Pitcher gets late call to team

June 28, 2004

By Kristy Shonka, Augusta Chronicle

All roads appeared to be leading the GreenJackets' ace to Charleston, S.C., for the all-star game at 7:35 tonight.

Then came a phone call from his fiance.

"She was looking at (the roster), and she was like, 'You're not on the list,'" Gardner recalled.

The right-hander started laughing. His fiance must have been joking.

Only she wasn't.

Gardner was shocked, and he wasn't alone.

"My first (reaction) was in awe, I mean just mind-boggled," Augusta manager Chad Epperson said.

Shortstop Zach Borowiak couldn't believe it either.

"That was ridiculous," Borowiak said. "My jaw dropped."

Right fielder Brandon Moss was the only GreenJacket on the original roster, and he fully expected to have his teammate with him.

"Ah man, I was pretty mad," Moss said. "He deserved it over me because he was leading the league in ERA and at the top in the wins. There's no way he shouldn't have been on the all-star team to begin with."

With the direct route no longer an option, Gardner needed help to join Moss for the all-star festivities.

The Los Angeles Dodgers ultimately provided the Boston Red Sox farmhand with the necessary detour. The Dodgers promoted Jose Diaz off the Columbus Catfish, which freed up a roster spot for the Southern Division.

The SAL announced Gardner would join Moss on the all-star team. It's a good thing, too. Without him, Moss might not have made it to the game.

"I'm not going to be wondering where I should be at all times, because he'll take care of that," Moss said. "He'll be more of my dad than my teammate while we're there."

Gardner had mixed emotions last week about the belated honor.

"It's kind of like the dubious honor," he said. "I guess I was the alternate or the replacement player in case one of the other guys got hurt or got sent up to Double-A or something. If he hadn't done that, I wouldn't have been on the roster, so I don't know."

Gardner led the SAL with a 1.66 ERA and was second with wins (8-2) at the midpoint of the season. His numbers were better than Charleston's Brian Bulger (6-2, 3.42 ERA), who was one of three RiverDogs pitchers selected by their manager Steve Livesey.

Epperson understood Livesey's desire to choose his own players, but said "you can't leave the No. 1 guy on the board, you just can't."

"This kid deserves it more than any other pitcher in the league," he added.

Epperson and others within the organization are high on Gardner because of his approach on the mound.

"He has no fear," said Ben Cherington, Boston's director of player development.

"You've got to have that to play this game," Epperson said.

Cherington added Gardner is a rarity among young pitchers because he's not afraid of contact. And it's a good thing, because Gardner is in no way a power pitcher. Gardner guesses, only half-joking, that the Red Sox have 100 players in their system that throw harder than him. But if that's true, try finding 30 who can command four pitches and throw them for strikes on any count.

That's what makes Gardner effective.

"He throws strikes," catcher Jon de Vries said. "You don't know what pitch he's going to throw on any count. He just throws strikes and that's going to be effective for anybody."

The 2003 19th-round pick had 46 strikeouts and just six walks in 70q innings in the first half of the season.

Gardner's 85-mph fastball might not blow anyone away, but his 75-mph changeup has made more than a few SAL hitters look silly. Throw in his curveball and slider and you've got one confused batter.

"You'll look for a fastball, he'll throw you a changeup," Moss said. "And then finally, two at-bats later you're looking for a changeup because that's all you've been getting and he throws a fastball by you. He's definitely one of these pitchers that will frustrate you and is hard to hit."

South Atlantic League oppostion has discovered that the hard way. Opposing hitters are batting just .227 off Gardner. Epperson has seen opponents leave the batter's box cursing themselves for popping up or grounding out. Of the 287 batters Gardner had faced through Saturday, 226 have made contact. Only 63 recorded hits.

Borowiak can't recall ever facing Gardner. Don't expect him to sign up too soon, either. Augusta's top pitcher even baffles Moss.

"I don't know how I would go up there wanting to hit him," Moss said. "I'd definitely be conscious of him because he'll get you out. He has his ways. I can just see myself 0-for-3 with three groundouts off of him."

That's saying something considering Moss and his .348 average are eking closer and closer to a return to the best in the league.

Moss and Borowiak are safe for now, but the same can't be said for the Northern Division all-stars or the GreenJackets' second-half opponents. Gardner's approach is all about keeping the batters guessing at what pitch he's going to throw next. That won't change if he gets to pitch tonight.

"I'll go out there and prove to them I was supposed to be out there," Gardner said.

Gardner trying to keep ball down

Red Sox farmhand hopes to regain 2004 form

05/27/2005
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Jarrett Gardner doesn't have the cache of a Jon Papelbon or Jon Lester.

He doesn't have Anibal Sanchez's rising fastball. He doesn't have Abe Alvarez's changeup or Manny Delcarmen's curveball.

Mostly, he doesn't have a place among those considered to be Boston's top pitching prospects, as does each of the aforementioned hurlers. Yet, it was Gardner who topped all Red Sox farmhands last season with 14 wins. So, while Boston's coveted quintet continues to garner accolades up and down the East Coast, Gardner continues along his rather anonymous path at Class A Wilmington.

Only for much of this season, he has been unable to match the success he had last year -- not only in terms of wins, but also by way of the 2.62 ERA and one walk every 11.75 innings he posted. Gardner is 0-2 with a 6.57 ERA through nine games, including six starts. Though he has walked only six batters in 37 innings, it puts him on pace for issuing nearly twice as many bases on balls as he did in 2004.

The opposition also was hitting .340 against Gardner going into his start on Wednesday against Frederick, yet there wasn't a hint of defeat coming off this 24-year-old right-hander from Norman, Okla. Rather, he and Blue Rocks pitching coach Ace Adams are attacking the perceived problem head-on, working to correct what has become an inability to keep the ball down in the zone.

"I'm basically facing the same hitters I did last year in the Sally (South Atlantic) League," said Gardner, who set a Wilmington team mark on April 23 at Frederick when he allowed five home runs. "They struggled last year against me and they made some adjustments this year. I don't have overpowering stuff and I can't afford to make mistakes. So when they see it and hit it, they hit it good. And right now, I'm trying to locate the ball down in the zone better.

"I've had a little more success (recently) and I'm taking baby steps back. We're close to correcting the problem. I wouldn't say we've corrected it yet, but we're easing back in. Pitchers go through slumps and psychologically it's frustrating. I know I can get guys out, it's just not happening. How you get through periods like this shows how good of a pitcher you are. With the help of the pitching coach and some good conditioning, we'll hopefully get through it pretty soon."

Soon turned out to be his outing Wednesday morning. Gardner pitched five shutout innings, allowing only two hits while walking one and striking out three against the Keys, lowering his ERA by nearly a run. He worked quickly and effectively, though he got a no-decision, through a steady drizzle as the temperature barely rose above 50 degrees. He pitched out of a two-out, two-men-on jam in the second inning, the only time he faced any real trouble, finally figuring out how to keep the ball down in the zone the way he did a year ago.

Hopefully, Gardner will be able to use the game as a jumping off point. He's a former 19th-round pick (564th overall in 2003) and he's already had a great deal to overcome. He understands his place in the organizational food chain and, for now, despite his numbers last year, he's on one of the bottom rungs looking up at the likes of Papelbon and Co.

Gardner has a constant reminder on his own team in Sanchez, who was chosen by the Red Sox to pitch in Monday's Hall of Fame game against the Tigers, as to who will get top billing.

But if he perceives the lack of attention he garners as a slight, he doesn't let on. He's a talkative, thoughtful guy, the grandson of a Choctaw Nation chief, who's almost self-deprecating when comes to talking about his situation.

"Last year, I kind of came out of nowhere," said Gardner, a part Comanche whose grandfather, Clark David Gardner, was chief of the Choctaw nation in the mid-1970s. "And I'm not a high-round pick. My stuff isn't Major League-caliber. I don't have a Major League curveball or changeup. I have to will it to happen and work harder than those other pitchers. I'm a 19th-round pick. I have to go out and prove myself at every level. The other pitchers work hard, too. But I have to exceed expectations at every level."

At this point, Gardner said he has no preference as to where he pitches, be it as a starter, long man or middle reliever. He says he just wants to fill whatever void the Red Sox have, adding that because his velocity is starting to creep into the high 80s -- it's usually in the mid 80s -- he's close to showing folks "in the (Carolina) League what I can do."

Perhaps then he'll be able to take his place among those considered Boston's best prospects.

Page Created: 6-30-04

Page Last Updated: 5-28-05