The Sox BP ERA is over 8.00

Should Boston move Bard back to where he was dominant?

The answer to that question is; DUH !

If Bobby V went to the pen - it might improve things !


Even the Bat Boy/Girl should be considered.



smiles

If Bard was going to be moved back to the pen it should have been when Bailey got hurt. It's probably a little late now. He has shown some promise and needs time to settle in to the starter's role. Bouncing him back to the pen right now might do more harm than good.

In Response to Re: Is it time to move Bard back to the bullpen?:

  Yes,  He will be there MONDAY morning !!!!

That isnt going to solve the pitching problem.  Moving Bard to the bullpen, he would more likely to be a closer.  Red Sox lost few games that happened before they need a closer to close the game out.  Then Aceves would move back to the 6th to 7th inning pitching role which he may could have stop the bleeding yesterday instead Boston first used Padilla.  Padilla have been pitching well until he finally pitched poor yesterday.   But still Boston need a set up man which they do not have one.  And a starter to replace Bard.  Bucholtz is awful lately, and he have not been the same since fractured his back.  Wondering if he still continue to have a back problem. There is aot of holes to filled in if Bard moves to the bullpen.  I think it is best to just leave the team alone cuz if Boston ever trade for couple more pitchers to fill the holes, that mean Boston will have to part away more minor leaguers.  At the same time who know that Dice K, Bailey, and Hill could all come back soon.  Boston will have to part away a veterans to make a room for a player that is coming off of the DL.  Best solution is to call up few minor leaguers and give them a shot.  No other choice.  Or leave the team alone and see what happen.  If they are out of the playoff contention, Boston is more likely to going to trade Youkilis for a young good pitcher.

In Response to Re: Is it time to move Bard back to the bullpen?:


IDK, the question when he was setting up Paps was did he have the "mental toughness" to be a dominant closer? A fair question. Maybe he is more suited to be a starter. The team can't make knee jerk reactions because spoiled fans  expect a championship every season. If the bullpen isn't doing its job there are other solutions. Trades or bring up some  arms within the organization.

If a good closer is more important than a good starter, why not try Jon Lester as a closer?  What's that?  A starter is more important?  I agree.

They should have made him the closer the day Paps signed with Philly. Doing it now would probably mess things up even more.

In Response to Re: Is it time to move Bard back to the bullpen?:
I agree. And while this is pessimistic to say, at this point moving him around might be like moving the deck chairs around the Titantic.

Before his last start, I was leaning heavily in the camp of eventually moving Bard back to the bullpen. But if he can continue to pitch like he did in that start, I say keep him in the rotation. A huge problem last September was the 3-4-5 starters blowing up in the early innings.

First of all your statement that Bard "was dominate" simply wasn't true from my perspective and secondly, do we want to repeat the Joba Rules that the Yanks did to him? BP, Starter, Closer, Starter, Set Up, Starter and on and on. Any single move we make will not make much difference right now, there are so many holes in this team right now.

It will probably happen , but it looks like a panic move. He has shown promise as a starter. Would like to see if he can continue to develop.  A strong rotation is vital. I said all along that losing Papelbon was going to hurt. Now we are scrambling for a closer. However , if your starters stink, the closer will seldom be needed.

in recent history, there were a few pitchers whose careers were ruined by constant switching back and forth between pen and starting rotation. leave the kid where he is now.