Black prepared to dig “a little deeper” into Bard’s struggles
Daniel Bard’s splits are so dramatic they might warrant an Oscar nomination.
And after a couple unsavory homers allowed in the Rockies’ most recent series against the Cubs, manager Bud Black said it was time to address his August struggles.
Black said he and Bard met Friday, two days after he conceded a (wind-aided) three-run homer in relief against the Cubs. On Monday, he served up a walk-off, tworun homer at Wrigley Field.
“You look at every closer, every late-inning reliever, there are at times a slump — I don’t want to say peaks and valleys because you don’t want that out of your closer, but this is a little bit of a downturn for him,” Black said prior to Friday’s game against the Dodgers. “I think we really gotta get a handle on the splits between the lefthanded batters and the righthanded batters. I think a little bit of that is pitch selection and his pitches and how to attack the hitters. That’s gonna be addressed a little bit more thoroughly.”
Against righties, Bard’s kept hitters to a paltry .221 batting average, allowing only one homer in 95 at bats. But that number is .345
against left-handed hitters, including seven homers in 110 at bats.
“We talked today about a few things,” Black said. “… It’s not uncommon for pitchers to go into slumps just like hitters. We’ve talked about Daniel’s outings each and every night based on the type
of games that he pitches in, the very high-leverage games. Save opportunities … close games. Those are tough innings.”
In dissecting the issues, Black said it boils down to command. His slider, in particular, has hurt him recently as has the placement of some of his pitches.
“Now I think it’s maybe time to dig in a little deeper and get some of his thoughts, combined with our thoughts of teaching,” Black said.
The good part, according to Black, is how receptive Bard is to feedback. He called it “refreshing” to work with a player as open and communicative as Bard has been. The concern stems from his nine appearances in August, a period that has seen Bard post a 9.39 ERA and an opponent batting average of .371.
“There’s a wide-variety of angles to discuss with Daniel,” Black said.
Story on the mend. The Rockies held shortstop Trevor Story out for Friday’s series opener against the Dodgers, apparently, for precautionary reasons.
He injured his left leg running the bases late in Wednesday’s win over Chicago and was getting treatment Friday night. Following Thursday’s off day, the Rockies saw no harm in giving him an extra day’s rest. There is hope, Black said, that he could be in the starting lineup Saturday.