“It’s just disappointing to me seeing Eric Byrnes, the face of this squad, the way the fans performed tonight against him by booing him and everything. That’s the kind of stuff that’s disappointing…Through the course of the year, you’re going to fall into slumps — I don’t care how good you are, you’re going to fall into slumps — and the way they did him [Tuesday] was very disappointing.”

– Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson.

Thank you, Orlando. And, thank you, fans at Chase who showed up with signs to encourage Byrnesie.

I know it has been rough watching Byrnesie struggle. He’s lost 99 points off his batting average and over 100 off his OPS. And this is May, statistically his biggest month. It’s really hard to see him get 0 hits on a night when the Diamondbacks as a team got 15 hits, and even Randy Johnson, who will never be confused with Micah Owings, got one.

It is frustrating to watch him have two chances with the bases loaded and not draw a walk or hit a single. It was no fun at all watching him pop-up with Justin Upton on third and no outs. It’s gotten downright depressing.

Everybody gets into slumps. Manny Ramirez lost about 70 points off his batting average recently. It wasn’t that long ago when Orlando Hudson himself had a bad first half of the season. And Stephen Drew was a disappointment at the plate last year.

At .214, as of this writing, Eric Byrnes finds himself in some august company: Carlos Delgado, and Frank Thomas .222; Paul; Konerko .215, Carlos Pena .212; Kahlil Green .208; Robinson Cano and Adam Dunn .207; Richie Sexson .202; Gary Sheffield .196; Bill Hall .195; Austin Kearns .192; Adam La Roche .191; Ryan Howard .185; Andruw Jones 182 and Jason Giambi .181.

I don’t know why this stuff happens to him. We know he’s been hurting, but the recent diving catch and stolen base suggest that the legs are less of a problem lately. It seems to be more of a head problem. He’s not walking. He’s swinging at balls. He’s trying to pull everything. He’s been doing that his whole career and, among other things, has a 9-95 in 2003 to show for it.

I know what it’s not, though. It’s not any of the M’s: his money, his marriage, his mustache, his media work or his music. He’s not slacking off his preparation one bit. The Diamondbacks are among the first three teams in the majors to get a computer and camera rig to set up at batting practice and he has been using it. He’s working with the coaches, even his college coach has weighed in. He’s taking extra batting practice. In fact, if anything, he may be working a little too hard, which is why Bob Melvin gave him yesterday off. I remember when he struggled in Baltimore, and Buck Martinez, who was a color analyst for the O’s at the time, said Eric looked like he was trying to squeeze sawdust out of the bat and that wasn’t the way to do it.

So I am going to ask you boo-birds to shut up. There is plenty of room for criticism. Goodness knows I do it. This year’s addition of a strand tally box to the blog is one example. But considering the hours and years I have put into trying to figure out ways for Byrnesie to get better (and letting him know what I’ve found) I can get away with a dig about stranding runners at third.

But you folks at Chase, go to the ballpark ready to cheer him on or, if you can’t stomach that idea right now, at least be silent. Because I bet you boo-birds are thinking stuff like “he signed for the big bucks and now doesn’t care” or “he spends too much time being a TV star and doesn’t work.” And you’re dead wrong if you’re thinking that way.

Just as Orlando Hudson said, Eric Byrnes is the face of the team. He and Hudson brought to the Diamondbacks an energy that broadcaster Todd Walsh noted had not been there before. That energy brought you a playoff berth last year. That energy sets the tone for the youngsters who play hard everyday this year. You were probably rooting for him a month ago, when he was in the middle of a 14-game hitting streak, hurt legs and all.

Root for him now, when it’s not so easy, but will help the most. And as Daron Sutton says, “Don’t forget the signs. We need more signs at the ballpark.”

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