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Is there really question about "how this went down"? Bard wanted to start. The Sox wanted him to start. The two agreed. If Bard hadn't wanted to start, he probably still would have been stretched out as a starter and Valentine would have ended up putting him in the pen. The Sox didn't necessarily want him to close. The list of starters available this off-season was poor, Bard could hit 100mph with his FB. It's not rocket science here fellas. If it had worked out he could have been a very nice and cheap SP. It didn't so now they are working him back up as a reliever. I read some quotes from Bard saying, essentially, that as a reliever he used a lower arm slot that allowed him to throw harder but effected his command. As a starter he needed the command but lost the velocity. Overall he lost the arm slot that he spent so much time in the minors developing. Pessimists can declare the project as lost and Bard washed up as a pitcher. Optimists can hope he regains the arm slot that allowed him to be one of the best setup men in baseball. All of us can wait to see what happens.

They deserve credit for finding and keeping Nava. Their whole approach was to have a farm system that produces guys who contribute without a ton of adjustment. If they immediately placed those guys in the big club they wouldn't have the depth to accommodate injury. An embarrassment of riches isn't a bad thing.

Why not? If he could be part of a package for a really good player? He's been in the Sox system awhile and few league wide or in the sox community had much use for him. If the right deal is there and they can swap his name where Kalish's used to be, sell high.

Crawford was one of the most valuable players in the league, certainly one of the most valuable OFs, for a few years there until 2011. Lets put to rest the notion that he was just a mirage. His combination of talents made him dangerous in many areas and a terror to opponents. I'm not sure what they should do with Nava, but Crawford is the starting LF.

Agreed 700. His defense is valuable in and of itself.

And people are saying the injuries to the offense doesn't hurt them...

Players who are probably grumpy: Daniel Bard Adrian Gonzalez Dustin Pedroia Kevin Youkilis Josh Beckett Jon Lester I can't say I blame them. There are lots of reasons to be grumpy, even not knowing what's actually going on in the clubhouse. * The FO/Ownership might be more worried with gate receipts than fielding a winning team. * A team with one of the best offenses in baseball, and the game's best bullpen the past 50 day is in last place. * A fan base and media that is supposedly very well informed is at an all-time pressure cooking temperature... as impulsive and reactionary as I can remember it. There's plenty to be grumpy or dissatisfied about from all angles. I don't think Olney is going to win a Pulitzer for this reporting. I think there's still hope that this team can turn it around and win 90+ games this season and compete for a post-season spot.

No need to respond to Jacko's absurd claim that they would have to give up Barnes to get Garza. Barnes could undoubtedly get Garza, but that's not the same as saying that only Barnes could get Garza.

Nobody will stop you from using what you choose. It's just that nobody with a lick of intelligence will buy into what you are saying if your biases are both so rigid and transparent. If you acknowledge that ERA is a problematic because it doesn't adjust for anything, and then criticize another stat that does adjust for things, but maybe not all of them, and then say that you're just sticking with ERA because the other ones aren't perfect, it's like saying that the Model T was the best car to choose from because it gets you where you are going and the other cars don't yet partake of flying or space travel. Yes, the ultimate car might be able to fly or go to space, but it doesn't mean that improvements like air conditioning, power windows, better brakes, etc., aren't ACTUAL IMPROVEMENTS. A 9 year old could say "But, dad, doesn't it matter that Hammels plays in a different league?" or "It seems strange to me that the best way to measure one player vs another would be based on a counting stat like earned runs, when the ballparks and competition one pitcher faces is so different from another. There must be a better way."

ERA does none of the things you listed. Have you heard the saying "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good?". That is what is happening here. I can't answer your questions about whether ERA+ does this or that. But you merely asking implies that taking other factors into account would produce a superior measure in your view. We know ERA+ takes ballpark and relative strength of opponents/league into account. Not worth damning it in favor of a less sophisticated stat just because it doesnt immediately assuage your concerns in every possible way. I suspect that if that statistic existed with everything you discussed or could ever ask for, you would dislike it anyway.

Kalish isn't loaded with options so they are probably calling him up to have him on the team, rather than as a replacement for Sweeney. One thing I'm excited about is that, regardless of how the season ends, it might finish with the OF of the future and maybe Middlebrooks and/or Lavarnway with the club as well. If they are going to toil in the bottom ranks they may as well play their prospects so they are ready to hit the ground running in 2013.

Kalish coming up tonight. Sweet! Let's hope that's the beginning of reinforcements starting to trickle back. Kalish will be a welcome addition for sure.

Garza would be a nice addition to the team. I don't love the idea of giving up Lavarnway for him, but with Salty's emergence as an offensive threat, I could see Lavs and Garza being a decent match, especially if the Sox could extend him somehow.

I don't have much to add to any threads these days. The Sox generally look pathetic and listless recently. They need to be winning 3 out of every 5 games now, and they are barely getting 2 out of 5. 1-5 during a Baltimore/Nationals homestand is weak-sauce. Not sure what can be done. I've got better things to do with my time than watch losses to s***** teams. I hope they win, I really do, but with two young kids at home and 10 hour workdays, I find myself checking the scores instead of watching the game on DVR at home. I'm always the optimist, but a loss is much easier to stomach if it only takes 2 minutes of checking the scoreboard.

Kalish continues to swing a good bat in his AAA rehab starts. I get everybody's points about him likely spending the majority of the year at AAA. However, he's got a lot of the skills that the Sox are putting together from other OFs, but in one player rather than 2 or 3. He could play any of the OF positions (DMac) he can be late inning speed replacement (Pods, DMac) he can legitimately play CF (Byrd, now DFA'D) and he can hit with more power than Nava. Kalish was a prospect with MLB future written all over him, similar to Middlebrooks. His bat doesn't have the same power potential but his defense is really, really good at multiple positions. I wouldn't be shocked if we are having discussions about how to get him to the major league roster by seasons end.

In my ideal world the 5th OF is Kalish. Sorry about Nava Dojj. He will probably stay in the organization and be on the big club next year when they need to save even more money.

And, a disappointing 3rd pick. Not much to write home about here.

First half of Papelbon is Brian Johnson