"Say this about Chone Figgins - he knew how to fit in with his new teammates.

On the heels of an active winter (including the signing of Figgins) that raised expectations, the Seattle Mariners have gotten off to a slow start with an offense that has been particularly feeble. Figgins has been a big part of that.

The Angels' former leadoff man has started his Seattle career with a .185 average through Sunday. He had just five hits in 33 at-bats during the Mariners' disastrous homestand (1-8). Figgins is among the league leaders again with 24 walks (including at least one in 20 of the past 22 games) - but he has also struck out 30 times. The switch-hitter is batting .324 right-handed but only .113 from the more frequent left side.

"Too many fly balls," Figgins said of his slump. "That's all it is. I'm hitting the ball in the air too much. More times than not, I put together a good at-bat. But when I get a pitch to hit, I'm just popping it up."

Figgins has traditionally been a slow starter -- he is a career .263 hitter before June 1, .300 after. He dismisses the idea that his slow start in Seattle has anything to do with feeling pressure to live up to the four-year, $36 million contract he signed (with an option for a fifth year) and the off-season hype about the havoc he and Ichiro Suzuki would create at the top of the Mariner's order.

There has been no havoc to be seen in Seattle where the Mariners' offense ranks last in the American League in nearly every statistical category.

"Naw, I'm just not getting on top of it," Figgins said. "It's not that I'm trying to do anything different. It's not like I'm trying to hit triples or trying to drive the ball out of the park. I'm just not getting on top of the ball when I get a pitch to hit. I'll figure it out.""