Twenty-five-year-old fireballer Daniel Bard took over the eighth-inning role for Hideki Okajima and locked down the frame with a 1.93 ERA in 73 appearances. He was as reliable as a reliever could be.
Papelbon, on the other hand, regressed to a 3.90 ERA — not a terrible number, but over double his 2009 ERA. That statistic, however, doesn’t entirely tell the story of how shaky Papelbon often appeared.
Bard has always been anointed “the closer of the future,” but when does the future begin? If he’s the best reliever on the team, shouldn’t he be closing?
The team clearly is willing to move on from Papelbon, given that they pursued Mariano Rivera, so should they be willing to do the same to give Bard the spot?
Should Jonathan Papelbon or Daniel Bard be the Red Sox' closer in 2011?Market Research
