Dunlap: Jordy Mercer Still Confident He's An Everyday Guy
Jordy Mercer sipped hot tea on Tuesday at about 3:45 p.m. as he stood at the base of his locker in the Pirates' clubhouse.
He appeared the perfect picture of relaxed.
"Great stuff," he said to me as he nodded down to his cup. "You should try more of it, not so much of that coffee you drink."
Maybe he is right.
But that's neither here nor there.
He was sipping tea.
He was relaxed.
He seemed tranquil and at peace.
Probably because of this: He was starting on Tuesday night at shortstop. And that hasn't always been the case this season, one in which when the Pirates came north from Bradenton, it was pretty much an afterthought Mercer would be the starter in the middle of the diamond for quite a while.
But the arrival of Jung ho Kang --- and Mercer's sub-.200 batting average --- has forced a seismic shift with Kang getting a majority of the recent starts and manager Clint Hurdle going so far as to bench Mercer an entire weekend series.
He is, however, inching his way back and still carrying that confidence. Tuesday provided his third consecutive start and a chance to punch his fourth hit in the past three games.
On Tuesday night --- because of an amalgamation of Mercer's recent hot streak with the bat and right fielder Gregory Polanco struggling to find consistency --- Hurdle patchworked the lineup wherein Mercer found his way out to short; Kang was at third base and Josh Harrison, because of his prodigious versatility and in Polanco's place, was thrust into an outfield role.
So has this on-again, off-again role changed Mercer at all?
"Nothing has changed, to be honest," Mercer said. "I feel like I'm an everyday player. I get that some guys are swinging it well and rightfully so they should play. If you're swinging it well, you got the hot bat, and we're trying to win games here … on the other side, I know what I can do and I know I can be an everyday guy. I know I can help this team win."
But it has all mounted to some degree, as his .193 batting average and sporadic use has forced the onslaught of the same questions each day as he faces the media. To that end, it is mainly some form of the questions, 'How are you handling this slow start?' and 'Will Kang wrestle away the shortstop job for good?'
Unflappable, Mercer handles them all.
"I don't think you get tired of being asked the same question," Mercer said. "I think you get tired of giving the same answer. Because the same answer is the truth. It is a long season … and I don't plan on struggling. It's just kind of how the game is and once I figure things out, get back on track, I tend to take off. And I'm in a good place right now."
A place where he surveys the scenery and clubhouse here in Pittsburgh and attempts to make the most of his opportunities nowadays --- but he also keeps a broad reach, at 28, that his career could end up taking a firmer foothold somewhere else.
"People have always told you, when you come up through the minor leagues that when you play, you're not playing for just one team, you are playing for all the teams," Mercer said. "Because you don't know where you are going to end up. You don't know how your career is going to end. You always come ready to play. You always prepare. You always have fun. Play your game and know there are a lot of eyes watching you not only in this organization, but in all organizations around the league."
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
