The mystery of Luke Scott

Wondering what's wrong with Luke Scott? So's Luke Scott. In fact, no offense, but he's probably a little more worried about this slump he's in than you are.

If you read Jeff Zrebiec's Orioles notebook in today's Baltimore Sun, you get a real sense of how frustrated Scott is and the desperate measures major league ballplayers go to claw their way out of slumps.

As Zrebiec points out, Scott, who's been a streaky hitter throughout his big-league career, is batting just .187 (14-for-25) with three homers and eight RBIs.

Equally disturbing is the fact he's batting just .203 since the All-Star break last year.

Yes, he led the team in homers last season with 25. But it's clear his production dropped off dramatically during the last two months of the season, with the slump continuing through this April.

It's not for lack of effort that Scott isn't producing.

At Camden Yards last weekend, as the Orioles were in the process of sweeping three games from the Red Sox with little help from their struggling DH, you could look at Scott's hands and see a mass of ugly calluses from all the extra hitting he's been doing in the cage and batting practice.

I've seen him watching video of his swing at all hours. I've seen him talking to hitting coach Terry Crowley before and after games, looking for answers.

The guy's trying everything he can to break out of this thing. And it's not working.

So now the question is: how long do the Orioles stick with him? Scott himself seems to sense the team's patience with him is running out.

When he's hot, Scott can go on a home run tear that practically carries the Orioles' offense. He's easily got the most pop in his bat of anyone else on the team -- his titanic clouts in batting practice often leave his teammates shaking their heads in awe.

But on a struggling team that lost 4-1 last night to start a three-game series with the Yankees, Scott may not have the luxury of time to dig himself out of this slump.

He wasn't in the lineup last night against the Yankees. But that was no upset, since their left-handed ace, CC Sabbathia, was on the mound -- not exactly the guy you want to face when you're clueless at the plate.

But if he keeps going as he is, Scott will be losing at-bats no matter who's pitching for the other team.

And that can only hurt the Orioles, who failed to sign a big slugger in the offseason, and now need every home-run bat they can cram in their batting order.