Major growth in Bard

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The trade deadline is stressful for every youngster on a contending team. They could be shipped out for veteran help at a moment's notice. Just ask Justin Masterson. But when July 31 arrived last week, Daniel Bard could relax. With the exception of a longshot deal for Felix Hernandez, the odds of him going anywhere were extremely remote. Even with players like Roy Halladay and Adrian Gonzalez the potential prizes, the Red Sox were reluctant to deal Bard - the Mariners' 23-year-old ace being the notable exception - and the last month has shown us why. Since June 25, when a bad outing against the Nationals prompted a slight mechanical adjustment on his slider that has reaped enormous dividends, Bard has been nearly unhittable. In his last 12 outings covering 14 innings, Bard has allowed just four hits and two unearned runs. He has a Ryan-esque 23 strikeouts and a Schilling-esque zero walks in that span, during which opponents have hit just .089 with a .198 OPS against him. ``We're seeing a young man right in front of our eyes mature,'' manager Terry Francona said after Bard's most recent outing Saturday. ``I don't care how old you are. What he's done these last six weeks has been pretty special and fun to watch.'' Bard has climbed the depth chart in what already is the game's deepest bullpen. When the Sox needed to close out Saturday's 4-0 victory in the ninth, they turned to Bard, who struck out two in a 1-2-3 inning. ``He's definitely evolved,'' said Josh Beckett, who started and won that game. ``That would be a good word. From a guy who kind of threw whatever, now he's learned to pitch at this level. It's pretty fun to watch.'' For his part, Bard knows he's on a roll and he's enjoying it. ``Definitely Baseball's a game where you get into grooves and I've got two pitches working very consistently for me,'' Bard said. ``I'm throwing those with confidence. I think the biggest thing is getting myself into good counts, a lot of 0-2, 1-2 counts. It comes from trying to pitch to contact early. You get strike one, strike two, guys foul a pitch off, and it makes it a lot easier to pitch.'' So what has changed from the Bard who had a 3.63 ERA and nearly as many walks (10) as strikeouts (16) before this run began? His slider. When Bard arrived in the majors in May, Francona made the point that he needed something off-speed to keep hitters from sitting on his explosive 99 mph fastball. Bard arrived with a sloppy slurve that occasionally got the job done, but tended to stay up in the zone, particularly with two strikes, where it served little purpose. Then Bard made a simple change and the results have been remarkable. ``I slightly changed my grip and also changed my target,'' Bard said. ``If I'm throwing it for a strikeout pitch, I used to look at the catcher's mitt. What I needed to be looking at was a lower target, where I wanted the ball to go.'' When Bard looked at the mitt, that's where the pitch tended to finish. Now he aims lower in the zone, with the effect being a sharply breaking pitch that hitters geared for high heat have almost no hope of touching. ``When I was trying to throw to the mitt, those were the breaking balls I was leaving up,'' Bard said. ``Especially with two strikes, it was really just a waste pitch. Whereas if the ball finishes down, even if they don't swing at it and it's a ball, it still serves a purpose. `OK, he's got that down in the zone. I have to respect that.' It makes the next fastball look harder or you can come back with another breaking ball. It still serves a purpose.'' Bard's purpose has become evident. He's on his way to becoming the principal bridge to closer Jonathan Papelbon, which is why the Red Sox deemed him virtually untouchable. Bard is pitching like a guy who knows he belongs. ``I just think with time and consistent results, it's given them some more confidence in me,'' Bard said. ``I started off well for three or four weeks, everyone feeling it out. `Is it a fluke that he's doing this?' Then I had a couple of rough outings, one in Washington, one in Philly. ``I think it took a couple of weeks to get the confidence back for me and the coaching staff. At this point, ride a hot streak when you can. It doesn't happen all the time. I'm just blessed to be in this position and enjoy it.'' - jtomase@bostonherald.com BOX: THE K'S THE THING: Red Sox right-hander Daniel Bard is striking out batters at a historic rate for a rookie reliever. Through 27 games, Bard is racking up 11.2 Ks per nine innings pitched, with that number jumping to 14.78 over his last 12 appearances. Only eight rookies in history with at least 25 relief appearances have done better. Here's where Bard ranks. Player Team Year K/9 IP K ERA 1. Pat Neshek Twins 2006 12.89 37 53 2.19 2. Jose Valverde D'backs 2003 12.70 50.1 71 2.15 3. Ron Villone Two teams 1995 12.60 45 63 5.80 4. Takashi Saito Dodgers 2006 12.29 78.1 107 2.07 5. Kiko Calero Cardinals 2003 11.97 38.1 51 2.82 6. Cliff Bartosh Indians 2004 11.64 19.1 25 4.66 7. Bobby Jenks White Sox 2005 11.44 39.1 50 2.75 8. Troy Percival Angels 1995 11.43 74 94 1.95 9. Daniel Bard RED SOX 2009 11.20 31.1 39 2.01 10. Kaz Sasaki Mariners 2000 11.20 62.2 78 3.16 Source: baseballreference.com