Daisuke Starting Saturday in Boston, Bard Starting Friday in Pawtucket

Daisuke Matsuzaka will be back in Boston just about a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He last pitched for the Red Sox in May of 2011. He's made six rehab starts, totaling 37 innings. He had a 3.65 ERA, 31 hits, 9 walks, and 30 strikeouts. He also had high pitch counts. His final rehab outing lasted 2 innings (it had been scheduled for 3) on Tuesday. He threw 40 pitches.

On Saturday, he'll face 7-2 Gio Gonzalez and the Washington Nationals. Even though the Nats are in 1st place, their offense isn't very good. 26th in runs scored. And thankfully for Daisuke, 22nd in OBP, and 14th in walks.

With most pitchers, some things to watch in their first start back are throwing strikes, working with rhythm, being efficient, keeping people off the bases, is their fastball fast and their curveball curving. Of course, Daisuke is not most pitchers. He can have a good start and walk 8 batters.

What should we expect from Daisuke? Frankly (and not surprisingly), my expectations are low. This is a guy who was brilliant for two years (33-15, 3.72 ERA his first two seasons), then ugly for two (16-15, 5.03 ERA). Any other starting pitcher developed normally in the minors would have been dismissed as a flash-in-the-pan that was figured out by MLB hitters, and couldn't cut it in the Majors. But since Daisuke did so well in the quadruple-A equivalent Japanese League, he still is expected to do well over here.

Negativity aside, there is at least potential for him to be good. We've seen it. And if he's not good, he can at least be serviceable, pitching 5 innings (with a 120 pitch count), and giving the Sox a chance to win. That's more than can be said for Daniel Bard, who Daisuke will replace in the rotation.

Bard will be making a start in AAA Pawtucket on Friday, as the PawSox face the Indianapolis Indians (who are the Pirates' AAA affiliate). Although it is technically a start, he will not be working as a traditional starter. His appearances will be short. The Red Sox claim that this is so he can focus on getting himself "back to being an elite pitcher." That's what Ben Cherington said. This minor league stint is about Bard getting back "on track."

In other words, Bard will be pitching short outings until he's shown the quality we've seen from him in the past. If he does well and Matsuzaka struggles, Bard can return to the rotation and give starting another go. If Matsuzaka settles in, then Bard can return as a reliever.

The Sox are being very diplomatic with how they're discussing Bard. They don't want to crush his confidence. They need Bard to fix his problems before he can return as a reliever or a starter. Matsuzaka gives them an easy way to be kind to Bard and say "We have 5 starters already, but we need your quality in the pen." It's sort of like a girl saying "let's just be friends." You don't feel quite so bad if she's already got a boyfriend.

-The Captain

Bard to Minors, What Should the Sox Do With Him?

The Sox sent Daniel Bard to AAA Pawtucket yesterday, activating Darnell McDonald off the DL. In Bard's last start, he only managed to go 1.2 innings, allowing 5 runs off 6 walks and a homerun. In 55 innings, he's walked 37, struck out 34, and has an ERA of 5.24 and a WHIP of 1.62. As a reliever last year, he had a 3.33 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He only walked 24 in 73 innings.

It's not working for him as a starter. Everyone knows it. Even him. He wants to work out his problems up here in Boston. The Sox want him to work them out in Pawtucket. Frankly, the Sox can't afford his struggles anymore. It's June, the Sox are one game over .500, they're trying to go on a run to separate themselves from the tightly packed AL East. Now's not the time for Bard to work out his problems in games that count in the standings.

I think the Sox know that the starting experiment is over. They won't come out and say it publicly. But their plan for Bard in Pawtucket involves him throwing some 2 inning stints. Doesn't that sound like they'll be converting him to a reliever?

If they really wanted him to continue to start, they might have sent him down to Fort Myers to pitch some simulated games, to focus entirely on his mechanics and not worry about getting hitters out.

Meanwhile, Bard will likely be replaced in the rotation by Matsuzaka. And if Matsuzaka pitches well, and if Buchholz continues to pitch well, the Sox can tell Bard that there's no more room in the rotation, so he might as well go to the pen. If Matsuzaka falters, or another starter gets hurt, the Sox can continue to tinker with Bard.

The Sox are saying that Bard is dropping his arm slot, and that's affecting his performance. Sounds reasonable. I'm not a pitching coach. All I know is that his fastball is slower, he's not pitching to contact, and he only has 2 of his 3 pitches working on any given night. If he can solve those problems, he can start. But maybe those problems are always going to be unsolvable for Bard. Some pitchers just aren't meant to be starters. The Sox tried to make him one when he was first drafted. It didn't work. Too many walks. It's not working now, either.

The Sox bullpen isn't as good as people think it is. There is room for Bard out there. In 2 weeks, the Sox will have an idea what Matsuzaka can give them. They'll also know which relievers they want to keep and which one they're willing to let go. Bard can work on his mechanics, and maybe he'll figure it all out and return to the rotation in glory. More likely, he'll return to the bullpen where he's thrived in the past.

-The Captain

Red Sox Take 2 of 3 from Blue Jays

The experiment of Bard in the rotation has proven unsuccessful. He simply isn't a starter. And the culprit is the same thing that prevented him from being a starter when he was first drafted: bases on balls.

In 55 innings, he's walked 37 batters. He's struck out 34. Yesterday he threw 55 pitches. 24 were strikes. A good pitcher will throw twice as many strikes as balls (or better). But not Bard. When he's a starter, the walks pile up. And because he isn't throwing many strikes, so does the pitch count. It's the same problem that plagued him in 2007 in A ball. He's also hit 6 batters this year.

When Daisuke is ready to return, Bard needs to go to the bullpen. It simply is not working out for him in the rotation. At best, he's a #5 pitcher, giving you 180 mediocre innings. I'd rather have 80 quality innings from him out of the pen.

Apart from Bard's struggles, the Sox have been thriving. They've only lost 1 of their last 7 series. They're 16-7 since David Ortiz called a players only meeting after Beckett was shelled by the Indians on May 10th. They're still last in the AL East, but they're only 1.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot.

On Saturday, Felix Doubront had yet another Quality Start. He's now 6-2 and deservedly so. You really can't ask more from a 4/5 pitcher than that. Not to mention his ERA is 3.75.

And Clay Buchholz seems to have settled down. He went 8 innings Friday night, only allowing 2 runs. He struck out 7. That's two straight Quality Starts for Buchholz. He only has three on the season. He has a 2.40 ERA in his last two starts. 15 innings, 4 earned runs, not bad at all.

The Sox need to keep this momentum going. They can take advantage of a Baltimore team that's been struggling lately. They have today off. Then Lester faces 6-2 Jason Hammel on Tuesday.

-The Captain

Red Sox 6, Tigers 3

Normally, I would say that the Red Sox surpassing the .500 mark for the first time in a season after Memorial Day is hardly worth celebrating. However, I really like how the Sox did it.

They weren't supposed to do it last night. All the explanations and excuses were lined up in advance. Verlander was on the mound for Detroit. The Sox' #5 starter Bard was facing him. It seemed a foregone conclusion that the Sox would lose. But they didn't.

If you're going to wait until May 29th to go over .500, you'd better make it special. Or at least interesting. And the Sox did that. They got to Verlander, one of the top pitchers in the game. Bard had a very Bardlike game, but Valentine was able to retrieve him before any major damage was done. The bullpen did a solid job finishing the game. And Aceves didn't allow a homerun.

The Sox got 10 hits off Verlander, including 3 doubles. They also got 4 hits with runners in scoring position. Verlander's ERA increased 0.40 thanks to the 5 runs he allowed in 6 innings last night. It increased 18.6% from 2.15 to 2.55. If that happened to Beckett's ERA, it'd go up 0.77 points.

Daniel Nava's 3 run double in the 4th was the biggest hit of the season. There were 2 outs, the bases loaded, a full count, and the game would turn on the next pitch. Verlander would either escape the jam and the Tigers would eventually score on Bard and have a good chance to win. Or, Nava would get a hit, give Bard a cushion, and put the Sox in the driver's seat.

After that, the Sox didn't mess up and lose control of the game. The bullpen did its job. Ortiz had an RBI double in the 5th and a solo homerun in the 7th to pad the lead. Detroit's not a very good offensive team (9th in the AL in runs scored), and the Sox took advantage of that.

Ortiz has returned to his role as the heart of the Red Sox lineup. He leads the team in the following categories: runs, doubles, homeruns, total bases, walks, batting average, OBP, SLG, OPS.

Now that this hurdle has been overcome, the next step is to keep up some of these good habits we've seen lately. We've seen very few bad starts from the pitchers, the bullpen has stabilized, the offense is getting clutch hits in game-turning situations. That's a winning formula. It starts with the starting pitching, and the rest falls into place.

The Orioles, Rays, and Yankees all lost last night. The Sox are only 3.5 games out in the division, and 1.5 out of the 2nd Wild Card. The opportunity is there.

Jon Lester pitches for the Sox tonight. Drew Smyly is on the mound for Detroit. Smyly was good in April. He's been bad in May. He has a 6.75 ERA in his last 3 starts.

-The Captain

Red Sox 6, Orioles 5

The Sox are 22-22 and just took 2 of 3 from the Orioles. Why am I so happy at this? Because I like the way the Sox won these games. And I prefer consistently winning 2 of 3 as opposed to stretches of 5 straight wins then 5 straight losses.

I'm not as optimistic about Daniel Bard. He's looking more and more like Daisuke Matsuzaka. He's not throwing enough strikes (49 strikes, 41 balls today), he's walking batters (4 more today, he's now walked more batters than he's struck out), his pitch count is getting high early, and he never seems to have the same pitches working for him from start to start.

It's not been a major problem. So far. He's not getting crushed. He's not wild. He got two very timely double-plays yesterday that helped him avoid disaster. And with runners in scoring position, he held the O's at bay.

It doesn't seem like a long-term successful way to pitch, though. This is his fourth start that he's failed to go 6 innings. He's tied with Justin Masterson for the 6th most walks in all of baseball.

Bard only allowed 2 earned runs. The homerun he surrendered today was only the 3rd he's given up all season. That's why the walks haven't been deadly for him. And there's no alternative starting pitcher to take his spot. So for now, Bard is will remain the rotation. He hasn't been a significant problem. Yet.

The offense was provided by some surprise sluggers. Nava, Shoppach, and Podsednik each hit homeruns. Adrian Gonzalez better watch his back because Nava and Shoppach are only 1 homerun behind him. They each have 2. Nava has 2 homers in his last 26 at-bats, and this is after going 171 ABs without a homerun. Podsednik hadn't hit a homerun since September 2010.

All season long, the Sox have been getting contributions from unexpected sources. Doubront has been the most reliable starter in the rotation. Cody Ross, Ryan Sweeney, Will Middlebrooks, Daniel Nava, Mike Aviles. Hell, Kelly Shoppach is hitting .281. These are the Bill Mueller, Mark Bellhorn kind of guys that added to the star power of the 2004 Red Sox. The glue that held the big pieces together.

Now we just need the star pitchers to consistently pitch like stars, the high-priced free agent slugger to earn his pay, and the bullpen to figure itself out.

Sox have an off-day, then host the Rays for 3 over the weekend. It's a great opportunity to claw back into the AL East race. The Sox have done well against Tampa Bay this season. Lester faces Alex Cobb, a 24 year old who was born in Boston and has made 10 Major League starts, 7 of which were Quality Starts. That makes me feel uneasy.

-The Captain

Orioles 4, Red Sox 1

The Sox managed only 2 hits and apart from a Youkilis homerun, Brian Matusz utterly silenced the Sox' lineup. Aviles, Pedroia, and Ortiz went 0 for 12. It's unfair to single them out, though, because apart from Youkilis' homer and an Adrian Gonzalez single, the entire lineup was quieted.

Youkilis started at first. Gonzalez was in the outfield. Cody Ross' injury was convenient for Youkilis and/or Middlebrooks as it allowed them both to stay in the lineup. Gonzalez is not a long-term solution in the outfield, but the Sox don't have much of a choice.

Doubront had another good start. It went to waste last night, but it was still very encouraging. He struck out 9, which is just as many as Matusz. 6 innings, only 2 runs. Without him, the Sox would be completely screwed. Especially with how Bard and Buchholz have struggled. Not to mention Matsuzaka's health concerns. Doubront has anchored the bottom of the rotation.

The Sox got shut down by a good lefty. It happens. The problem with the Sox is they allow it to happen too often.

So today is a good chance to rebound. Daniel Bard faces Jake Arrieta. This is a great opportunity for Bard to step up and win a game when the Sox could really use a win to keep their momentum going. Arrieta's overall numbers aren't dazzling, but he's had the occasional brilliant start. His last one was 7 innings and 1 run. And on May 2nd he pitched 8 shutout innings against the Yankees. There were 10 innings and 13 runs between those starts, though. He's been inconsistent.

-The Captain

Sox on a Winning Streak

I thought about using a headline like "Sox on the Warpath," but racist article titles are the domain of CBS Sports and I wouldn't dream of trying to outdo them.

Can Felix Doubront and Clay Buchholz pitch every game for the Sox? The team is 5-2 when Doubront starts, 4-3 behind Buchholz (9-5 combined) and 6-14 whenever anyone else starts. .563 with Doubront or Buchholz, .300 with Beckett, Lester, and Bard.

Doubront had another very good start Saturday night. He's been a pleasant surprise this season. Imagine if he'd been struggling these last few weeks, how bad the Sox would be. Saturday night he went 6 innings, only allowed 3 hits, and earned victory #3.

Yesterday, the Sox simply annihilated Justin Masterson. He had no chance. I'm surprised he lasted 6 innings. The Sox swung and missed only 7 times against him. That's it. He wasn't fooling anyone. Nava was 2 for 2 with a pair of doubles. Middlebrooks hit his 4th homerun. Saltalamacchia exploded, going 3 for 4 with a homerun and 5 RBI.

Bard looked shaky. He only allowed 1 run (he walked it in), but in his 6 innings he gave up 6 hits and 4 walks. Way too many walks, especially with the Sox taking a big early add and consistently adding to it. Throw strikes. A few double play balls saved him, and the Sox building a big lead helped even more.

At least he had 0 balks.

Bard is still a project. I'm not sure how well he'll do in the rotation. As a starter in the minor leagues, he had problems with walks. He's walked 20 guys already, in only 37.2 innings. He's had three starts with 4 or more walks. It's a problem. The good news is if he doesn't work out in the rotation, he'll help out the bullpen. Maybe even close.

The Sox will try to make it four straight wins tonight against the Mariners. Lester opposes Jason Vargas, who is 4-2 on a 16-20 Seattle team. He has a 2.79 ERA, 5 Quality Starts, and his last outing was an 8 inning gem against Detroit. In other words, this is not Justin Masterson.

-The Captain

Royals 6, Red Sox 4

For the most part, Daniel Bard has adjusted well to his new role as a starting pitcher. One thing he seems to be struggling with is ignoring baserunners. As a reliever, he didn't worry about them. He'd just focus on the batter, get the 3 outs he needed to get, and essentially ignore any baserunners he inherited or allowed.

Last night he became preoccupied with baserunners in the 2nd inning. And in that one inning he threw a wild pitch, balked twice, and surrendered 3 runs. And it could have been much worse.

He was able to get over it and move on. Which is one very promising thing I've noticed in his starts.

He kept his pitch count low, but started to struggle in the 7th. He got out of a jam thanks to some bunts, but walked two to lead off the 8th. And with no Daniel Bard in the bullpen, Valentine was forced to bring in Albers. Who gave up a 3 run homer.

Right now, especially with Cook and Matsuzaka on the DL and Buchholz struggling, the Sox need Bard in the rotation. But if these guys get healthy, I think you have to consider moving Bard back to the pen. While you get more innings from him in the rotation, what's the point of getting 7 good innings from him or any starter if the bullpen can't consistently give you 2 good innings to close the game.

Anyway, Will Middlebrooks left the game with tightness in his hamstring. Hopefully that's just a precautionary thing. He was 1 for 1 with a double, and is the first player since Enos Slaughter to start off his career with extra-base hits in each of his first 5 games.

Jon Lester faces Bruce Chen tonight. Chen is 0-4, with a few good starts and a few horrible starts.

-The Captain

Decision Time Coming For Red Sox On Aaron Cook

Aaron Cook can opt out of his contract with the Red Sox if he isn't on the Red Sox roster by May 1st (1 week). If he does leave there are going to be a ton of teams looking to grab him because he has been lights out in the minors so far. In 4 starts this year Cook has an ERA of 1.33, averageing about 7 innings a start and is coming off of his latest start where he went 7 innings allowing 8 hits (7 singles and a double) and one unearned run.

Cook isn't one of those guys that will excite fans. He doesn't really strike out guys (8 in 27 innings), but he also doesn't really let the ball get in the air (four of his 21 outs came in the form of fly balls last game). Basically, think Derek Lowe.

The question is where does he fit in. Bard's spot is the obvious choice, but he doesn't sound like he wants to leave the rotation. I agree, with basically every fan, is that the best thing for the Sox right now is Bard in the bullpen and Cook going to the rotation.

There is really only 1 way I can see Bard staying in the rotation, and that is the Red Sox say screw this season. Bard has showed promise, we are going to let him go through his up and downs, and hope next year he is the next CJ Wilson. If that is the case Youk should be traded ASAP and so should Aviles, so they can bring up Middlebrooks and Jose Iglesias.

Even though long term that might be the best thing for the Red Sox, I just don't see them doing it. I think if the rotation stays healthy Bard will be in the bullpen soon, and so will Doubront when Dice-K makes his return.

By the way, there is a good chance all of this works. I am expecting Dice-K to be pretty decent when he returns. I don't think Cook is great, but I think he is a solid #5. Bard and Doubront could fix that bullpen, and the lineup should get better when Crawford and Ellsbury (long way away) return.

Red Sox 6, Twins 5

Daniel Bard wants to be a starter. And I can't blame him. But by doing such a good job as a reliever last night, he might have eliminated himself from the rotation.

He inherited a tough situation: a runner on third with 1 out in a 5-5 game. And he worked out of it. Cody Ross homered in the next half inning, and Bard got the win.

I was a little puzzled with Valentine's decision to take Bard out and put Aceves in to pitch the 9th. I know Aceves is the temporary closer, but Bard only threw 11 pitches in the 8th (4 were part of an intentional walk), and he's clearly the best option to pitch the 9th. Taking Bard out and putting Aceves in was tempting fate.

With the Sox struggling, Cody Ross has been somewhat overlooked. He hit homeruns number 4 and 5 of the year. And knocked in 3 runs, giving him a total of 13 RBI. He leads the Sox in both categories. He's also hitting .283. I don't know if this production will last, but the Sox desperately need it at the moment.

Jon Lester looked off, especially going through the Twins' lineup a second time. He allowed 5 runs in 7 innings. And if not for the 3 double plays the Twins grounded into, things might have gotten really messy. I'm not worried, though. He had bad Aprils in 2009 and 2010. And a bad May last year. Give him a few starts to warm up and he'll revert to his usual self.

The Sox needed the win. But there's still lots to work on. Morales looks awful. Aceves is unnerving. The Sox still make inexcusable little mistakes like screwing up a relay from right-field.

Those problems seem more manageable after a win, though.

Beckett faces Nick Blackburn tonight, who struggled in his first start, did well in his second, but hasn't pitched since the 14th.

-The Captain

Rays 1, Red Sox 0

This team seems to either score 0 to 3 runs, or 10+ runs. It's feast or famine, deluge or drought. And yesterday was definitely drought.

There's no shame in being shut down by James Shields. The Sox managed only 4 hits, all of them singles. With the way Shields was dealing there was no way the Sox would win this game, unless it was 0-0 and went deep into extra innings and they managed to beat Tampa's bullpen.

Bard was the hard luck loser. He did well. And could have been spared walking in the winning run had Valentine pulled him. I think the 4 pitch walk to Pena just before was a red flag that should have caught Bobby V's attention. He was probably too busy trying to remove his foot from his mouth.

Or maybe he was wrapping pita bread around his foot and calling it a Toe Wrap. He is, after all, very inventive.

This was a disappointing loss, but not an overly painful one. Shields vs. Bard is a significant mismatch. And Bard did very well for himself. Which is promising.

The Sox welcome Texas to town tonight. The Rangers are 8-2. Jon Lester faces Colby Lewis tonight. Lewis has only allowed 2 runs in his 2 starts.

-The Captain

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 3

Going back to September 1st of last year, the Red Sox are 8-24. That's .250 baseball. So I'm not just "panicking" over a slow start. I'm concerned about what seems to be a continuation of a pattern dating back to last year. The calendar is different, but the games look eerily similar.

On the bright side, Daniel Bard was better than his 5 inning, 5 earned run line score suggests. The first run he allowed came in the 1st, when the Jays had a few well-placed hits and squeezed out a run. The last two runs charged to Bard occurred with Justin Thomas on the mound.

Bard looked promising. There's room for improvement, but he did well. He didn't let a few bad breaks affect him, he mixed up his pitches as the game progressed, he threw strikes (65 strikes, 31 balls, slightly better than the 2:1 ratio you want to see), he didn't walk anyone until the 6th inning, he got better as the game progressed.

His slider was devastating. He worked the changeup in later in the game, and that went well. But the Jays repeatedly made contact on his fastball. Mostly for line drives. He allowed 8 hits. 7 of them were singles.

I'm not yet sold on Bard as a starter. But I am still listening to the sales pitch.

The rest of this team I am definitely not sold on. More bad bullpen work from Thomas and then Michael Bowden. The Sox got plenty of baserunners, but couldn't manage that big hit to break things open. They were 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Both those hits came in the 9th with 2 outs and the Sox trailing by 6 runs.

Youkilis finally got 2 hits. If he and Ellsbury can get a little hotter, the offense should find more consistency.

But pitching still worries me. The bullpen is just a mess. And with starters like Doubront and Bard going 5 or 6 innings, that bullpen is even more exposed.

Maybe Lester can turn things around this afternoon. He faces Ricky Romero at 12:37.

-The Captain

Red Sox Making April Seem Like September

Vicente Padilla had the second best pitching performance for the Sox in Detroit. Need I say more?

No. But I will anyway.

A pair of horrible starts from Beckett and Buchholz, combined with inconsistent hitting, and one unbelievably shitty bullpen resulted in a Detroit Tigers sweep. Just like in September, the Sox are finding different ways to lose.

Alfredo Aceves gave up the winning hit in Thursday's loss. Yesterday he blew a 3 run lead. Mark Melancon also blew a save yesterday, and now he's 0-2. It's April 9th and the Sox have a reliever that's 0-2. That's sadly impressive.

One bright spot was Padilla's 4 scoreless innings. He might earn a chance to be in the rotation if he keeps up that good work.

I'm hearing some clamoring for Daniel Bard to be installed as closer. Maybe that will eventually happen, but right now the Sox need starting pitching. Because while the bullpen ultimately blew yesterday's game, a good start from Buchholz would have allowed the Sox to cruise to a blowout victory. Bullpens lose games. Starting pitchers win them.

And you know who should be the closer...

Jonathan Papelbon.

People in Boston were far too complacent and docile when the Sox didn't re-sign the best closer they've had in a long time. Everyone who wants Bard to close should also get angry at the Sox for not retaining Papelbon.

The Sox go up to Toronto to face the 2-1 Jays. Doubront faces 21 year old Henderson Alvarez.

-The Captain

Cherington: No Promises To Bard

"We didn't promise him (Bard) anything at any point, and still haven't promised him anything other than he's starting Game 5," Cherington said.

Some people were surprised that Bard wasn't moved to closer when Bailey went down for 4-5 months with thumb surgery. I have said it before, I think the Red Sox are going to roll out this rotation as is. Then reevaluate when Dice-K comes back. Bard can only pitch so many innings, so there is a good chance even if he is good this year that he eventually get moved back to the pen anyways, so that he can help in September and hopefully October if needed, which is what I think Cherington was basically saying here. I just hope that since they are going to go down this road with Bard that they actually give him a shot and don't just give up if he has 2-3 bad starts.