Bobby Valentine hallucinates and likes what he saw out of Bard

By: Rob Bradford/WEEI

After Daniel Bard's six-inning outing against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. Sunday -- in which he surrendered five runs on six hits while striking out five and walking three -- Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine had praise for his pitcher.
"Overall, I liked everything," Valentine told reporters following the Blue Jays' 6-5, 10-inning win. "Had some tough breaks, I thought. Worked his way out of jams. Had some pitches that could've been called strikes, didn't let it affect him. Threw all of his pitches today. His changeup at times was devastating. His slider was sharp at times. What was there not to like other than the five runs on the board? And I think some of them could've been prevented."
Bard was equally as optimistic, having pointed out the ability to use his changeup (which he threw approximately 10 of) and two-seam fastball. This after throwing just one changeup in his last outing.
"Yeah, I think a lot of good things happened," the righty told reporters after throwing 85 pitches. "I was walking in with [catcher Kelly Shoppach] and he goes, 'How many runs did they end up getting' Five. He goes, 'It felt like two.'

There's gotta be something in the water in Ft. Myers...