we had,” he said. “Pedro gave us confidence and now we can focus on win and have fun.”
Since the closed-door session, the Cyclones are 4–2.
