Julian Tavarez Back to the Bullpen
As the game began on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I noticed something I hadn’t seen in quite some time. Julian Tavarez stretching out in the bullpen! I thought this was strange since it was his turn in the rotation the next day, and just assumed that it meant that Curt Schilling was ready after his impressive start last week. It wasn’t until I got home that I got the good news that its actually Jon Lester making his comeback! Of course, this means that someone has to go, so adios Joel Pinero.
What is it about the Puerto Ricans in Boston? They almost traded Mike Lowell in the offseason, and the 2 guys to be designated thus far were both from the island (Romero and Pinero). Who’s next, Javier Lopez?
Anyway, I thought this would be a good time to look at Tavarez’s stats as a starting pitcher in 2007 (we aren’t going to look at the end of last year because that was no-pressure junk time for the most part)
He went 5-8 in 18 starts, and posted a 5.27 ERA. Those numbers are actually rather deceiving however, as he pretty much fell from grace after the All Star game in his last 3 starts. This is why he is sent to the bullpen as well - as we’ve reported here before, Tavarez was showing every sign of a guy who is just simply worn out. At the break, his numbers looked a lot better - 5-6 with a 4.39 ERA. He has also pitched 97.1 innings, of pretty decent quality. This is more than anyone was expecting out of him when the season began. Typically, a bullpen pitcher will throw anywhere from 60-80 IP in a full season and Tavarez has already gone beyond that. He has a 1.64 K/BB rate and .61 K/9, both of which are decent numbers.
Basically, he was a perfect #5 fill-in starter. The best part is who he is - I think he is the least likely person to be affected by being pushed out of the rotation. He’s such a nut that he just doesn’t care that he ‘lost’ his job to a cancer survivor.
From here on out however, I don’t expect much from Julian. I think that he now fills the junk-time long reliever guy, and we try to use Kyle Snyder more in close situations. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tavarez has some sort of phantom sore shoulder and spends some time on the DL when Curt Schilling comes back, just so he gets a chance to rest and they don’t have to unload any more players.
Stumble it!