Road long, winding for Todd

Former Arkansas Razorback baseball player, and current Memphis Redbird's Jess Todd.

— Talk to a player in any sport, and he will likely say the season is full of highs and lows.

That has been especially true of this baseball season for pitcher Jess Todd, a former Arkansas Razorback.

Todd, who had a 9-3 record with a 2.89 ERA for the Razorbacks in 2007, started the season with a chance to be in the Cleveland Indians’ bullpen but was assigned to Class AAA Columbus. On April 30, 10 days after his 25th birthday, he was taken off the Indians’ 40-man roster after posting an 11.00 ERA in eight appearances with Columbus. He was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees on May 6 and sent to their Class AAA team in Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

After two appearances and a 10.80 ERA in the Yankees’ system, Todd was again placed on waivers. He was claimed by the St. Louis Cardinals on May 16.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” Todd said of the roster moves. “Not only is it hard on me, it’s hard on my wife and family. They’re trying to look every night to see how I’m doing and I might be designated. I have no clue.”

Todd was quick to answer when asked why he struggled early in the season.

“I think I was just trying to do too much,” he said. “When I tried to do too much, then the game kind of sped up on me. Before I realized it, a month down the road, I was with three teams.”

His early season struggles and the move from city to city shook Todd’s confidence.

“The last thing you expect is to be designated, not once but three times,” Todd said. “Luckily, my wife was able to cheer me up and say, ‘This is your job. You can get back up to where you want to be or end it right here.’ I wasn’t ready to do that yet.”

Todd’s return to Memphis, home of the Cardinals’ AAA club, is a homecoming of sorts. The 5-11, 210-pound right-hander was drafted by St. Louis in the second round of the 2007 draft and was the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year as a closer, playing in the All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium in New York in 2008.

He made his major-league debut for the Cardinals on June 5, 2009, giving up 3 hits and 2 runs with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts against the Colorado Rockies. Later that month,St. Louis agreed to a trade with the Cleveland Indians for infielder Mark DeRosa that included a player to be named later. Todd was the player chosen.

Now that Todd has returned to Memphis, he’s hoping to regain the form he once had. Through Wednesday’s games, he has an 0-2 record with a 7.39 ERA overall this season. His best work has been with Memphis, where he is 0-1 with a 5.57 ERA in 19 appearances. The only loss came to the Omaha Storm Chasers on June 28. In 21 innings pitched for the Redbirds, Todd has allowed 13 runs (all earned) on 24 hits with 6 walks and 16 strikeouts.

“It’s just about being comfortable, being back in the groove,” Todd said. “Whenever I was with Columbus, I got designated, so I couldn’t be at the ballpark for 10 days. I got picked up, so I went from not touching a ball in 10 days to, all of a sudden, throwing again. I got designated again, so that was another 10 days off without throwing.

“Now I’m starting to get back into a routine where I’m throwing every day and my arm’s feeling better. I’m just working on the little things.”

It’s that familiarity with the team and the organization that Todd hopes will be the catalyst for good things down the road.

“Whenever I was told I was coming back here, it was a pretty good feeling,” Todd said. “I knew most of the guys on the team. The same coaching staff is here, the same trainer, and I knew how the organization was run.

“Coach knows how many pitches you need to get warm. The trainer knows exactly what program you need to be on. The strength coach knows what workout program you need to be on.”

With everything he’s been through this season, Todd said he’s not concentrating on things that are outside of his control.

“I’m just concentrating on what I can do,” he said. “What I can control is going out there and throwing the way I know I can throw. I’ve done it my whole life.”

Sports, Pages 29 on 07/10/2011