What To Do With Josh Bard?

For what it is worth, I have never caught a major league knuckleball. Regardless of that useless tidbit, I still realize that it may be time to replace Josh Bard as the personal catcher to Mr. Knuckleball on the Red Sox, Tim Wakefield. It is plain to see that Bard just isn't capable of handling the knuckler (not many are). Last night in Cleveland, Bard allowed four passed balls (giving him 10 for the season in only 6 games). You could say I'm being quick to pass judgement but the Sox can hardly afford to wait for the young catcher to learn this difficult craft on the fly -- a playoff berth could just as easily slip away with an April loss as it can with a defeat in September. There are three options in dealing with this problem. 1. Make Jason Varitek the personal Wakefield catcher and have Bard catch another starter. There is some logic to this solution but not much. Yes, moving Bard away from Wakefield solves Bard's problem but does it help 'Tek or Wake? Varitek has enough responsibility in working with the pitching staff, adding Tim Wakefield and that floating knuckler won't help him. And Wakefield needs a guy who will primarily catch him -- as he had in the past with Doug Mirabelli. Which brings me to the second option. 2. Make a trade with the San Diego Padres to bring Mirabelli back to Boston. This scenario does make sense. Wakefield is struggling with the new guy and Mirabelli is off to a slow start with the Padres. Bang! Bring back Mirabelli. However, what will it take for the Sox to get him back in his old No. 29 jersey? And will the Padres be so quick to deal him to Boston after they got him in exchange for Mark Loretta? The Padres would most likely ask for bullpen help -- and I'm thinking that Rudy Seanez might not be enough in April for the Padres to move Mirabelli. They might ask for one of the younger Boston arms -- Craig Hansen, Edgar Martinez, or Manny Delcarmen -- now before the market gets set in June or July. Of course, when San Diego general manager mentions those names to Theo Epstein, the Sox GM will have a good chuckle before politely declining. For now, it seems Mirabelli will probably stay in San Diego. But his name could pop up later this summer. 3. Send Bard to Pawtucket and call-up Ken Huckaby. The most likely option in the immediate future. Bard can go to Pawtucket and play every day while a veteran like Huckaby, who spent a good deal of time this winter catching Wakefield in Florida, can come and help the team behind the plate. Another option is to recall the recently signed Corky Miller from the PawSox. Miller has major league experience catching a knuckleball pitcher, Jared Fernandez, while with the Reds. Whatever the solution may be, the Red Sox need to fix this hole before it gets any worse.