Watched Daniel Bard pitch today at the CWS

[nebhusker]

I was at the College World Series championship today in Omaha NE and I had a chance to see Daniel Bard, 1 of our first round picks, pitch today. Here is his box score:

D Bard (L,1-1)

IP H R ER BB SO HR

7 2-3 6 3 1 1 2 0

 

Even though he was pinned with the loss he did not do bad at all considering he gave up 1 ER in 7 2/3. North Carolina had 4 errors in the game, ouch. For those of you who did not see the highlights, it was an amazing game. Bard was throwing some heat late in the game, I was impressed.

[DirtDog]

Not bad. A WHIP of 1.00 and an ERA in the just over 1.00

[Papelbon58]

his first pitch against their cleanup hitter in the 8th was 98 MPH

[rician blast]

Even though he was pinned with the loss he did not do bad at all

 

not bad at all?

 

I thought he was fantastic.

 

shoddy defense was the main issue but in the inning where OSU went up by one he also got screwed by the ump...belt high fast ball not even on the edge called a ball. one of the worst calls i have EVER seen.

 

This kid reminds me a bit of Hansen...tall, thin, with an electric arm.

[Mr Crunchy]

nice effort by the beavers by the way

if these 2 teams played 100xs i think carolina would beat them in 80 of them

osu was a dog in all 3games

[jsinger121]

Don't get me wrong I like the Bard pick. He throws extremly hard but getting only 2K's is surprising to me for someone who throws that hard and leads me to believe his secondary pitches are not that refined. The good thing is you can teach secondary pitches in the minors while you can't teach guys how to throw 95 plus.

[MANNYHOF24]

Don't get me wrong I like the Bard pick. He throws extremly hard but getting only 2K's is surprising to me for someone who throws that hard and leads me to believe his secondary pitches are not that refined. The good thing is you can teach secondary pitches in the minors while you can't teach guys how to throw 95 plus.

 

I dont know, but I really think the the ump did have something to do with that. They laid off his nasty breaking ball, which I thought looked like strikes but were called balls, that probally had a little to do with it. Also this may be 100 percent wrong, but aluminum bats are much lighter than the regular professional wooden bats, and its probally easier to a get a swing and a miss. However that might be total ********, just a thought.

[Beckett95]

Does Bard throw anything but his fastball? From watching the game last night all i saw was 95-97 MPH fastballs which the OSU players were starting to time. If he wants to be a starter at the next level, hes going to have to establish another pitch or 2.

[jsinger121]

Does Bard throw anything but his fastball? From watching the game last night all i saw was 95-97 MPH fastballs which the OSU players were starting to time. If he wants to be a starter at the next level, hes going to have to establish another pitch or 2.

 

He has a slider too but its not refined. He will learn secondary pitches in the minors where it can be taught. Velocity can't be taught.

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

He has a slider too but its not refined. He will learn secondary pitches in the minors where it can be taught. Velocity can't be taught.

 

It is a very good slider for anyone that has seen it. Its extremely inconsistant but there were times I saw him practically start a slider outside of a batter. The kid certainly has upside and good control with his fastball. Should be fun to watch him develop.

[rician blast]

Does Bard throw anything but his fastball? From watching the game last night all i saw was 95-97 MPH fastballs which the OSU players were starting to time. If he wants to be a starter at the next level, hes going to have to establish another pitch or 2.

 

(1) He just turned 21 on June 25th.

(2) Struck out 90 this year while walking 33 in 85 innings of work

(3) Baseball America's #4 prospect amongst college juniors

(4) Many projected him to go in the top 10 in the MLB draft

 

Let's give him a chance to get over the f*ck job his defense and the ump did on him before we talk about what he needs to do at the next level...krist, all these young guys have a lot to learn from pro coaches and assistants...I'm just glad the Sox selected a guy with such clear talent and POTENTIAL.

[DUSTINMOHR4LIFE]

Lets hope he misses bats in the minors because strikeout pitchers are more likely to make it to the Show then the finesse pitchers.

[rician blast]

Lets hope he misses bats in the minors because strikeout pitchers are more likely to make it to the Show then the finesse pitchers.

 

its all about command and developing movement. the arm is there.

 

there are no guarantees, we just sit back and watch. should be interesting to follow him.

[TheKilo]

Does Bard throw anything but his fastball? From watching the game last night all i saw was 95-97 MPH fastballs which the OSU players were starting to time. If he wants to be a starter at the next level, hes going to have to establish another pitch or 2.

 

 

There was a comment that he threw 42 straight fastballs to end the game.

[Papelbon58]

yeah, he threw 17 sliders in the game and the rest fastballs, and pretty much all of the hits he gave up were on the slider, lots of work to do

[Anuj09]

wasnt he a steal or somethin for the sox ?

[Cocos Disciples]

Apparently in that start, the last 40 something pitches were all fastballs.

[TheKilo]

Apparently in that start' date=' the last 40 something pitches were all fastballs.[/quote']

 

 

Wow. I said this same thing three posts up.

 

 

Just wow.

[Cocos Disciples]

Haha...whoops

[ksushi]

He is supposed to have a good breaking ball. I really don't care what his secondary pitches look like in college, the kid has the tools to become a legit starter. 97 mph fastball and a good breaker, fill in the blanks and he will be solid. What is the deal with the Sox signing him, when can we expect that?

[jsinger121]

He is supposed to have a good breaking ball. I really don't care what his secondary pitches look like in college, the kid has the tools to become a legit starter. 97 mph fastball and a good breaker, fill in the blanks and he will be solid. What is the deal with the Sox signing him, when can we expect that?

 

They will sign him.....No way he goes back to UNC when he has Massachusetts roots and grew up a Red Sox fan. Even if they sign him they might just shut him down for this year to let him rest.

[a700hitter]

They will sign him.....No way he goes back to UNC when he has Massachusetts roots and grew up a Red Sox fan. Even if they sign him they might just shut him down for this year to let him rest.

Has a team done that before--- shut down a college player for the remainder of the year to rest? I thought they normally go to an instructional league.

[jsinger121]

Has a team done that before--- shut down a college player for the remainder of the year to rest? I thought they normally go to an instructional league.

 

He gets shutdown for the rest of the minor league season and then go to the instructional league. There is no reason for Bard is even pitch this year after his workload all the way through the CWS.

[mar_022]

If he developed a solid changeup, and refines his slider he would be ridiculous. Sounds a little bit like Hansen... I think a changeup would be very helpful to bard, if he could get enough speed differential on it

[ksushi]

Guys, he is just out of college. It isn't like he has to come up to the big leagues and pitch next season or even the season after that. His secondary pitches don't concern me in the least. 2 seasons in the minor leagues and I am confident that a guy who can throw as hard as him, and who throws the kind of raw slider he has, will be a very good pitcher.

[Cityofchampions33]

What is his ETA along with the otehr draftees from this year?

[jsinger121]

What is his ETA along with the otehr draftees from this year?

 

Bard likely shutdown once he signs this year. Likely Greenville or Wilmington to start next year and depending on how quickly his secondary pitches develop could be in the big leagues by late 2008 early 2009. Bryce Cox is the other pitcher I can see shooting right through the system after he looked electric at the CWS.