While that was, in large part, the truth, the Red Sox saw some encouraging signs from a key member of their bullpen – Daniel Bard.
Last year, the story with Bard was simply his fastball. In his major league debut, his teammates stood at the top step of the dugout in Anaheim to catch a glimpse of the heralded 100-mph heater. That fastball brought Bard a good deal of success early in 2009, but his lack of a full arsenal helped contribute to his drastically increased ERA and WHIP in the second half of the year.
Yet on Tuesday night, Bard showed off a devastating slider and what looked to be a highly effective changeup — two pitches that should make the 24-year-old one of the toughest relievers to face in baseball.
"I threw some really good [sliders] toward the end of the year to get some strikeouts on it and some ground balls," he told the New Hampshire Union Leader in January. "That gave me some confidence in the pitch right now, and it can be a good weapon against lefties in the future."
That slider froze Alex Rodriguez in the seventh, as the Yankees' third baseman watched the pitch dart away from him before Angel Hernandez rung him up on strikes. Replay showed that the pitch might have been outside, but the replay from behind home plate showed just how unhittable it might be.
Bard unveiled the changeup in the following at-bat, this time facing lefty Robinson Cano. Bard spent a lot of time working on his changeup this offseason, and reports from various scouts said it looked to be new and improved. After sparingly using the changeup in his rookie campaign, the 1-1 pitch he threw to Cano looked devastating.
The pitch hit Victor Martinez's target low and away, and Cano — geared up for another 97-mph heater — could only muster an off-balance flail at the 89-mph offering. Bard's next pitch? A 98-mph fastball, up and in. Cano grounded out.
If Bard's shown any issue thus far, it's been walks. He gave Nick Johnson a free pass on just five pitches on Tuesday, and he walked Johnson on Sunday in just four pitches. It's far too early to get worked up about the walks, though, as he gave hitters just 22 free passes in 49 1/3 innings last year.
Looking back to last year, it may have been premature to christen Bard as the heir apparent to Jonathan Papelbon, and Bard's second-half ERA of 4.74 proved that. But the young reliever — at least through two games — looks like he added some veteran savvy in the offseason. With an enhanced arsenal apparently at his disposal, that bridge to Papelbon for 2010 appears to be bolstered quite a bit.
