Last night has left Bobby Valentine one of the toughest decisions he will face this season. He must decide whether or not to keep Daniel Bard as a starter or move him back into the bullpen. They brought him in last night with a man on third and one out and he stranded the man there something nobody in the bullpen has been able to do all season. I heard Bard talking about the decision to put him in the bullpen for the night and he was only willing because he knew the team needed it, he wants to be a starter for the Red Sox and that will a key factor in the final decision. Valentine committed to Bard as a starter at the beginning of the season and now that is what Bard wants.
The decision must be made quickly because the Sox have to decide whether they want to bring up Aaron Cook from Triple AAA and make him the fifth starter or if they are going to let him go. In three starts for the PawSox he is 3-0 with an ERA under 2. There is a huge difference between pitching down there and in the big leagues, but he has a lot of experience and he is throwing the ball extremely well right now. If the Sox don’t bring him up by May 1 he comes a free agent and the Sox could end up wasting a potentially strong fifth starter. Also good ol’ Dice-K made his first rehab start yesterday and while his numbers weren’t pretty I imagine the goal is to give him a spot in the rotation when he is ready.
I am not really sure which side I am rooting for. It is one of those decisions that will severely impact the Sox and how they play, but both sides have just as much potential. Bard is coming off a great start against the Rays where he held them to just one run in six innings. He has looked really good as a starter this season, but the Sox need a closer and he is the only guy on the roster that has the right stuff and the right confidence to do that job. Alfredo Aceves is a great pitcher, but he is just not fit for the closer job. Mentally he is not the right guy and he is trying to change his pitching style and it is causing him to overthrow the ball. He doesn’t have blow you away stuff and he doesn’t need it, but that is the typical profile of a closer. I love Aceves and the Sox need him to be the guy he was last year and the only way to do that is put him back in the same role as last year.
I think that if they go with Bard as a starter for now then they have to go out and get someone that close out games for them. I am not sure if they have anyone in the farm system ready or if that means making a trade, but the job is just not for Aceves and Melancon certainly didn’t pan out. The problem really is that Bobby V screwed everyone by committing to Bard as the fifth starter, and that is why I think he is going to keep Bard as a starter and Aceves as the closer.
What would have made sense was giving Aceves the fifth spot in the rotation and make Bard the closer early in the year. That way when Dice-K comes back or if they wanted to call up Aaron Cook they could have and just moved Aceves into the bullpen. Aceves is used to having a funky job in the bullpen and making spot starts, Bard isn’t. I am confused as to what the game plan is for when Dice-K comes back, I mean they knew it wasn’t going to happen sometime. That means unless someone is injured you have to either move Dubrount or Bard to the bullpen, but they are “committed” to these guys as the starters. So even if he keeps Bard as a starter someone is eventually going to get screwed out of the rotation so why not just put Bard into the bullpen now because you know he is the most valuable in the pen. I understand he has great potential as a starter and I was really excited to see him start, but he also will be one of the best closers in the league if given that role. He has proven himself in the bullpen, not as a starter so why take that risk instead of leaving him where you know he is strong. Especially when you have no one else on your roster that has any experience closing out games. I know everything is messed up because Andrew Bailey is supposed to be the closer and they only committed to Bard as a starter because they thought he was going to be the closer, but there is no problem switching Bard after seeing an injury and what has happened to the Sox pen this season. It will be interesting to see what happens to Bard during the next few weeks because it will have a big impact on many pitchers in the Sox organization.
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