"One of the manager's jobs is to make those who are uncomfortable comfortable," Valentine said under those blue skies. "And the other job is to make those who are too comfortable uncomfortable."
The Red Sox are grooming former middle reliever Daniel Bard to be a starter. It is a move some
.
One scout said he can't imagine how the Sox don't put Bard in the rotation. "That was their major offseason project, and then you pull the plug even before the kid has a chance to show whether he can do it?" the scout said. "That makes no sense."
"He's a bullpen guy for me," the evaluator said. "His secondary pitches aren't that good. He threw some good breaking balls, but some bad spinners, too, and his changeup is too hard. Some of his sliders were good, but a lot of them were bad, and in your ballpark, hitters will sit on that pitch and hit it nine miles.
"He's a bullpen guy. And for me, some of your other bullpen guys, like [Andrew] Bailey, aren't throwing that good. I'd like to have Bard in the pen in case Bailey fails. [Mark] Melancon, to me, is a seventh-inning guy. I'd give the left-hander [Doubront] a shot in the rotation for sure. I hope they don't mess Bard up like you've seen with guys like Chamberlain, Feliz and Hughes."
to be an everyday player. Iglesias hasn't shown much with the bat but Valentine thinks his defensive prowess will make a big impact.
