Daily Red Sox Links: Daniel Bard, Draft, Daisuke Matsuzaka

With the off-day yesterday we were all free to focus on two topics: the first and supplemental rounds of the draft, and Daniel Bard's on-field implosion and what (if anything) should be done about it.

Everyone had opinions about Daniel Bard so, let's run this puppy down, shall we? OK, that didn't come out right...

• Dayn Perry thinks the Red Sox should send Bard back to the bullpen (Dayn Perry; CBS Eye On Baseball)
• Some interesting analysis from former pitcher Dirk Hayhurst on Bard's mental state. (Dirk Hayhurst; Dirkhayhurst.com)
• The Red Sox should stick with Bard as a starter, even if it means sending him to the minors as a starter to figure things out. (Gordon Edes; ESPN Boston)
• Looking at Bard's stats and what they tell us about his pitching. (Matt Collins; New England Sports News Blog)
• The Red Sox are looking into adding starting pitching, so (if true) they're at least preparing for a change. (Rob Bradford; WEEI.com)
• Give it up, it's not working. (Zachary Rymer;Horsehide Chronicles at Bleacher Report)

More on the draft and other great links after the jump...

The first and supplemental rounds of the draft were held yesterday in beautiful Secaucus, New Jersey. The Red Sox had three picks and as we've covered here at OTM, took three college players, shortstop Deven Marrero, and pitchers Brian Johnson and Pat Light. Marc covered them here, but for another perspective Sox Prospects gave us the lowdown as well: Marrero, Johnson, and Light. They also did a draft preview which goes into the financial aspects as well as discussing some players who are still available and may be when the Red Sox pick today. (Mike Andrews; Sox Prospects via ESPN Boston)

In the ultimate act of jumping the gun, here are some winners and losers from yesterday's first round of the draft. (Matthew Pouliot; Hardball Talk)

Here are two mock drafts which you can refer to to see how things turned out compared to what the experts thought would happen:

• Kevin Goldstein; Baseball Prospectus
• Marc Hulet; Fan Graphs
• Jonathan Mayo; MLB.com (Projected first ten picks and Top 100 draft prospects)

If you're into podcasts, the one they do at Fan Graphs is pretty great. Here Carson Cistulli and Dave Cameron preview the draft. (Fan Graphs Audio)

Yu Darvish is pretty awesome. (Dustin Parkes; The Score)

Over at Baseball Prospectus I wrote about the Red Sox roster crunch and in specific their current glut of corner infielders. For those who don't have BP subscriptions, I advocated not trading Kevin Youkilis. (Matt Kory; Baseball Prospectus) (Sadly, behind the paywall. Sorry about that.)

The counter point to my BP piece is this piece by SI's Jay Jaffe. (Jay Jaffe; Hit and Run)

If the Sox do decide to deal Youk, they're going to have to send him somewhere for something. Chip Buck looks at where he might go and what he might bring in return. (Chip Buck; Fire Brand of the AL)

Bryce Harper has faced some pretty good pitching since being called up. Sam Miller looks at those at-bats and figures out what they mean. (Sam Miller; Baseball Prospectus) (This one is free.)

Can a team really ban a fan from attending games forever? Like, actually forever? (Craig Calcaterra; Hardball Talk)

Hawk Harrelson's freakout was kinda funny (and in this writer's opinion, sad) but will it have any affect on instant replay in baseball? (Lewie Pollis; Beyond the Boxscore)