Things have still been relatively quiet for the Boston Red Sox as of late although they did make the signing of Josh Bard official yesterday. After announcing the signing, Bard held a teleconference with the local media and here’s a sampling of what he had to say.
What’s it like to be back?
I am extremely excited. Obviously, last time I didn’t leave on the terms I necessarily would have liked. To get a second chance to play for what I consider the best organization in baseball from top to bottom is a privilege. I’m grateful for it. I know that this time, it’s going to be different for a lot of different reasons. Mostly, I think that I’m a different player and a different person than I was the last time that I was here. Initially, I think that coming to the Red Sox, I was hoping that I was going to be a good player. Falling flat on your face and going to San Diego, getting kind of throwing into the fire there and succeeding and playing well, now I know that I belong in this league. I think going into the situation with Tim, I think initially I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders with every pitch that he threw, and if I missed one, the world was going to be over. I thin that with maturity comes an understanding that everyone misses a knuckleball every once in a while. That’s part of it. Understanding that this time around will give me a lot better insight on how to do this thing.
I think we are all still hoping the Red Sox go out and sign Jason Varitek because Josh Bard is probably not going to be the every day catcher. It’s also quite possible that the Red Sox could still try and trade for a younger catcher that’s capable of handling the every day duties as well.
Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe checks in with her first mailbag of the new year.
Pitching coach John Farrell will be appearing at a pitching clinic in Mansfield, MA on January 17th and 18.
Chad Finn from Touching All The Bases is a big fan of Hanley Ramirez.
