Sky is the limit for reliever Accardo
11/02/2005
MESA, Ariz. -- You could call pitcher Jeremy Accardo an overachiever -- then again, maybe he's right on schedule.
One of his targets this year was to compete in the Arizona Fall League, a high-powered, elite circuit designed to showcase baseball talent and provide excellent offseason challenges.
These are national stars-to-be, not -- they hope -- merely supernovas who burn brightly for a few years then fade into the black hole of Minor League journeyman status or, curses, wind up selling baseball cards rather than being on them.
And Accardo's quest was secured, as the Giants' prospect is currently playing on the Mesa Solar Sox of the AFL, gaining experience, working on pitches and happy to be playing ball right in his own backyard, just a few miles from where he grew up.
Cheers. Here's to ya, kid.
Oh yeah. We almost forgot. The 23-year-old right-hander also had a stupefyingly super ride through the 2005 season, playing at four levels in the San Francisco organization: Class A San Jose, Double-A Norwich, the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies and, yes, the parent Giants.
With his whip-arm style and mid-90s fastball, Accardo virtually came out of nowhere to establish himself as a probable bullpen mainstay for San Francisco next season after compiling a 1-5 record and 3.94 ERA over 28 games for the Giants this year.
On the surface, not that great, but Accardo -- a non-drafted free agent in 2003 and a non-roster invitee in Spring Training this season -- logged a 2.76 ERA over 18 appearances in the second half, was unscored upon in seven of his final eight outings and overall pitched scoreless ball in 20 of 28 games.
"He's a confident kid," said Giants manager Felipe Alou. "He throws the ball well, is a fearless kid who'll benefit from being under fire."
Accardo was "scorched" a bit on consecutive days in Los Angeles when Jeff Kent slammed a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th, lifting the Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the Giants on Sept. 6, then issued the game-winning hit the following night.
But he bounced back to finish the season strong.
"I sat down with parents for dinner [after the season] and I was kind of in awe of the whole deal," said Accardo of his Giants' stint. "It happened so fast I never had time to soak it all in. I did get to savor it but the whole point is getting there and staying there, and that's my goal now. I got a lot of stuff to work on for next year."
Over his initial seven bullpen outings for the Solar Sox, Accardo was 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA spanning 10 1/3 innings, and while a bit fatigued after a long season his velocity is still strong and he's learning to utilize his changeup and slider in tough counts.
Despite rookie pitfalls in his big league debut campaign, Accardo feels the experience was invaluable.
"I had a couple of rough games, but I thought I had good outings and made good outs," he said. "I'm proud of myself for what I've done so far but I've got a lot of things to improve on.
"Every time I went out there it was great," said Accardo, who made his debut May 4 at Chase Field in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks with parents, relatives and friends watching -- and cheering on every pitch.
"[Catcher] Mike Matheny helped a ton, as did [pitching coach] Dave Righetti, LaTroy [Hawkins], Armando [Benitez]. There's a lot of stuff they told me I have to keep in my head. In LA, they told me [what happened] is not going to be the last time. They said you're here for a reason and you've got good stuff -- just forget it and come out tomorrow and kick butt."
For an official 88-day Major Leaguer, it sounds like the perfect goal for 2006.
Source: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/
MESA, Ariz. -- You could call pitcher Jeremy Accardo an overachiever -- then again, maybe he's right on schedule.
One of his targets this year was to compete in the Arizona Fall League, a high-powered, elite circuit designed to showcase baseball talent and provide excellent offseason challenges.
These are national stars-to-be, not -- they hope -- merely supernovas who burn brightly for a few years then fade into the black hole of Minor League journeyman status or, curses, wind up selling baseball cards rather than being on them.
And Accardo's quest was secured, as the Giants' prospect is currently playing on the Mesa Solar Sox of the AFL, gaining experience, working on pitches and happy to be playing ball right in his own backyard, just a few miles from where he grew up.
Cheers. Here's to ya, kid.
Oh yeah. We almost forgot. The 23-year-old right-hander also had a stupefyingly super ride through the 2005 season, playing at four levels in the San Francisco organization: Class A San Jose, Double-A Norwich, the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies and, yes, the parent Giants.
With his whip-arm style and mid-90s fastball, Accardo virtually came out of nowhere to establish himself as a probable bullpen mainstay for San Francisco next season after compiling a 1-5 record and 3.94 ERA over 28 games for the Giants this year.
On the surface, not that great, but Accardo -- a non-drafted free agent in 2003 and a non-roster invitee in Spring Training this season -- logged a 2.76 ERA over 18 appearances in the second half, was unscored upon in seven of his final eight outings and overall pitched scoreless ball in 20 of 28 games.
"He's a confident kid," said Giants manager Felipe Alou. "He throws the ball well, is a fearless kid who'll benefit from being under fire."
Accardo was "scorched" a bit on consecutive days in Los Angeles when Jeff Kent slammed a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th, lifting the Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the Giants on Sept. 6, then issued the game-winning hit the following night.
But he bounced back to finish the season strong.
"I sat down with parents for dinner [after the season] and I was kind of in awe of the whole deal," said Accardo of his Giants' stint. "It happened so fast I never had time to soak it all in. I did get to savor it but the whole point is getting there and staying there, and that's my goal now. I got a lot of stuff to work on for next year."
Over his initial seven bullpen outings for the Solar Sox, Accardo was 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA spanning 10 1/3 innings, and while a bit fatigued after a long season his velocity is still strong and he's learning to utilize his changeup and slider in tough counts.
Despite rookie pitfalls in his big league debut campaign, Accardo feels the experience was invaluable.
"I had a couple of rough games, but I thought I had good outings and made good outs," he said. "I'm proud of myself for what I've done so far but I've got a lot of things to improve on.
"Every time I went out there it was great," said Accardo, who made his debut May 4 at Chase Field in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks with parents, relatives and friends watching -- and cheering on every pitch.
"[Catcher] Mike Matheny helped a ton, as did [pitching coach] Dave Righetti, LaTroy [Hawkins], Armando [Benitez]. There's a lot of stuff they told me I have to keep in my head. In LA, they told me [what happened] is not going to be the last time. They said you're here for a reason and you've got good stuff -- just forget it and come out tomorrow and kick butt."
For an official 88-day Major Leaguer, it sounds like the perfect goal for 2006.
Source: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/
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