With Allen Craig in a slump, Mike Matheny gives him day off

With Allen Craig in a terrible slump, St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny gave him a complete day off from baseball.
Apr 18, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Allen Craig (21) bats in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. The Nationals defeated the Cardinals 3-1. Image Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
It’s important for the Cardinals that Allen Craig starts to hit the ball. With a contract extension that keeps the first baseman/right fielder locked for a few more seasons, Craig needs to show the team that he is worth that extension.

While Matheny would prefer to have Craig take a complete day off from worrying about the game, it wasn’t like that for Craig. Rick Hummel reports:

"Craig stared at a personal computer for more than an hour hoping to find the flaws that had dropped his average back to .202 after he and nearly everyone thought he had emerged from a season-long swoon. Or maybe he was looking for a key from games past that would kick-start him again."

Craig wanted to use the team to “see what I’m doing right and see what I’m doing wrong.”

It’s important for the Cardinals to get Craig going at the plate. It looked that way on April 30 against the Milwaukee Brewers when Craig had four hits, including a home run and two doubles. Since that game, Craig had only two hits in the next five games that he played in. Craig is due to get going, sooner rather than later.