Daniel Bard completes successful return to Red Sox bullpen
Let me be the first person to say that when Daniel Bard took the mound in a 7-2 game in the 9th inning I was worried. I was not sure that he would be able to hold the 5 run lead that the Red Sox had worked so hard for the entire game. Given Bard's track record him blowing this lead would not be a surprise, what did occur though was quite the pleasant surprise. Bard was able to get the 3 necessary outs while only facing 4 Houston Astros.
Last season Bard did not perform well at all, he performed so poorly that he wasn't expected to make the teams Major League roster after spring training, which did not happen. The only reason that Bard has been called up to the club is injuries and inconsistency to Red Sox relievers. Thankfully Bard was able to perform well last night and this should give him a boost of confidence to keep performing well this year. I dont expect to see Bard up with the Sox too much this season but if when he is called up he performs this well I will be a happy fan.
I expect Bard to have a very short leash this year, if he gets in trouble expect manager John Farrell to quickly come out to the mound to yank him from the game. If you were the manager how short of a leash do you give Bard? How well does Bard have to perform before we start to trust him again as fans? Leave your comments below to let me know what you think about Bard rejoining the team.