Boston Red Sox: Is Daniel Bard a Starter or Reliever?

Whether Daniel Bard was going to be a starter or a reliever was one of the Boston Red Sox' biggest questions heading into the season.

Bard worked during spring training to become a starter and through his first two regular season starts he's 0-2 with a 4.93 ERA in 11.2 innings of work while walking eight and striking out 13.

With Boston's series finale against the New York Yankees being rained out, manager Bobby Valentine has announced that Bard will be skipped in the rotation and will be available in the bullpen for the eighth inning but will still make his next scheduled start on Friday against the Chicago White Sox, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. 

Knobler writes that Valentine was in favor of keeping Bard in the bullpen for the season but management decided against that and favor him in the starting rotation.

Both the Red Sox' starters and relievers have been terrible through their first 14 games of 2012 but the bullpen has easily struggled the most. In 42.2 innings from Boston's relievers, they have the highest bullpen ERA in the league at 8.49. They have also blown three out of five save opportunities and allowed a league leading 11 home runs.

Bard will most likely be used as the eighth inning reliever during Boston's series against the Minnesota Twins and then the start of the series against Chicago. The question that could arise is if Thursday night the Red Sox hold a small lead and Bard would be the best option to pitch the eighth; will Valentine rest him for his start on Friday or use him to try and win the game?

Another thing to consider is if Bard really excels in his bullpen opportunities, will this lead to a permanent change to the bullpen? Time will tell.