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BP Annual Player Comments

Year		Comment
2012		In his twenties, Josh Bard hit a useful .275/.341/.415, but since turning 30, he's down at .217/.282/.332. A communications major in college, he might want to consider breaking out the audition tapes for a radio career.
2011		In cooking, a bard is a piece of unpalatable meat that takes some heat to preserve the choicer cuts before being discarded. The baseball Bard serves the same function. The Mariners acquired the veteran backstop to complement the more tender pickings that composed the rest of their catching corps, but they would have been better off had they tossed him on the compost pile before he came to the plate. The switch-hitter continued to pile up outs from both sides of the dish, and sports a combined .285 on-base percentage (OBP) since 2007, albeit in mostly unfavorable offensive environments. He missed time with a calf strain and a sore neck, but handled the position when healthy, thwarting a third of attempted steals and greeting balls in the dirt with a Gandalf-esque “You shall not pass.” An improved defensive showing won’t prevent Bard from playing for his fourth team in as many years, but on the bright side, at this rate he’ll retire before he runs out of organizations.
2010		Jesus Flores' latest breakdown left Bard punching in as the Nats' primary backstop for much of the season. Underwhelmed by his impotent bat and non-descript glove work, they issued him his walking papers at season’s end, but Bard’s ability to at least masquerade as a switch-hitting catcher was attractive to the Mariners, who lacked veteran gravitas in their catching options. The days when Bard was considered likely to produce a beneficial on-base percentage are long gone, however, and the little value he’ll provide involves giving Don Wakamatsu a different flavor of "Eh" in making out the tail end of his daily lineup.
2009		Bard's offensive explosion in '06 seems now more than ever like one of those flukes that takes hold of a reserve catcher now and then, though only cold-hearted Petco Park prevented him from putting together a similar encore in 2007, when he hit .330/.386/.456 on the road. Last year, though, it wasn't the park, it was everything; Bard suffered multiple injuries and never did get his offense on track, and since he's not very good at controlling the running game, not much remained. The Padres waived him in October, and the Red Sox, who had dealt away a solid reliever in Cla Meredith just to be rid of Bard in the bundle two years ago, signed him to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract in January—his role to be determined pending the team's acquisition of a more qualified starter.
2008		The power Bard showed in 2006 was a fluke. Everything else is a skill, making him a very valuable property-a switch-hitting catcher with real on-base skills. That he started 33 games in the middle of the order last year is a reflection of the Padres' problems assembling a lineup, not an endorsement of his bat. That he allowed 121 stolen bases in 108 games (7.6 percent caught stealing) is not an endorsement of his arm, but there's some evidence that Pads pitchers share the blame, especially Chris Young, on whom basestealers went a perfect 44-0 in their attempts last year. Bard threw out 33.6 percent of thieves in his career prior joining the Padres.
2007		After Bard took to being knuckleballer Tim Wakefield`s personal catcher like a duck takes to being repeatedly poked with a fork, the Red Sox panicked and flipped him to San Diego for his predecessor, Doug Mirabelli. They never could have anticipated he`d hit like he did in San Diego, just as there`s no reason for the Padres to expect him to do it again. Still, Bard`s a true switch-hitter, solid against both righties and lefties, and PECOTA expects him to maintain his new-found plate discipline, so he`ll still be one of the better players at his position. Although properly considered the better-throwing alternative to Mike Piazza on last year`s Pads, Bard didn`t surpass him by much. Throwing out only 18 percent of opposing baserunners isn`t very special, but, in Bard`s defense, he`s done better before; perhaps Pads pitchers need to work on holding runners as much as their catchers need to work on throwing.
2006		Appropriately enough, nobody is claiming to be the author of this Bard`s work. A backup catcher straight out of central casting, Bard has a better defensive rep than Victor Martinez, but hasn`t shown any ability to hit from either side of the plate. His value in a trade as a plausible starting catcher for somebody else has just about been used up.
2005		Muscled out of the way by an emergent Victor Martinez, Bard spent the year in Buffalo as a replacement-level catcher. With a sunny personality, strong defensive reputation, and .310 major league OBP, Bard could be a backup forever.
2004		Suddenly no longer the big part of the Jacob Cruz deal of '99, but still a bit of an organizational favorite for his hustle and his catching skills. Bard still struggles to hit breaking stuff, and will probably never hit well enough to stick as a regular, not unless you're using the Matheny Scale. He will make a fine part-time player, sharing the job with Victor Martinez until Martinez hits well enough to claim an even larger share of the at-bats.
2003		I don’t know about you, but I’m going to name my first kid “Josh” and teach him to be a backup catcher like Josh Paul and Josh Bard. Key drills will include smiling and “aw, shucks” interviews, playing baseball like it was meant to be played, calling a good game, being white, and hiring a good agent. I’ll be retiring to Phoenix in about twenty years. So long, suckers! Josh Bard’s game-winning heroics during his call-up may lead the Indians to do something really stupid, like trade Victor Martinez or otherwise hold up Victor’s development. In the short term, though, Bard will be the Indians’ starting catcher next year unless he’s awful in spring training, while Martinez starts throwing out baserunners.
2002		Part of the booty acquired from the Rockies for Jacob Cruz, Bard is primarily noted as a defensive catcher with a good arm. He has hit for a reasonable average and has shown some doubles power while maintaining decent strikeout-to-walk ratios. Unlike most of the prospects we highlight, Bard isn't a high-upside guy. As a switch-hitter who can throw, though, he's going to make the majors, and he is going to be around for a while.

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