TORONTO -- All off-season long, Daniel Bard prepared to be a starting pitcher. Now that his first start in the big leagues is just a day away, Bard hears speculation that he might be jettisoned back to the bullpen thanks to two disastrous relief efforts by others in Detroit.
"I haven't even pitched this year yet," noted Bard. "We're three games in. It's easy to say that we need . . . obviously, our bullpen wants to throw better. They're going to throw better. To judge them off three games isn't really fair."
Bard added that no one associated with the team has spoken to him about the possibility of going back to a relief role in the wake of the sweep in Detroit.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"Until that happens," he said, "I can't really answer (any questions) . . . It's not for me to decide. Right now, I'm a starter and I'll try to be the best one I can be."
At the end of last season, before the Sox traded for Andrew Bailey, Bard made his preference clear to management, saying that he wanted to return to the rotation. He started in college and served as a starter in his first full year in the Sox' minor league system.
"I'm very excited about it," he said. "It's been kind of a long road to get to this point. I've put a lot of work into get here. The opportunity finally presented itself, and I'm excited about it."
Even when Bard was excelling in a set-up role, he thought the opportunity to start would eventually present itself.
"It's something I always thought I could do," Bard said, "once I proved to myself I could consistently get hitters out at this level. If the team ever had a need, I would present it with the idea. That's kind of what happened."
Bard hard to prove to the manager, coaching staff and front office that he could handle the workload in the spring, and while he had some rocky outings, he showed enough progress to win a spot.
"It wasn't an experiment," said Bard. "As long as I proved I was doing things and moving in the right direction, that they'd give me the chance. I think when I proved this spring I could get deep into games and be kind of efficient with my pitches, it was worth giving me a shot."
Beyond the physical demands, there's also a different thought process he needs to take to the mound. Instead of concentrating on getting three or four outs, he must prepare himself to get 20 or more.
"I think it's the mentality," he said. "The way you attack hitters is a lot different pitching in the eighth inning with a lead versus starting. When you're pitching late in the game, teams are trying to pose a comeback against you, you pretty much have to get strike one, then you can pitch around the edges of the zone and get a lot of swings. Guys are going to be aggressive right from the get-go. Guys want to hit that go-ahead homer, and you use that to your advantage.
"Whereas starting, I've learned pretty quickly you need to be in the zone a lot. They'll give you a whole at-bat, they might take the first three or four pitches against you just to see what you've got, and you've got to take advantage of that. (The key is) just be in the zone and get ahead. That's the biggest adjustment. The more I'm in the zone early in the count, the better I'm going to be."