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The Orioles slugger is enduring a nightmare season. Although his power numbers have improved slightly since a recently mandated layoff, Davis is batting .156 with seven homers, 24 RBIs and 99 strikeouts at the midpoint of the season.

Not exactly what the Orioles were expecting when they signed the left-handed hitting first baseman to a guaranteed seven-year, $161 million contract in January 2016.

At the time of the deal, Davis averaged 42 home runs and 109 RBIs over the previous three seasons and was coming off a year in which he hit .262 with 47 homers and 117 RBIs.

Since then, his production has dipped annually. His 2017 numbers – .215, 26 and 61 – were downright prolific compared to this year.

Thus, the jeers from the home fans, who have grown weary of watching the struggles of the highest-paid player on the worst team in the big leagues.

”I understand their frustration,” Davis said. ”I know exactly what I’m capable of and what I’ve done in the past. I know that the standard is high and I haven’t been playing that well. But I have to move forward and continue to try to find a way to still have an impact on this season.”

It’s probably too late for his bat to make a difference. His most significant influence on the team, unfortunately, is that his sizable contract makes it that much more difficult for Baltimore to pay big bucks to several of its pending free agents, most notably Manny Machado.

The Orioles and Davis appear destined to be together through the 2022 season Authentic Travis Wood Jersey , so both sides must make the best of it. That’s why Davis was given an eight-game hiatus in June to get his swing down and his head right. Up to that point, he had tried just about everything else.

”For me, it was exhausting,” Davis said. ”My solution to a lot of my problems in baseball has always been to work. I felt as long as I was working, as long as I was trying, that I would figure it out. This is the first time in my career when I was kind of at a point where I didn’t know what else to do.”

So he went to the sideline, working with hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh and vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson, a left-handed batter who hit 50 homers for the Orioles in 1996.

Upon his return, on June 26 in Atlanta, Davis homered and drove in two runs. Over the past 10 games, he’s hitting .158 with two doubles, two homers, nine RBIs and 13 strikeouts.

”His run production is a lot better Brian Urlacher Jersey Youth , his at-bats have been better,” manager Buck Showalter insisted. ”They may say comparatively speaking, but if Chris continues at this rate, if you put it over 160 games it’s pretty good.”

Davis has tried just about everything else in an effort to get back into the groove, with the breakaway from the game coming as a last resort.

”I appreciate them giving me the chance to step back, gather myself and regroup,” he said.

Showalter and the organization can only hope for positive, lasting results.

”Chris has been a good friend of mine,” the manager said. ”He’s got a lot of support from the coaches and his teammates.”

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When Jon Halapio joined the New York Giants‘ practice squad in 2016, Brett Jones was one of the first guys to welcome him.

Jones had joined the Giants the previous year as a center in trying to make the jump from the CFL to the NFL, and he appreciated when some new teammates made him feel welcome.

Why not do the same for Halapio? The two 27-year-old offensive linemen became real good friends and helped each other become better players.

Halapio, a guard at Florida, taught Jones some trade secrets at the spot and Jones taught his buddy how to snap and play center.

A little less than two years later http://www.titansauthorizedshops.com/authentic-harold-landry-jersey , Jones is fighting to keep the starting center job he manned the final 12 games of last season. And it’s Halapio, who is the main competition.

Not only is he the competition, Halapio has been getting most of the first-team snaps in the lineup being put on the field by new coach Pat Shurmur.

Jones isn’t worried. It’s early in training camp and nothing is set. He also has no regrets about teaching the guy who might take his job.

”It’s always been like that in my life,” Jones said Monday. ”If anybody ever gave me an opportunity I wanted to repay it to them. So that was my thing. Jon was on the practice squad and I was the backup center and if Jon was going to play I wanted to help him out and do what I could. That’s what a good teammate does.”

Learning to snap was part of the mentoring.

”He had asked me and I sort of gave him the basic training for it,” said Jones, who was the CFL’s most outstanding lineman in 2014 and missed his first season in the NFL the following year because of a training camp injury. ”After practice we would stay and practice snapping. It sort of went from there.”

Halapio took the long road to the NFL. He was drafted in the sixth round by New England in 2014. He was on the Broncos’ practice squad that season and went to the Cardinals and Patriots training camps in 2015 and ’16, respectively, getting cut each time.

The Giants signed him to the practice squad for most of 2016. He was cut in training camp the following season and re-signed to the practice squad. Injuries got him on the active roster in October and he played in 10 games with six starts at guard.

The move to center came this year.

”Everything was new so I had to learn a lot, not only the schemes, but the different techniques and calls,” Halapio said. ”I had to learn a lot.”

The biggest differences are blocking from a balanced stance, having to make line calls and read coverages and sometimes making the shotgun snaps.

”The more you do it, the better you get Buccaneers Jordan Whitehead Jersey ,” Halapio said. ”In the offseason I snapped a bunch, and even now I keep snapping after practice so it’s second nature.”

Halapio admits fighting Jones for a job felt odd at first.

”It’s just pure competition now,” Halapio said. ”Like coach says all the time, don’t read into who’s taking the first-team reps. Everyone is being evaluated. As far as me and Brett goes, we’re friends. We help each other out in the film room, on the field, outside of football. Nothing is awkward between us. Yeah, it’s just pure competition between us and everybody in the room.”

The Giants have revamped their offensive line after last year’s disastrous 3-13 season. Guard Justin Pugh and center Weston Richburg signed elsewhere as free agents. Guard John Jerry is now a backup fighting for a roster spot.

Patriots free agent Nate Solder was signed to take over at left tackle and 2015 first-rounder Ereck Flowers was moved to right tackle. Second-round draft pick Will Hernandez is the left guard and free agent Patrick Omameh is the right guard.

The center spot is uncertain.

A former center, Shurmur says he is watching the position closely. He wants his centers to be good communicators.

Halapio might be a little stronger than Jones, who probably understands the job better and had 30 NFL games under his belt at guard and center.

It should be an interesting decision for Shurmur.

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