AP Sports Writer

Sammy Sosa wants to make one thing clear: He's not in a slump.

The Chicago Cubs slugger is hitting .295, but he's 13-for-52 over the last 13 games. He's struck out 22 times during that stretch, and has hit just one home run.

But Sosa doesn't understand why everyone's making a big deal out of it.

"I don't make the season in 15 days," he said Tuesday before the Cubs played the Milwaukee Brewers. "I'm hitting over .290-something. You call that a slump? I think a slump is when you're hitting .190.

"If you guys want to put it like that, I've got to go play the game in another world."

Part of what makes Sosa's struggles so glaring is the timing. This rough stretch dates to April 20 _ the day he was beaned by a fastball from Salomon Torres.

Though the impact was so severe it ripped a large hole in front of his left ear flap, Sosa said he didn't have any lingering side effects. After a Cubs off day, he was back in the lineup.

"Nothing's been changed. I'm the same guy," he said. "If I was a weak guy, I would be out for two weeks. I came back the next day."

His worst stretch has been the last three games, when he went 1-for-13 with seven strikeouts.

"I don't believe in that word slump, either," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "I just think it's an unfortunate period of time. … One thing's for certain, Sammy's going to hit. You can count on that. He's scuffling a little bit right now, but it's not all him. And we're still in first place."

Sosa said part of the problem is the strike zone. Umpires are calling strikes on some pitches that are clearly outside, he said. When he was called out on strikes with runners at the corners and two outs in the eighth inning Monday night _ his third whiff of the game _ he had words with plate umpire Wally Bell.

"I don't want to create another hurricane outside. I want to make myself clear," Sosa said. "I don't want to point any fingers at anybody. I'll just say that the strike zone this year is a little bit wide open."