2012 Red Sox Spring Training Game Thread

[SoxFanForsyth]

The bad thing is that Bard looks bad tonight.

 

The good thing is that Bard always sucks during ST, and has never had an ERA under 5.00 during any ST.

[jacksonianmarch]

He looks bad again.

[a700hitter]

The bad thing is that Bard looks bad tonight.

 

The good thing is that Bard always sucks during ST, and has never had an ERA under 5.00 during any ST.

I'm at the game, and I am starting to get concerned that we might be ruining Bard with this conversion. In the first inning he was hurt by a pop fly that Sweeney should have had. I'm sitting right after the infield skin in short RF. That ball was up there for a long time. Sweeney is a slug. I really don't want to see him playing RF full time.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I'm at the game' date=' and I am starting to get concerned that we might be ruining Bard with this conversion. In the first inning he was hurt by a pop fly that Sweeney should have had. I'm sitting right after the infield skin in short RF. That ball was up there for a long time. Sweeney is a slug. I really don't want to see him playing RF full time.[/quote']

 

I know it's easy to do, but you have to remember not to over-emphasize September or Spring Training.

 

Have to remember that Bard has much better control than he's showing right now. Let him get the kinks out before we make a rash judgement. He's only had 9.2 innings of starter innings so far.

 

Lets not jump ship just yet.

[TylerD]

I wonder what it is about ST that some pitchers just look awful. Rust and probably don't have the adrenaline that regular season holds would be the obvious I suppose lol.

[a700hitter]

I know it's easy to do, but you have to remember not to over-emphasize September or Spring Training.

 

Have to remember that Bard has much better control than he's showing right now. Let him get the kinks out before we make a rash judgement. He's only had 9.2 innings of starter innings so far.

 

Lets not jump ship just yet.

As a reliever, he was a strike throwing machine in spring training each year. He just had a clean inning with a lot of strikes.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I wonder what it is about ST that some pitchers just look awful. Rust and probably don't have the adrenaline that regular season holds would be the obvious I suppose lol.

 

Plus they're working on specific pitches each outing. Bard, for example, is trying to get used to throwing from a wind up, throwing some change ups, etc, stuff he hasn't done in a while.

[SoxFanForsyth]

As a reliever' date=' he was a strike throwing machine in spring training each year. He just had a clean inning with a lot of strikes.[/quote']

 

Last year he walked 4 in 7.2 IP.

 

Before that, though, you're right. I'll chalk up some of the struggles to getting used to windup.

 

He looked good last inning. Needs to work a 2 seamer to get weak contact.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Plus a good sign - Bard's velocity is still at around 96 after 60 pitches. 60 pitches through 4 IP, a 15 pitch average even with the rough 2nd. That's a very good pace - 7 innings, 105 pitches. Exactly where you want to be.

[a700hitter]

Sweeney is a slug.

[User Name]

Bard is throwing a lot of his secondary pitches, yet still keeping the ball on the ground (6/2 GO/FO) and maintaining his velocity.

 

Spring Training isn't about the results players are getting, it's what they're doing and how they're doing it.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Sweeney is a slug.

 

Line drive hitter though!

 

Unfortunately, those are soft liners that the first baseman has to catch with his glove open side up.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Bard is throwing a lot of his secondary pitches, yet still keeping the ball on the ground (6/2 GO/FO) and maintaining his velocity.

 

Spring Training isn't about the results players are getting, it's what they're doing and how they're doing it.

 

This is true, but at the same time, I'd like to see Bard throw a little higher percentage of first-pitch strikes.

 

Outside of that bad 2nd, he's looked strong.

[a700hitter]

Last year he walked 4 in 7.2 IP.

 

Before that, though, you're right. I'll chalk up some of the struggles to getting used to windup.

 

He looked good last inning. Needs to work a 2 seamer to get weak contact.

How many has he walked this spring?

[User Name]

This is true, but at the same time, I'd like to see Bard throw a little higher percentage of first-pitch strikes.

 

Outside of that bad 2nd, he's looked strong.

 

As he starts throwing more fastballs, the FPS% will increase.

 

I don't know what all the nail-biting is about. As long as he maintains his velocity and keeps the ball on the ground, the rest of his pitching skills will come around.

[SoxFanForsyth]

How many has he walked this spring?

 

Came in with 7 in 7.2. Not sure how many he walked today (I think 3?), so 10 in 12.2.

 

But as a starter, meaning taking out that outing when he came in during the 5th when he was supposed to come in during the 4th, which was so incredibly stupid, and then the rain delay, he's walked 6 in 10 IP.

 

Still not great, but I'm ok with it. He looked extremely strong, retiring the last 9, and only threw 80 pitches through 5. That's a 16 pitch average, and would easily get him through 7 IP.

[SoxFanForsyth]

As he starts throwing more fastballs, the FPS% will increase.

 

I don't know what all the nail-biting is about. As long as he maintains his velocity and keeps the ball on the ground, the rest of his pitching skills will come around.

 

Good call. Good voice of reason.

 

Hard not to get caught up in results sometimes.

 

Regardless - Bard looked excellent in his final 3 frames, and I'd take 6-7 IP, 3 ER from him any day as the #4 starter.

 

By the way - I meant to say this the other day, but I always wondered why they never just told Andrew Miller to throw exclusively from the stretch. Seems like it's incredibly easier to repeat the delivery from the stretch.

 

And of course I don't say anything, and then Bobby V tells him to throw exclusively from the stretch.

 

I'm excited to see him throw today. I have a good feeling about him.

[a700hitter]

Plus a good sign - Bard's velocity is still at around 96 after 60 pitches. 60 pitches through 4 IP' date=' a 15 pitch average even with the rough 2nd. That's a very good pace - 7 innings, 105 pitches. Exactly where you want to be.[/quote']I was going to ask about his velocity. There is no gun reading in the park and it is hard to tell from my perspective. He has looked a lot better the last 2 innings- consistent strikes.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I was going to ask about his velocity. There is no gun reading in the park and it is hard to tell from my perspective. He has looked a lot better the last 2 innings- consistent strikes.

 

Sitting 94-95, touching 96-97. Slider looked pretty filthy in the last few innings.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Jesse Carlson, on the other hand, is sitting 82-83...

 

Pass.

[a700hitter]

Did Carlson get injured?

[SoxFanForsyth]

Did Carlson get injured?

 

No. Just faced the 1 guy. Weird, I know.

[TylerD]

How has Bard looked since the second inning? Not able to watch or listen to the game because of work

[SoxFanForsyth]

How has Bard looked since the second inning? Not able to watch or listen to the game because of work

 

Looked extremely strong after 2nd inning.

[TylerD]

The score is gettin worse and worse Everytime I look at my phone I think I jinxed it lol.

[jacksonianmarch]

There is no way around it. The guy has come into ST with nothing handed to him in terms of the rotation and he has sucked hard his last 2 starts. I wouldnt be surprised if he is moved to the pen

[TylerD]

There is no way around it. The guy has come into ST with nothing handed to him in terms of the rotation and he has sucked hard his last 2 starts. I wouldnt be surprised if he is moved to the pen

 

I think he needs a few more starts give a solid opinion. I wasn't able to watch the game but apparently he had a couple nice innings. He just seems to be inconsistent right now. But I do think Bard had a lot of talent but his last couple of starts in ST have done him no justice. However it's not enough for me to say he sucks just yet. Be curious to see his post game interview after.

[a700hitter]

I was interested to see how Miller would do out of the stretch. He threw 2 pitches -- 1 that almost went to the backstop- and left with an injury. There was nothing of interest to me thereafter so I left.

 

As I said earlier, I don't think much of Sweeney. He doesn't seem to bring very much to the table. I'd prefer DMac to get the nod if it comes down to the 2 of them.

 

Here are my impressions of the new JetBlue Ballpark. There's more parking and more varied food concessions. There's more room to walk around outside of the stands, so it is less congested and less crowded. I like the Fenway feel inside the ballpark. It comes pretty close to the real thing. Like Fenway, there are no ondeck circles, so they really paid attention to the details on the field.

 

Now for the bad points. Unfortunately, the Fenway feel doesn't stop at the field. The seats are small just like Fenway. My brother (who has lost 20 lbs since last season) and I felt considerably more cramped than we did at City of Palms Park. Today, we asked some other people who have been season ticket holders for many years and they agreed about the cramped small seats. City of Palms had a broad walkway between the box seats and the grandstand. There was a high retaining wall at the bottom of the grandstand seats, and it provided nice standing room views of the game all around the park. If you went to the bathroom or the concessions, you could watch the game standing against that wall without going up the aisle in the middle of the inning and blocking views or making people stand to let you into your seat. Last night, I came back from the bathroom and I returned with 2 outs in the inning. Rather than disturb people, I figured that I would stand until the 3rd out. Unfortunately, the retaining wall in front of the grandstand seats is very low and people standing or walking in the aisle will block the view of the front row of the grandstand. I know now to never buy the first row in the grandstand. This is a very unfortunate design mistake IMO. Finally, the handicapped parking area is a joke. It is too far from the park entrance and the dirt field makes it very difficult for people in wheel chairs. I miss the tall palms at City of Palms Park, but there are a good number of palm trees at the new venue that I hope to see rise to the same heights.

 

All in all, it is a great deal of fun.

[SoxFanForsyth]

There is no way around it. The guy has come into ST with nothing handed to him in terms of the rotation and he has sucked hard his last 2 starts. I wouldnt be surprised if he is moved to the pen

 

You sure do hope so, don't you?

 

They going to move Halladay to the pen, too? What about Strasburg? Lincecum has a 4.50 ERA, is he bullpen material??

 

Give me a break. To rely exclusively on results during ST is absurd, especially when it's a pitcher who is just beginning to start and get a feel for some pitches and the wind up.

 

And lets not forget. While he didn't throw great last night, it was still 5 innings, 83 pitches, 49 for strikes (59%), 3 ER. That's a solid outing.

[Elktonnick]

There is no way around it. The guy has come into ST with nothing handed to him in terms of the rotation and he has sucked hard his last 2 starts. I wouldnt be surprised if he is moved to the pen

 

Actually Bard did pretty well after the second. The important thing for me was the fact that he finished strong. Considering he is transitioning from a reliever to starter, it is important that he bounce back after a tough inning. He retired the last 8 batters he faced. On the down side, he didn't throw that many change ups and too many fastballs. I don't see him being successful as a starter relying so much on his fastball.