"Hudson stirs from dark place" is an odd headline, no matter how you look at it. It makes me visualize Andy Sirkis in a baggy and tattered Blue Jays uniform. But the rather sympathetic article by Richard Griffin in today's Star is just fine, examining the crisis of confidence that (for the moment) appears to be a leading cause of Orlando Hudson's struggles this spring.

The young second baseman seems to have psyched himself out despite (or in fact, because of) his excellent spring training. Ricciardi thinks Hudson's problem is that he's over-intensifying on the field, taking things too much to heart. Go figure. There are a lot of things that are easier and more enjoyable to do if you're not thinking furiously about every aspect of them while you're taking part, and I suppose baseball is one of them. Six hits in his last two games offer hope that Orlando may be snapping out of it at the plate, but I suspect his defence will be erratic all season.