Bard torching batters in Triple-A

Prior to spring training, Daniel Bard had yet to throw a pitch in anger for the Boston Red Sox.
Even though he only has two years in Boston’s farm system, he may have a mindset that should endear him to Red Sox fans.
Bard, a right-hander who turns 24 on June 25, was drafted out of Charlotte (N.C.) Christian High School by the New York Yankees. Instead of signing, he opted to pitch for the University of North Carolina.
The obvious question is “Why?”
“I think the correct answer would be because I didn’t want to play for the Yankees and always wanted to be a Red Sox,” Bard said with a chuckle. “But the real answer was I was a 20th-round pick and it wasn’t realistic. I probably could have handled it but I think I needed college to mature as a person and as a player.
“I don’t have a single regret as far as going to college is concerned. I’m glad I did it regardless of if it delayed my baseball career. I’m happy to be where I am.”
Bard, who was converted from a starter to a reliever prior to the 2008 season, experienced a year — when compared with 2007 — that was baseball’s equivalent of the distance between the Earth and the moon.
Boston’s first-round pick in the 2006 draft, Bard split 2007 between high-A Lancaster and low-A Greenville.
His 2007 season was a disaster.
Bard was 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA, replete with 22 walks and only nine strikeouts, in five starts with Lancaster.
Eventually he was demoted to Greenville where his results were hardly any better.
In 17 starts, Bard was 3-5 with a 6.42 ERA and 56 walks as compared with only 38 strikeouts.
“My first full year with the Red Sox was pretty terrible,” admitted Bard. “I had mechanical issues … whatever.”
Fortunately for Bard, he was sent to the winter league in Hawaii where he worked with Portland Sea Dogs pitching coach Mike Cather. Among other things, he spent a copious amount of time looking at video from the 2006 instructional league.
“I hadn’t seen myself throw in six or seven months and, finally, I saw some video of myself in Hawaii,” said Bard who in three seasons at North Carolina was 23-12 with a 3.86 ERA and 235 strikeouts in 270 1/3 innings. “I looked at it and said ‘That’s not me.’ I’ve seen myself throw my whole life and that’s not what it’s supposed to look like.
“I was throwing with my natural, lower-arm slot … low three-quarters. Over the course of that ‘07 season, my arm slot crept up and I was throwing straight over the top and my shoulders were tilting. A lot of stuff was off-balance and out of kilter.
“We decided we needed to make a few changes,” continued Bard, “and go back to what’s comfortable.”
The Red Sox also decided to convert Bard from a starter to a reliever, a role he never had filled in high school, college or the minors.
“They told me early in a meeting in (2008) spring training that they had decided to make me a reliever,” said Bard. “It was a little surprising because I thought I was going into that year as a starter. But I was totally ‘up’ for it. I said to myself, ‘If that’s what the organization wants, I’m going to be the best reliever I can be.’
“If my path to the big leagues is as a reliever, I’m going to make it work. At that point, I took a different approach toward my career. I stopped trying to allow things to happen and started forcing the issue. If you look at guys who make it, that’s what they do.
“They look at it as if it’s not a goal to get to the big leagues,” continued Bard. “It’s a mission that they’re going to accomplish. That’s how I tried to look at it (last year).”
So far, so good.
Bard split 2008 between Greenville and Portland and finished with a combined record of 5-1 with a 1.51 ERA in 46 relief appearances encompassing 77 2/3 innings. He also recorded 107 strikeouts and reduced his walk total to 30.
He also topped out at 100 on the Sea Dogs’ radar gun – on more than one occasion.
As if to prove that wasn’t a fluke, Bard lit up Boston’s radar gun when he topped out again at 100 in an exhibition game against Puerto Rico prior to the World Baseball Classic.
“I love the role I was in toward the end of last year,” said Bard. “I love the pressure and the adrenaline rush that comes with closing games. I think I’ve learned to thrive on it — whether it’s closing or (pitching in the) seventh or eighth inning. In the big leagues, the seventh or eighth inning is a high-pressure situation.
“It’s definitely a different style of pitching. You have to know how to control your emotions or at least use your emotions for yourself. You can turn an adrenaline rush into a good thing as a pitcher.”
Just ask International League batter Bard has faced in his first 11 relief appearances encompassing 16 innings. Bard’s 1-0 with six saves and a miniscule 1.13 ERA.
He’s allowed six hits, walked five and struck out 29.
“He’s doing a nice job of commanding himself and his composure is good,” said PawSox manager Ron Johnson. “He misses the zone and he gets back in the zone.
“There’s some room for error when you throw that hard. There aren’t a lot of guys who can stand in there, see the ball and hit the ball when it’s at 98 miles an hour.”
Bard’s arsenal consists of a four-seam fastball which is clocked consistently in the mid-90s, a two-seam fastball, a circle change-up and a slider.
If Bard masters the slider, he could become everything Boston hopes for and then some.
“I made some big strides with it toward the end of last year as far as throwing it more consistently for strikes,” said Bard. “It was a sharper pitch. I got more swings and misses with it later in the year.
“I was able to throw it when I was behind in the count … 1-0 or 2-0. You definitely need to be able to do that to pitch at this level (i.e. Triple-A) and the big league level. It’s something I can do at times but I need to be able to do it all of the time.”
Bard’s delivery is a major reason why his pitches – especially his fastball – explode when they reach the plate.
“He’s very fluid in his delivery,” said PawSox pitching coach Rich Sauveur. “When he isn’t fluid and he’s a little bit jerky, the velocity’s not there. It’s still good velocity for a normal person. But when he’s fluid, his velocity is outstanding because it all ties into his mechanics.
“We’ve seen 99 so far but, consistently, he’s 94, 95, 96. There’s a big difference between 95 and 93 when you get up to that level of speed.”
Indeed.