Uh-oh. The Athletics' Josh Donaldson is batting .186 (8 for 43) over his last 12 games. Guess this is the beginning of the end, right?
Well, it is his longest cold stretch of the season, but not by as much as you'd think.
In June, he had a 10-game stretch in which he hit .146 (6 for 41). In late April and early May, he had an eight-game stretch in which he hit .179 (5 for 28). At the very beginning of the season, before anyone knew what they had in Donaldson, he hit .120 (3 for 25) in seven games.
In other words, it seems scary because it's happening right now and because you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with him, but to me, Donaldson's little cold spell is much ado about nothing. His .299 batting average and 24 homers in 545 at-bats since his return from the minor leagues last August counts for so much more.