Gibson: Hard to pinpoint reason for Kubel’s late-season slide

Oct 5, 2012, 12:55 AM Updated: Oct 7, 2012, 5:43 pm

By statistical standards, left fielder Jason Kubel had a very productive first year in a Diamondbacks’ uniform.

The problem for the seven-year veteran, is that after the month of July most of that production was non-existent.

In June, Kubel had a torrid month with 11 home runs and 22 RBI. He followed that up by batting .279 to go along with seven home runs and a league-leading 27 RBI in July. He even led the National League in RBI as late as July 24, and was batting right around .300 heading into August.

Over the final two months of 2012, Kubel had just 27 hits, eight home runs and 18 RBI.

Because the reserved, first-year D-back was not one to make excuses as his numbers went in to sharp decline, manager Kirk Gibson took his best stab at explaining Kubel’s late-season woes during Thursday’s season wrap-up session with the media.

“You can speculate that it could have been a number of things, a different league, maybe he got worn down a little bit because he played more outfield than he’s use to,” said manager Kirk Gibson. “Part of it is, I think he started pressing. Everyone tries not to do. It’s not exclusive to Jason.

“He has a very high stand for himself. I was watching some of his clips from the highlight video [during the season finale vs. Rockies], and his swing is just very different right now.”

Kubel, who was acquired in the offseason from the Minnesota Twins, did lead the team in the home runs and RBI. Thought to be a defensive liability in the outfield, Kubel was also a pleasant surprise with his glove. In 124 starts, he led the National League with 14 outfield assists.

But all of that got lost in the shuffle, as the offensive-minded Kubel ended 2012 with a .250 batting average and a team-high 151 strikeouts.

“He goes through a month like he did in June and then there is an expectation that it’s supposed to happen the rest of the year and that you’re supposed hit 50 home runs,” said Gibson. “It’s just human nature. If you were to ask Jason, he might not have an answer. And, if he did, he might not tell you.”

Kubel has one season remaining on his two-year, $15 million dollar deal with the D-backs.