Stumped by their slumps

For a while, the Red Sox were experiencing it from David Ortiz, a $12.5 million player, and Julio Lugo, a $9 million player. The Brewers have gotten little from shortstop J.J. Hardy and third baseman Bill Hall.

The Tigers have suffered through an abysmal year by Magglio Ordonez, who should have been the focal point of the lineup after they released Gary Sheffield and ate $14 million in spring training. Ordonez, in fact, has been benched in what could become an ugly situation. His 2010 option for $18 million vests with 540 plate appearances or 135 starts this season or a combined 1,080 plate appearances between 2008 and 2009.

The Diamondbacks, ever the frugal organization, are getting a poor season from their highest-paid player, Eric Byrnes ($11 million). The Indians, wow, are beside themselves with former shortstop/reluctant third baseman Jhonny Peralta, and alarmed with Grady Sizemore’s falloff and the rate at which Kelly Shoppach is striking out.

The Angels are dealing with Vladimir Guerrerro’s power outage. Ditto on Bobby Abreu, while Howie Kendrick was so bad he’s back in the minors.

Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre has turned mediocre. The Padres are at a loss to explain Brian Giles, who is hitting under .200 with no power. Russell Martin has no home runs for the Dodgers. Garrett Atkins has raised his average to .205 with 5 homers and 20 RBIs with the Rockies. Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins, a former National League MVP, is hitting .223, even after a recent hot streak. Oakland’s Matt Holliday has picked things up but isn’t nearly the feared hitter he was in Colorado.

Theories abound. Everything from players de-juicing to pitchers, through enhanced video and coaching, knowing how to pitch to hitters’ weaknesses, to age catching up with once-prominent hitters, to plain old down seasons for no apparent reason.

“I know that at some point everyone begins to decline,’’ said A’s general manager Billy Beane. “I’m not sure if that’s the case with some of those guys or a few of those guys, but I’m sure that’s a factor even with some of the great hitters.’’

Bill Lajoie, now a special adviser for the Pirates, thinks it’s a multitude of factors, including age. But he doesn’t think it’s the pitching.

“With the exception of a few cases, the pitching in major league baseball is not better, so you would think hitters would have a field day,’’ said Lajoie. “But that’s not the case at all.’’

“They’re not teaching the kids anymore,’’ said independent hitting coach Mike Easler. “You’ve got to know how to straighten your hitters out. I remember one time I was out to lunch with John Valentin and all of a sudden I threw a fork at him and he caught it. I said, ‘What did you just do?’ He said, ‘I reacted and I caught it.’ I said, ‘That’s what you do with hitting. See it and hit it.’ Some of these guys have so many things running through their heads.’’

Here’s what a few scouts had to say about some struggling hitters:

Peralta: “He’s always had a long swing and slower bat. It also looks to me he’s not liking third base, which could be affecting his attitude.’’

Sizemore: “You could always get him out busting him inside with a fastball. I think a lot of teams are now busting him inside with fastballs.’’

Ordonez: “You could never get him out on an inside fastball. He was the best hitter in the league for a long time. It may be that he’s just slowing down, that his bat speed isn’t what it was. Slow.’’ Another said, “Sometimes when a player spends a lot of time in the minors with all those bus rides and long nights, it eventually catches up to them.’’

Kendrick: “You could always get him fishing for a breaking pitch away. It reached the point where you just don’t throw him fastballs.’’

Martin: “This one is a mystery. He’s basically hit three home runs in what equates to a full season.’’

Owners are growing wary of unproductive workers, having spent millions on guys who aren’t hitting their weight.

“In most professions, you can fire them if they’re not producing,’’ said a National League owner. “In our profession, we just keep opening our wallets. In some cases, we’re getting 10 cents on the dollar.’’

Ex-closer OK with his setup

Are you flattered at all that there are teams (Texas, for one) trying to obtain you to be a closer?

TS: “I don’t know what kind of roles are being talked about for me out there, but more importantly I’m pitching for the Red Sox and I want to continue pitching for the Red Sox, and I know there might be tougher situations that might come up as the season goes on and I’d like to contribute to this team. It’s not something I can control, so I really can’t comment on it.’’

A lot of closers have trouble in non-save situations. How difficult is it to be in those situations?

TS: “I knew from the moment I signed with this team that I was not going to be the closer, and we also didn’t decide at that point whether I was going to be the so-called setup man. So all of those things were in the air, so whatever my role was going to be in the bullpen, I would try my best to hang on to that. So now that the season is under way, I feel I’m doing my part in the bullpen, but it’s not for me to say whether it’s good or bad. All I can do is give it my best every time out.’’

As for the elbow, are you throwing as well as you did before you got hurt?

TS: “Right now, it’s problem-free. It’s actually in a very good spot. I’m not a young guy, so it’s not like I’m going to improve by learning new pitches or gain more velocity. The only way I can get better is working with the pitches that I have to improve them and the little things you can’t see, like more movement on the fastball.’’

Are you surprised your former team, the Dodgers, is doing so well?

TS: “I’m not surprised at all. The guys contributing to that team were guys in the minors last year and younger guys who were just coming into their own. You’ve got [Jonathan] Broxton and [Cory] Wade and a lot of good young talent. I think the Dodgers planned really well. We may very well face them in the World Series, so I don’t want to say too much, but I wish them the best.’’

Good-will tour helps put things in perspective

There isn’t much Sheehan, a naval intelligence officer formerly of Arlington, hasn’t seen in his military career, but as a member of the “Red, White and Blue’’ baseball tour, even Sheehan’s eyes were opened by the work he did with impoverished children on a recent swing through the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Chile, and Panama.

“It was interesting, especially seeing the academies the baseball teams had started in the Dominican,’’ he said. “We toured the San Diego Padres camp in the Dominican and it was absolutely beautiful. They give the kids three square meals a day, and teach them a technical skill, because not all of them are going to go on and play professional baseball.

“But just giving clinics in some of the countries was fascinating. You had kids who didn’t even have gloves fielding ground balls and kids showing up to the fields barefoot. It was such an eye-opener.’’

While US-Nicaragua relations have been tense because of Nicaragua’s ties to Venezuela and Iran, Sheehan was pleased to see how well the Nicaraguan military protected the team. The last leg of the tour was postponed because of the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico.

“One of the things that opens your eyes is that, growing up playing traditional baseball, you’re used to a $250 aluminum bat and the nice glove and uniforms,’’ said Sheehan. “You come to these countries and you see how little these kids have, but how much they love the game and are willing to do anything to play. The enthusiasm these kids had was really amazing.

“We were well-funded so we were able to give them things like T-shirts and baseball caps, and it really made their eyes light up.’’

And the other thing the tour did, in Sheehan’s eyes, was to help “humanize’’ the perception of the United States. The world could see American military personnel helping kids, spreading good will, and playing baseball.

Etc.

2. Bronson Arroyo, RHP, Reds: One of the hot rumors among the scouting community is that the Reds are dangling one of their veteran pitchers in an effort to get younger and reduce payroll. Arroyo, whose name has come up in the past, is earning $9.5 million this season as part of a two-year, $25 million deal. He will earn $11 million next season and has a $2 million buyout on an $11 million option in 2011. With starting pitching hard to find, the Reds could get a decent return.

3. Pedro Martínez, RHP, free agent: Martínez has drawn interest from the Cubs and Rays, and Foxsports.com also reported that the Yankees and Angels have been watching workouts. The fascinating possibility is that he could return as a closer. Would his arm be resilient enough? If he’s throwing 94 miles per hour, as our sources tell us, and given his ability to pitch and his competitive fire, he could be an interesting option for any of those teams out of the pen.

4. Wade Davis, RHP, Durham Bulls: The Rays’ Triple A stud could find his way to the majors and go the David Price route, out of the bullpen. The Rays have filled in well with Dan Wheeler and J.P. Howell in a bullpen that’s been very impressive during the team’s recent run. It won’t hurt to have another strong arm.

5. Eric Gagne, RHP, Quebec Capitales: He isn’t fooling himself that he’ll make it back to the majors as a starting pitcher, which is his role with the Can-Am League team. Gagne feels by stretching himself out, he’ll be stronger when it comes time to focus on relief again. “I’m taking it slowly,’’ said Gagne, who has a 30 percent tear in his rotator cuff and labrum. “I’m not going to rush anything. When I’m feeling 100 percent, when I feel I can be ready to help a major league team, then I’ll see if anyone’s interested. Right now, I’m just trying to feel 100 percent. I feel I can still pitch. This situation is very comfortable hanging out with old friends and in my country.’’

6. Bobby Valentine, manager, Chiba Lotte Marines: Lots of speculation about Valentine returning to the big leagues. Washington could be a possibility, but don’t count out the Mets, his former club. If Jerry Manuel fails to guide the Mets into the playoffs and ownership holds him responsible, even with the bevy of injuries, Valentine could have an in.

7. Gerry Hunsicker, senior vice president, Rays: He has talked informally to Stan Kasten in Washington, but major league sources indicate he doesn’t appear interested in leaving the Rays for the unsettled nature of the general manager’s job in Washington. Marlins executive Dan Jennings and White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn have also been mentioned.

8. Billy Beane, GM, A’s: He doesn’t sound like a man ready to sell off players. “We’ve made a lot of trades the last few years, but right now we have a young pitching staff that we’re so excited about,’’ said Beane. “They’re all doing fantastic and we feel it’s only fair to have good support around them.’’

9. Eric Wedge, manager, Indians: The former Sox catcher hasn’t been shy about publicly criticizing some of his underachieving players, especially Jhonny Peralta. “He needs to get his head on straight,’’ Wedge said. “He can’t keep trying to jerk the ball out of the park every time up. He’s no baby. He’s been up here four or five years. He’s going to have to figure it out.’’

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com; material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.