Lind off to hot start with Blue Jays' Vegas affiliate - Hamilton Spectator

Adam Lind has some hot hands in Vegas, but not because he’s found a lucky streak at the card table.

The first baseman, demoted to Triple-A after struggling with the Blue Jays, was batting .500 after three games with the Las Vegas 51s.

Long before each of those games, Lind walked to the batting cage for extra hitting. Those cages are down the side of the parking lot at Cashman Field, several hundred feet from the 51s clubhouse.

Lind used to stroll along air-conditioned hallways to reach the cages inside the Rogers Centre. In Vegas, that walk is outdoors in 40 Celsius heat over blistering pavement.

“Yeah, it’s over 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) out there, and then they come back for regular batting practice before the games,” 51s manager Marty Brown said of Lind’s daily routine with hitting coach Chad Mottola.

Lind appears to be coping with the conditions. Brown says the 2009 Silver Slugger winner as the American League’s top DH has “come down with a good attitude” and worked well with the highly regarded Mottola.

“Adam and Chad have a history together,” Brown says of the former minor-league teammates. 

“From what I see, it’s more about slowing down for Adam and getting him to slow the game down. And that can be anything from an earlier load to regaining good balance.

“These are all things Adam has to become aware of, things he’s never had to do or think about much before because it’s been all natural ability for him. We have to get him back to where it’s natural again for him.”

Lind and the Jays hope the stint with Vegas will recharge what had been a promising career.

Lind was in a 1-for-17 slide and batting .186 for the season when he was demoted last weekend. Nothing worked â€" video analysis, extra sessions with Jays hitting coach Dwayne Murphy, self reproach, nothing.

It got so bad that Lind, 28, was reportedly placed on waivers. It seemed extreme since he’s only three years removed from a career year in 2009 (.305, 35 homers, 114 RBIs). He hit 26 homers last season and had an on-base plus slugging percentage north of .900 before the all-star break.

Complicating any thoughts of Lind moving elsewhere is a contract that calls for $5 million this season and next, with a $7-million club option for 2014 that comes with a $2-million buyout.

After all of that, Lind was a mess. He wasn’t helping the Jays, and the team had to move forward. Vegas was thought to be the only solution.

“My dream has always been to stay with one team my entire career,” Lind told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, concerning reports he was on waivers. “I hope this (demotion) is just temporary.”

It may be if he continues his early, torrid pace against Pacific Coast League pitching. But Toronto has other options:

 • Yan Gomes has been hitting while playing a variety of positions.

 • Hot-hitting Edwin Encarnacion has filled in admirably at first base and earned points with management for playing through back pain.

So, for now, it is strolls through the Vegas heat to the batting cages, just Lind and Mottola, and a slow but steady approach.

Brown, whose club won four consecutive games over the weekend, has Lind batting fifth. More important, though, Brown is creating a comfortable atmosphere for a proven major-league talent so the player can focus.

“Adam just fit in there (fifth) when I was making the lineup out,” said Brown, whose talented lineup also includes David Cooper, Moises Sierra, Travis D’Arnaud, Travis Snider (still rehabbing an injured right wrist), Anthony Gose, Adeiny Hechavarria, Ricardo Nanita and Mike McCoy.

“You want to see him get as many at-bats as possible. He’s a middle of the lineup hitter â€" there’s no surprise there.”

As much as Brown is opening the right doors for Lind, the player is making it easy for the coaching staff to read the situation.

Lind, Brown says, has come prepared to work and listen. While there’s no timetable for his return to Toronto, Lind has certainly come in with the right attitude.

“It always depends on the individual and the attitude they have when they come down,” Brown said.

“Adam came down to work, so it makes it a lot easier on everyone else. It’s early and it’s a long process, but when Adam came here he didn’t want to cause any problems. He’s getting his at-bats, he’s played first base a couple of times. … He wants to get to work and get back to where he’s feeling comfortable again.”

Toronto Star