Haerther close to breaking out

Springfield outfielder showing flashes of what he's capable of at the plate. 

 Kary Booher
News-Leader

When the ball left his bat, Cody Haerther thought he had a winner. As in game-winner.

A runner on, the bottom of the ninth. It would have been a storybook ending, only it wasn't. The ball died, and then disappeared into the mitt of Arkansas left fielder Jason Aspito.

"Unbelievable," Haerther said. "I hit that ball ... 10 out 10 times in batting practice it goes out."

The near-miss surely has been long forgotten by the masses by now, having played out last Tuesday, but Haerther's flirtation with the dramatic signaled to the Springfield Cardinals something they can't stop thinking about.

Pssst. Haerther is about to get hot.

"He's got some lightning in his bat," Springfield manager Chris Maloney likes to say of Haerther.

"I agree with that 100 percent," hitting coach Dallas Williams said. "He's got unknown zip and he really doesn't understand what he has."

Said Haerther, "My swing is there. Almost."

The Cardinals can't wait to see it unleashed, for they believe Haerther, a left-handed hitter, could cut quite a swath through the Texas League once the outfielder catches fire.

Of course, the Cardinals have been waiting and waiting and waiting for Haerther's lightning to strike more than just on occasion. Since his arrival in late May from High-A Palm Beach, where he hit .318 with eight home runs and drove in 30 in 47 games, Haerther has had a tough time finding a groove.

To the average fan, the problem would seem to be the Cardinals moving Haerther in and out of the lineup, thus limiting his chances to ignite a hot streak.

The truth is, Haerther's banged-up left knee, which he hyperextended in Tulsa in June and jammed on a slide into second base at Hammons Field in early July, has tied Maloney's hands.

The Cardinals kept Haerther out of eight games in late June, then used him sporadically in left field and at designed hitter until he could get healthy.

Finally, beginning a week ago Sunday, he has been penciled in to start in left field every night, and that included last Tuesday's game when he nearly lifted the Cardinals to victory.

"It's funny. Shaun (Boyd) and I noticed the inning before the wind switched because it started to rain and got a little cooler," Haerther said. "Instead of blowing out to right-center, it was blowing in from left. I guess it wasn't meant to be."

It would have made for some story in the clubhouse.

The night before, when two homers from Travis Hanson and three homers in the eighth inning paved the way to a 13-7 victory, Haerther quietly rapped out three hits.

The effort boosted his average to .270, its highest since his arrival, and came on the heels of an interesting two-week stretch.

There was the night in Corpus Christi when he doubled and homered and drove in five runs, the game at San Antonio when he went 3-for-4 and then, after going hitless, strung together a hit in four consecutive games.

Overall, he has four homers and 18 RBIs and is batting .262 in 39 games for the Cardinals. He hit .278 in July, or 78 points better than a month ago.

A tweak is helping Haerther to slow his swing.

"He's getting comfortable up there and, with that added move, he's more confident up there," Williams said. "That's what I'm trying to stress to him, that he's got to make sure his everyday approach is the same. And he's gotten better at that."

The trick now is to build on the progress and, at the same time, get a handle on playing left field. Haerther has committed four errors, kicking two balls in one game last week, but he is putting in the work to learn the position, a good sign to the Cardinals, who can't afford a defensive liability.

If he gets that squared away and his bat heats up ...

"It's been real slow and frustrating, but I feel I've turned the corner as far as my knee is concerned," Haerther said. "My swing has started to come around. I kind of hoped it would have come a little faster. But it's better late than never."