Gary Sheffield and Shawn Green have a few things in common. Not only are they former Dodger teammates who happen to be playing each other in Atlanta this week, but they are also solid hitters off to slow starts.

I always believe good hitters will eventually hit. But when you look at their statistics, Sheffield is hitting .227 and Green .250.

When I Slumped ...

When I was in a slump, I worked backward. Instead of taking extra batting practice, I would do what would normally get my mechanics back in line -- hit off the batting tee. Most players have something to fall back on to correct their mechanics. But when things went bad, I immediately went to the tee and hit off it every day. Then I went from the tee to soft toss to early hitting, and tried to carry it over into the game. My mechanical flaw usually involved my back foot. If I pushed off my back foot as I was going toward the ball, my body would go too far forward. When that happened, I ended up playing pepper with the second baseman. You could put an automatic "4-3" in the scorebook. When I was hitting well, instead of pushing with the back foot, I would just pick up my front foot and set it down. Then my weight didn't go forward until my hands started to go. Otherwise, if I pushed, my hands never really got a chance to go forward because my body was already moving in that direction.. -- Tony Gwynn

While I never panicked if I struggled over the first month, I can't emphasize enough how important it is for players to start a season on a high note. Nobody puts as much pressure on major-league players as they do to themselves. When a player slumps early, as Sheffield and Green have, they almost have to battle for three solid months to get back to where they should be. A good start is easier to maintain and lessens the pressure.

Sheffield and Green are at the point where they must get things going in the right direction. In Sheffield's defense, he missed 10 games in April with a sprained left wrist. But at the same time, he suffered through an 0-for-29 slump. And until Tuesday, when he homered off the Dodgers' Eric Gagne, he hadn't hit a home run since the first week of the season.

What impresses me the most about Sheffield is his bat speed. He has unbelievably strong hands. Look at how much tape he has on the knob of his bat; that will tell you how strong his hands are.

While his balance, knowledge and swing are solid, Sheffield has an unorthodox style. Coaches will tell young hitters to never wrap the barrel around their heads, but Sheffield does it all the time and still generates great bat speed. Plus, he is a smarter and more patient hitter than he was earlier in his career, when he would let it rip and try to do too much. Now, he picks his spots and can hit the ball out to all fields.

Sheffield had been hitting behind Chipper Jones in the cleanup spot until Monday, when Braves manager Bobby Cox flip-flopped the two, putting Sheffield third and Jones fourth. So far the plan has worked; Sheffield is 5-for-15 in the last three games with a home run. Hitting in front of Jones, who is having a typically strong season, Sheffield knows he will get good pitches to hit.

Last season Green either had Sheffield hitting in front of him or behind him. This season Green, who bats cleanup, has Brian Jordan hitting in the fifth spot. While Jordan is a solid major-league player, he is not Sheffield.

Lineup protection is not overrated for some players. For Barry Bonds, it doesn't matter who is hitting behind him in the order. For other players, however, it impacts what kinds of pitches they will see.

Not having Sheffield in the lineup is, I believe, a big adjustment for Green. With Sheffield, Green could afford to be more aggressive because he was assured of getting good pitches to hit. He no longer has the same luxury, and it creates doubt about what pitches he will see.

I played against Green for only two years in the National League. When he joined the Dodgers from Toronto, he seemed intent on making things happen. He signed a big contract and tried to immediately fulfill everyone's expectations.

Last year he settled in, became more patient and allowed his ability and his pretty left-handed stroke to take over, belting a team-record 49 home runs. This year, however, he appears to be less patient. While he is starting to emerge, hitting .333 over the last five games, Green is striking out more frequently.

Slumps are different for every hitter. For some, it's mechanical, while for others, it's mental. Major-league hitters tend to think more than hitters at every other level. Sometimes, their thinking gets in the way. When things go wrong, they try to make too much happen.

I can't speculate what may be wrong with Sheffield or Green, and they probably wouldn't want to talk about it. But they are better hitters than they have shown. As the year progresses, I expect Sheffield and Green to do plenty of damage and come close to matching, if not equal, the numbers they have produced in the past.

Tony Gwynn, who will take over as the head baseball coach at San Diego State next year, is working as an analyst for ESPN.