Have the Boston Red Sox Seen the Last of Daniel Bard?


Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Have the Boston Red Sox seen the last of Daniel Bard?

The decline of one of the most promising pitchers in recent Red Sox history has been epic. In 2010, Bard seemed destined to be one of MLB’s great closers, appearing in 73 games with a minuscule ERA of 1.93. He was dominant on the mound, striking out 76 batters in 74 innings, and walked only 30 batters.

2011 started off great once again for Bard. With Jonathan Papelbon facing free agency at the end of the season, Bard was giving the Red Sox confidence that he could take over at closer if Boston was unable to sign Papelbon. Through August Bard continued to strikeout over a batter per inning, and kept his ERA under 2.00. Then the infamous September collapse happened, and Bard’s 10.64 ERA had a lot to do with it.

Despite the poor September, the Red Sox were in a prime position to revive the young hurler’s confidence by giving him the closer’s job when Papelbon left for the Philadelphia Phillies in free agency. Instead, they hitched their wagon to a combination of Mark Melancon and Alfredo Aceves, and decided to make Bard a starter. This has gone down as one of the worst moves of the Bobby Valentine era, and that’s saying something.

Bard was a disaster as a starter, compiling an ERA of over 6.00, and was unable to last the entire season in Boston. At times he was outright erratic and needed more development in the minors. This is where Bard found himself as the 2013 season began.

The Red Sox once again made a huge mistake by calling him up for what was essentially a cup of coffee. He made only two appearances, and his second one earned him a demotion back to the minors after he walked the only two batters he faced.

Bard’s recent performance for the Double A Portland Sea Dogs has been nothing less than tragic. On Wednesday night, Bard threw 30 pitches and only eight of them were strikes. He walked five batters and threw two wild pitches. He has made five appearances since his return to Portland, walking 13 batters in 3 2/3 innings, which bodes the question: what is wrong with Daniel Bard?

At this point it’s clear that it’s all in Bard’s head. He’s a smart pitcher, but perhaps he’s over thinking his approach. Often when a pitcher dwells too much on trying to hit their spots, they are unsuccessful. Conversely, pitchers like Billy Wagner, Papelbon and Eric Gagne have had success by simply going out there and overpowering batters.

Considering that Bard was throwing 100 mph in 2010, if he can get his head straight there is still a glimmer of hope that he will return to form. However, it certainly looks like he is beyond hope at this point, and unfortunately, Red Sox nation may have seen the last of Daniel Bard in a Boston uniform.

What do you think? Is Bard done? Feel free to share your thoughts to keep the conversation going.

 

Aidan Kearney also writes for his own blog aidanfromworcester.com. Follow him on Facebook @Aidan Fromworcester and on Twitter @aidanfromworc. 

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