Brilliant, Just Brilliant

Remember that thing I said yesterday about maybe being able to rely on Tavarez sometimes?

I was WRONG WRONG WRONG.

I was playing tennis and came home just in time for the bottom of the 10th. Apparently, Papelbon had his 4th blown save and let the game get tied in the 8th. He had a scoreless 9th, then Ortiz was intentionally walked in the 10th (I guess these people are learning). Tavarez came in, got one out, then gave up the game-winning home run. It was made even worse by the fact that Jason Johnson had a really strong outing, only allowing 2 runs over 6 innings. I feel bad for that man, he must be disappointed that he wasn't able to get his well-deserved win.

Usually, I try to defend players when they aren't playing well. When Gonzalez was struggling in the beginning of the season, I kept supporting the man because his defense was so incredible that anything he did was fine with me. When Pena first got here all he did was strike out (and he did it a lot when I was at the games in Baltimore), but just watching him I knew he was going to be a huge power hitter soon. And the best example of all? Mark Bellhorn! He was my favorite player (okay tied for favorite with Arroyo), I bought his jersey, and he came through when it mattered in '04.

But Tavarez? I am so sick of him losing games that I'm ready to give up on him. He hardly ever pitches well, and as soon as he comes in the game fans get depressed. If he wants us to respect him, he has to earn it. And he has really, REALLY let us down thus far.

Later...
Okay, I am much calmer now. And I realize that the whole bullpen blew the game tonight, and it was not just Julian's fault. But Delcarmen, Timlin, and Papelbon (especially Papelbon) are not notorious for their mistakes. And while I am still upset with Tavarez, I'm not as angry as I was a few hours ago. But I still he needs to shape up or ship out!

QotD
Papelbon: "It was a tough loss. Obviously, in my opinion, I don't think our bullpen got the job done tonight. We want to be that type of bullpen that's counted on. It was a tough one for our bullpen."

At least I have one thing to look forward to. Tony Kornheiser returns to Pardon the Interruption tomorrow!