Seoul: When the Kiwoom Heroes signed former big league outfielder Stone Garrett as an injury replacement three weeks ago, an extended early slump isn't probably what they had in mind. Garrett, who is filling in for injured outfielder Ruben Cardenas, is batting just .143 (5-for-35) with 11 strikeouts in his first nine games in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). In the first two games of the ongoing series against the Kia Tigers, Garrett went 0-for-8 with three strikeouts.
According to Yonhap News Agency, for the series finale Thursday at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, manager Hong Won-ki benched Garrett, hoping a breather can put the American player back on track. "It's been a whirlwind for him the past four or five games," Hong told reporters in his pregame scrum. "I think this was the right time for him to take a step back, relax and watch the game from the dugout."
KBO teams can sign new foreign players on temporary deals when their incumbents are ruled out for at least six weeks. Garrett is making US$35,000 while Cardenas is recovering from a flexor injury. Though Garrett hasn't done enough to convince the Heroes he could be their long-term solution, Hong preached patience.
"It's part of our nature to expect something right away after just a few games, and I am sure he's really pressing at the plate," the manager said. "We were concerned about how long he'd been out of action before coming over here, and he must have thought he'd be doing much better than he is now. But we can't really do anything about the technical or mental side of things. What we can do is wait for him to turn it around."
The Heroes have another replacement player on the pitching staff in starter Lachlan Wells, who made his KBO debut Wednesday as a fill-in for Kenny Rosenberg. Wells, who hadn't pitched in a competitive game since the end of the Australian Baseball League season in late January, made just 53 pitches over three innings, while giving up a run on three hits. He struck out four and walked none. Hong said it was premature to judge Wells based on one abbreviated outing.
"His command really stood out. In the first couple of innings, he had really good spin rates and control," Hong said of the Australian left-hander. "But I could see that he was running out of gas in the third inning. But we saw a lot of positive things from the first two frames." Hong said Wells could start Sunday's game on three days' rest as he continues to get stretched out for the normal starter's workload.