Justin Masterson seems too good to be true, both as a person and a pitcher. His positive energy cannot be denied, and neither can his numbers in Portland so far (4-0, 1.04). There are a couple of stories on him in today's Press Herald.

Masterson was the third pitcher chosen in the 2006 draft by the Red Sox (in the second round). The top Red Sox pick, Daniel Bard, is having, as they say in the minor league business, "a developmental year."

Bard struggled in two starts with advanced Class A Lancaster to start the season. He hit the disabled list with a strained triceps muscle. Since returning to low Class A Greenville, he is 3-2 with a 4.73 ERA in 10 starts. He has 24 strikeouts in 40 innings, but also 25 walks.

In Greenville's 7-5 loss Wednesday, Bard allowed 6 earned runs in 3 innings, on 3 hits, 1 walk, 3 hit batters and 4 wild pitches.

A few notes from Triple-A: In Pawtucket's 12-2 loss to Toledo, recently-released Red Sox reliever Joel Pineiro, who accepted an offer to go to Triple-A, started and threw 3 scoreless innings. David Murphy also homered in the first inning.

But things went downhill. Reliever Barry Hertzler continues to struggle since being called up from Portland. He allowed 7 earned runs in 1 2/3 innings (ERA now at 16.31).

Former Sea Dogs infielder Zach Borowiak pitched the last inning for Pawtucket (1 hit, 1 strikeout)

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