Daniel Bard: Boston Red Sox Hurler Earns AL Worst of the Night Award

The Boston Red Sox were going for a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, but it didn't take long for Daniel Bard to ruin everything.

No, seriously. It literally took about two minutes for Bard to put the game out of reach. He had absolutely no idea where the ball was going when it left his hand, and that led to a formidable early lead for the Blue Jays.

A full recap of Bard's outing is required here. Fortunately, this won't take long.

First Inning: Leadoff walk to Kelly Johnson, who eventually stole second. Walk to Yunel Escobar. Three-run home run by Jose Bautista. Walk to Edwin Encarnacion. David Cooper grounded into a 1-6-3 double play. Brett Lawrie flied out to center field.

Second Inning: Leadoff walk to Colby Rasmus. Walk to J.P. Arencibia. Rajai Davis struck out swinging. Johnson struck out looking. Escobar hit by pitch. Walk to Bautista to score a run. Encarnacion hit by pitch to score a run. 

That was it for Bard, as Bobby Valentine called in Franklin Morales from the bullpen to get the final out of the inning.

When the book on Bard was closed, his line looked like this: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 2 HBP. He threw 55 pitches, only 24 of which went for strikes. For the season, he now has 37 walks and 34 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched.

Twitter took note of Bard's miserable outing, and his name was soon trending. Bill Simmons took the liberty of pointing out the reality of the situation:

"

Put it this way: it's never a good sign when Daniel Bard is trending.

— Bill Simmons (@sportsguy33) June 3, 2012"

He wasn't the only one clowning on Bard. Saturday Night Live personality Seth Meyers had something to say about Bard's control:

"

On Amtrak from Boston to New York. Our train was just hit by a Daniel Bard pitch.

— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers21) June 3, 2012"

Erroneous. Bard probably couldn't hit a train with a fastball even if he tried.

Funny, though. I'm surprised nobody thought to call him DanieLOL Bard.

Hmmm...remind me to trademark that.

All trolling and LOLing aside, the Red Sox were pretty much finished by the time Bard walked off the mound. They were unable to get anything going against Drew Hutchison, and they went on to lose 5-1. The Red Sox and Blue Jays are now tied for last place in the AL East, though both of them are only three games off the pace set by the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Red Sox are definitely in much better shape now than they were a month ago, but they're not going to be able to tolerate Bard's struggles for much longer. It's an adventure every time he takes the mound, and the experiment is not making progress. If anything, it's getting worse.

If this is to be the status quo, the Red Sox are going to have to pull the plug, and sooner rather than later.

Since I may not get another opportunity, I'm going to give Daniel Bard my American League "Worst of the Night" award. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't have an excuse to give it to him sooner.

Cheer up, Red Sox fans. If the Sox have to take Bard out of the rotation, it stands to reason Daisuke Matsuzaka will take his place.

My guess is you won't even notice the switch.

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