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Lugo's comments

For those of you who were interested in the Julio Lugo story that never made the internet last Sunday, I'm here to provide you with the quotes from Lugo. The shortstop has been mostly silent recently as his slump has grown to 0-for-31, and he has sat out the last two nights in favor of Alex Cora. I talked to Lugo last Friday in San Diego. So here they are...

How are you feeling?

"Just going through a slump. Everybody goes through it, you know. Nothing I can do. I just, right now I just, I've not been lucky that's all."

What have you been trying to do to get out of it?

"Well the only thing I can do is work, which I'm doing. I've been hitting the ball, just haven't been lucky. And there's nothing I can do about that. I've got nine people trying to catch the ball out there. Right now I'm just hitting those people. Nothing I can do. I'm doing whatever I can, trying to contribute in other areas of the game. If my hitting's not working out, what can I do?

Does it bother you?

"You try not to let it. I try to take one game at a time, one at bat at a time. That's how I'm taking it right now. I've been in a situations before, difficult situations before, and I've come out. You try not to let it drain you. You know you go out there one game at a time, one at bat at a time."

Have you ever had a slump like this?

"Not for this long. Really, not for this long. But in the minor leagues I went through a couple of things and last year I started slow, then I picked up. I've always been a slow starter. I know I'm going to come out of this."

How hard is it to start your Red Sox career in this way?

"It's hard because you're trying to come here and make a good impression. Some people don't know you. I feel bad myself because I want the people from Boston to enjoy what I can do. It feels horrible, not to be able to enjoy that, because I know I can bring a lot of excitement to the game, excitement to the team. It's just not working out right now."

Does it help to play more?

"Yeah, I like to grind it out. Play every day. Because one day I know I'm going to be like, 'Hey, I've got it now.'"

Would you rather not get a day off?

"You know what, it is amazing because when I was in Atlanta, felt real good. Then that day off kind of threw me off. It's happened a few times, you know, I feel good and then I get a day off and the next day I feel off again. You've got to play every day. I feel good. I feel good mentally and physically. That's not an excuse. I've got no excuses.

Would you tell Francona not to give you a day off?

"I think [Francona's] just doing the best for me and for the team. If he feels sometimes I should get a day off, he's been there longer than me and I'll take it."

Have you been talking to director of performance enhancement Don Kalkstein?

"I've been talking to everybody. Sometimes that's the problem, when too many people -- and this team there's a lot of people that care about you -- and everybody's calling you and everybody's filling it in and taking opinions. So many people telling you stuff, in your mind you're like, 'Hey, what's going on? Which are you going with?'

"There's a lot of guys here, always trying to help and stuff. Man, it just -- I've been unlucky. In Atlanta I could have gone 5-for-5. Instead of going 5-for-5 I went 0-for-5. I get a hit and the guy [Jason Varitek] gets thrown out on third base, there's nothing else I can do."

J.D. Drew mentioned when he was in his slump he was thinking too much. Has that happened to you?

"It happens. I think that's when you really need to relax more than ever. You think too much, that's one of the biggest problems. You go home and you can't sleep."

How much has that been happening to you?

"Yeah, then you come to the stadium and then your tired."

For how long?

"Two months."