Bard Demoted To AAA; Matsuzaka May Join Rotation On Saturday

Daniel Bard - who has allowed 96 baserunners in only 54.1 innings - did not think he belonged in Pawtucket (AAA).

Bobby Valentine:

He thought he could find it on the fly. We just felt the best thing for the organization and Daniel was to get him in an environment where he can work on that mechanic and not worry about the big league record and his teammates.

The Red Sox say that Bard will remain a starter, but that could easily change. Daisuke Matsuzaka could rejoin the rotation as early as Saturday, taking what would have been Bard's spot against the Nationals.

Last night, Dice pitched 1.1 innings for the PawSox, throwing 40 pitches and allowing one run on three hits and two walks. Valentine: "He didn't have a very good performance, but I think he was a little distracted. Short outing, it was planned to be short."

Bard has a 5.24 ERA in 11 games this season. He admitted after his last start that he has been thinking about his mechanics too much.

It's that I allowed something to happen when I switched roles. It's that maybe we tried to turn me into a starter rather than just taking the same pitcher I was out of the pen and moving that guy to the rotation. That's probably what should have been done. It's partially my fault. It's all my fault. It's a matter of getting back to what I had success doing in the past.

(It took Bard (and McClure, and Valentine) 10 starts to realize this?)

Bob McClure:

I think he can start. I might be one of the few that thinks that he can. But I really do. No. 1, he needs to keep it simple. He's a power pitcher with two plus pitches and perhaps a third one. Anyone who can throw 100 pitches like he could with the ease he was doing it at one point definitely has the possibility of starting. ... It might be better to pitch him every other day or two innings at a time. We need to find what's best for him.

Dustin Pedroia said he was fine wearing his thumb brace, but that he nearly got knocked out by David Ortiz's elbow when Tiz was celebrating with Jarrod Saltalamacchia after Salty's ninth-inning home run last night.

I'm just not used to it, but my last few at-bats I felt more comfortable. I was seeing the ball better, my timing was better, so build on that tomorrow and try to do something to help us. ... The only problem I had was when Salty hit the home run, David elbowed me in the face. ... That hurt, man ... They did a great job with [the brace] and they formed it to my bat. I'm using a little different model bat, not using maple so I don't have any impact on my hands.

Salty Stats: In 19 games (since May 13), Saltalamacchia is hitting .350/.409/.767 for a Bondsian 1.176 OPS. His .917 OPS for the season is second on the team, behind Ortiz (.981).