Extra inning losses make me sleepy...

I tried to stay up late and catch the final result of the extra inning game between the Red Sox and the A's last night, but I could not keep my eyelids open past 11:00 PM.

I managed to stay up just long enough to see Paplebon get the final out in the 10th. He was not his normal, 'lights out' self, but he got the job done, leaving the mound shaking his head.

Using the telekinetic link that exists between the TV set in my living room and Fenway Park, I let him know, 'It's alright dude, you got it done.'

With that I headed off to bed with my usual mantra of, 'well, they're just going to have to win it in my sleep,' but in the back of my mind, I did not have a good feeling about this one.

I awoke this morning and checked the score. I was disappointed but not really surprised to find that The Sox had lost, 5-4.

Julian Tavarez, (fucking Tavarez) gave up the winning runs in the 11th. I just don't know what to say about that guy. I don't like to bash players but I have no confidence in Tavarez when he comes into a game. When I see him coming out of the pen I just shake my head and say, 'here we go.."

It is not good when you are continually more surprised to see Tavarez get out of an inning unscathed than you are to see him give up home runs. There have been games where he's been lights out, but it seems like those moments are not as frequent as the times where he gets himself into winning-the-game-is-now-on-the-line jams.

I have a feeling that Tavarez's continued presence in our bullpen is going to bite The Sox in the ass at some point this season, and it's going to happen at some critical juncture, like the October time-frame... That would be bad. I'm hoping to see Theo work some magic and bring in somebody more confidence-inspiring for middle relief. We'll see.

For now, let's hope Beckett is solid right from the start in his outing vs. Zito tonight.