Comments on: Things aren’t going so well for Daniel Bard in the minors

By: cmmk74

cmmk74 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 21:03:00 +0000

He was the one who wanted to ge a starter. If he had been a really good reliever he could have had Paps place but he wasn’t. He just has to get better and work harder, hes not there yet.

By: comanchepilot

comanchepilot — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:22:06 +0000

there are ALOT of management faults in this team this year- can we just get the stupid front office to shut the f up – and go off in a corner and sulk for a month? The owners are actors and real estate salesmen for gosh sakes – let the players play for a month before you start chirping.

By: bbil2012

bbil2012 — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 14:23:46 +0000

Totally agree. He was undependable last September. It’s clear his struggles began then. His pitching motion was a mess. However, because he was already screwed up, it was not the time to convert to starting. Bad call Boston brass.

By: xavier46

xavier46 — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 04:12:38 +0000

4 seam, 2 seam, change, slider..
1+1+1+1=4

By: xavier46

xavier46 — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 04:07:52 +0000

Randy self comforting with a giant rod of man meat in his mouth, between games, is only a few more injuries and Yankee losses away from being a once a week deal to everyday norm.

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 23:03:36 +0000

Who predicted he would lose the strike zone completely?

Well he did have a 9.4 BB/9 ratio as a starter in the minors, which was one of the reasons he was converted to a reliever.

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 22:45:57 +0000

You guys are aware that Bard was a mess mechanically last September too, right? When he was a reliever? And that that carried over to this year? It had nothing to do with covering him to a starter. Or, at least, it’s much more likely that it’s the mechanical issues that have plagued him since September (and that are mentioned in the article and this recap) than that he lost his confidence due to starting. Unless someone here knows him personally, I highly doubt your psychological insights are worth anything.

By: Jack Marshall

Jack Marshall — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 22:40:37 +0000

The blame-casting is hindsight bias at its worst. Bard has the stuff to be a starter (or had) and the Sox had doubts about his consistency as a closer (as did I.) It was a legitimate experiment under the circumstances—it just didn’t work. Who would have predicted that Bard’s velocity would suddenly drop 6 mph? Who predicted he would lose the strike zone completely? If Cook had pitched the game he did last night in his first game for the Sox, rather than get spiked and fall apart like he did, maybe the Sox would have moved Bard back to the bullpen in May with Cokk taking his place. Maybe he would have rebounded. If, if, if. Bard couldn’t do it, that’s all, and now he’s messed up. It’s nobody’s “fault.”

By: drewsylvania

drewsylvania — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 22:16:35 +0000

He is a three-pitch guy. He only bothered with two in reliever.

By: theskinsman

theskinsman — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:59:48 +0000

which one is sheldon?
Clearly Randy…minus the intellect,of course.

By: sabathiawouldbegoodattheeighthtoo

sabathiawouldbegoodattheeighthtoo — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:54:32 +0000

Perhaps it is just the Peter Principle at work, but avoiding that would mean a guy who thrives at AA would never make it to AAA (“he’s going good in AA; why mess with it?”) Because you need to find an asset’s maximum value, and good starting pitchers are simply more valuable than good relievers. I think it is worth it to see if a guy can handle the load. It is not that Bard’s repertoire was the problem; dude can’t find the zone. It sounds like he is more Knoblauch than Joba.

By: patsandsox

patsandsox — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:44:48 +0000

which one is sheldon?

By: patsandsox

patsandsox — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:26:21 +0000

He is a head case. It is his fault. He insisted on being a starter. The red sox desperate for another starter and not wanting to spend money agreed. Boy has it back fired.

Now he may never recover. I think he will spend the rest of the season in the minors and get a call up in september whether he deservers it or not. He needs therapy or something to rebuild his confidence because he has the talent and ability

By: bradybbgoat

bradybbgoat — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:26:18 +0000

I’m not even sure its easy for him to say…

By: 13yrsmlbvet

13yrsmlbvet — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:26:05 +0000

Cherington never HAD to give in to him and let him try starting. He held the hammer and caved in to the player. Daniel is a poor athlete, evident in his fielding, especially throws to bases on comebackers and bunt plays. He is a guy who, when he loses it, will take a long time to find it again. That was his history in the minors. This will take a while to fix. Blame to pin on one entity is unfair but the cast of The Big Bang Theory in that front office deserves most of it.

By: jimbo1949

jimbo1949 — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:12:27 +0000

that’s easy for you to say.

By: trapper17

trapper17 — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:00:34 +0000

Yeah I wanted a shot to did I get what I wanted now its the front offices fault nobody else’s period now he going to need trs to fix this he may never get it back

By: mornelithe

mornelithe — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:52:31 +0000

Bard did it to himself….he wanted to be a SP, Sox gave it a shot, and couldn’t afford to have him tossing meat every inning.

By: randygnyc

randygnyc — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:48:43 +0000

The Sox turned a dominant, would be closer, in to a neurotic, head case. The career threatening emasculation is nearly complete. Visions of Bard self comforting, with a pacifier, between innings, is only a scant few base on balls and hit by pitches away from reality.

By: mornelithe

mornelithe — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:41:58 +0000

It’s Bard’s fault, actually, he basically demanded to be considered for a starting position, and would’ve requested a trade otherwise. I guess we could blame management for not shipping him, but then you’d be down Bard and Papelbon starting a new season.

As a reliever/set-up guy, Bard was pretty damn good, but he’s got a long road to travel to get back to that.

By: phillyphever

phillyphever — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:32:37 +0000

This is 100% management’s fault. Bard should have never been converted into a starter in the first place. He’s basically a two pitch guy, and those never succeed starting.

By: 1943mrmojorisin1971

1943mrmojorisin1971 — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:27:10 +0000

Agreed. He didn’t exactly exude confidence before the move, now he seems to have none at all.

By: bradybbgoat

bradybbgoat — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:11:14 +0000

I agreed at the time with the decision to convert Bard to a starter, but its obvious now that the move really messed with his head.

Hopefully he can get things simplified again and return as one of baseball’s best set up guys.