MiLB shows Gardner starting for Sarasota tonight

[dougdirt]

Ward now has 6 strikeouts tonight.

[CTA513]

Dragons are up 2-0 after a 2 out Reininger double.

[CTA513]

Ward is pitching good tonight.

5 Innings, 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BB, 8 K

[CTA513]

Dragons are winning 3-2 after 6 innings.

Wards final line: 5.2 Innings, 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, 9 K
Ward left 2 runners on base and Hendley came in and gave up 2 straight hits scoring both runners.

[Superdude]

Ward! I think people are giving up on him way too early. The guy hasn't pitched since college, so that is a definite possibility of why he didn't start well. Calling for a move to the pen right now because of limited pitch selection seems a little crazy considering he was supposed to have a dirty slider.

[medford]

b.j. szymanski was not in the lineup in either of the 2 games today, so maybe he got promoted. does anyone know?

According to the announcers, BJ was at Princeton defending his senior thesis and should be back w/ the Dragons tonight. They said his senior thesis was like 85 pages long. That's probably typical, but man is that impressive. Hopeful his defense/interview went well, I wonder what his subject was.

Not your typical minor league stuff.

[Buckeye33]

Louisville W 4-2

Bergolla 3-4
Denorfia 1-3
C. Ross 1-2 2 BBs

Chattanooga W 5-4

Dickerson 2-4
Votto 1-4 HR (6) RBI (19)

Sarasota L 7-6

Roberts 2-4 2 SB (18)
Gardner 3 IP 1 H 1 R 3 K 4 BBs

Dayton W 5-0

Bruce 2-3 3B HR (9) 3 RBIs (30)
Cueto 7 IP 1 H o R 7 K 0 BB

Dayton W 4-3

Ward 5.2 IP 2 H 2 R 9 K 1 BB
Hendley 1.1 IP 3 H 1 R 0 ER 1 K 0 BB 0.59 ERA

[lollipopcurve]

Good to see Gardner back on the hill relatively soon after surgery. Long way to go, but at least he's out there (unlike Pauly).

[KittyDuran]

According to the announcers, BJ was at Princeton defending his senior thesis and should be back w/ the Dragons tonight. They said his senior thesis was like 85 pages long. That's probably typical, but man is that impressive. Hopeful his defense/interview went well, I wonder what his subject was.

Not your typical minor league stuff.

Per the DDN:

• Outfielder B.J. Szymanski leaves the team for a day this morning to deliver an oral report on his final thesis at Princeton University.

"It's an hour-long test that is more of a formality so they know I wrote the thesis," Szymanski said.

The thesis: "A look at talent development in sports, a psychology literature review; further emphasis on psychological talent development in Latin American baseball players."

[rdiersin]

The thesis: "A look at talent development in sports, a psychology literature review; further emphasis on psychological talent development in Latin American baseball players."

Eh, I would rather read Pauly's thesis.

[traderumor]

According to the announcers, BJ was at Princeton defending his senior thesis and should be back w/ the Dragons tonight. They said his senior thesis was like 85 pages long. That's probably typical, but man is that impressive. Hopeful his defense/interview went well, I wonder what his subject was.

Not your typical minor league stuff.

This is pure conjecture, but perhaps BJ's current hot streak coincided with relief from finishing up school work? Maybe he had other concerns that was affecting his game early in the year.

[OnBaseMachine]

I forgot to comment on this a few nights ago, so I'll just do it now.

I'm not ready to give up on Zach Ward as a starting pitcher just yet. He showed on Thursday night that he can be a good pitcher. While he may ulitimately end up being a setup men in the back of the bullpen due to his throwing motion, I would keep him a starter and see if he can stick. At 6'4" and 235 pounds, and a sinking fastball that can touch 95 and a hard slider that peaks at 86, Ward has the stuff and size to be a pretty darn good pitcher. He has a chance to develop into a No. 2 or 3 starter(IMO) if he can continue to develop that changeup.

If the changeup doesn't work out, well there's always a need for a power arm out of the bullpen.

[OnBaseMachine]

MINOR MATTERS

Right-hander Richie Gardner went three innings, allowing one run on one hit in his return to competition Thursday at Single-A Sarasota. Gardner was the 2004 winner of the Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award as the minor-league player of the year.

It will be interesting to see if he can do what many other top Reds prospects haven't been able to do - return to what he was before shoulder surgery. Ty Howington couldn't. Bobby Basham, Josh Hall and Chris Gruler are still trying to (although Basham's doing it in the San Diego organization).

"We're taking it slow with him," Reds director of player development Johnny Almaraz said. "We want to see him get back to the Richie of old."

Gardner combined to go 13-5 with a 2.53 ERA at Sarasota and Double-A Chattanooga in 2004.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...10363/1071/SPT

[WebScorpion]

Pelland is another guy that needs to move to the pen. The Reds have a whole flock of them: Fisher,Avery,Chick,Pelland and Ward. All of them are fastball guys with no real secondary pitch, or at least one that is effective.

Matter of fact, the only pitchers in the Reds entire system who have the makeup to be starters are Bailey,Wood,Cueto,Lecure and Stevens(well, Gonzo to if he ever decided to show back up lol)

That they say friends, is a thin crop of possible future starters. Might as well build up the pen.

Isn't that what pitchers do in the Minor Leagues? Develop additional pitches? Without a bunch of polished, 4 or 5-pitch, dominant starters filling up our minor league rosters, I guess we can afford to have some young kids with stuff (or even without) develop some second and third pitches while in our minor league rotations. Who knows, maybe our pitching coaches can actually help them do it too.

[flyer85]

Isn't that what pitchers do in the Minor Leagues?

or prove that they can't and become relievers.

Actually most of the Reds minor league starters tend to profile as relievers. Of course the Reds need both because of such a shortage of quality arms in general.