Jeopardy

15.4 hits plus walks per nine innings, 1.5 homers per nine innings, and an ERA approaching six. Julian Tavarez may or may not be a "demon", "beast", or nice guy, but he can't get people out lately.

It always comes down to money, doesn't it? If Tavarez were Manny Delcarmen, he'd be on the next bus out of here, but Tavarez has a track record, and although it's not spectacular, he stays, passes go and collects 200 dollars, about every tenth of an inning, for 162 games, if my math is anywhere near right.

Mind you, I don't begrudge him the money. He can sit on the bench, mop up, pitch BP, or do something useful until he can get himself straightened out. But asking Terry Francona to send him out there in key situations lately has simply been a mistake. Maybe he has a hangnail, or a splinter, or a headache, or maybe he just needs a bad case of Hellenic Flu, as they say in the NBA.

Or maybe JT can go toe to toe with Joey Gathright and get a longer suspension. It just seems that the NL to AL shuttle seems to stop off at Camp Ineffectiveness just a tad too long for my taste. Yes, I know I've accused others of being Mr. Whathaveyoudoneformelately, but enough is enough.

If you're a lefthander (except Mike Holtz) and still breathing (Scott Sauerbeck), you can get a shot. God knows that we're bound to see the Alvarez's of the world pass through here (Bruce Chen?) on a regular basis.

So let's get Theo and Bill James, and the armies of servers, data managers, and techies to work on the bullpen, and see if they come up with anything besides OLD as a solution. "Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment." Well, the Jeopardy Category 'Ends With Z' has the answer, "what Red Sox reliever is killing us and needs some time off from pressure situations?"