Man, I am a greedy greedy man

Man I love winning 1-0 games in the bottom of the 9th. I love seeing Lester out duel Halladay and I love seeing Youk come up big in the 9th.
I love seeing Lowell back in the line up.
I love knowing that with a win by Dice-K, the Defending World Champion Boston Red Sox will be at worst tied for first going into May.

So naturally I was talking with some of my Red Sox pals about the team and we determined that we needed bullpen help.

I wrote about how I thought it was time to have Timlin hang them up and my buddy and I agreed the pen needed some reinforcements.

Timlin has an ERA floating in the 13's, Javier Lopez is a left hander who can't get left handers out and Julian Tavarez is a human white flag.

Now keep in mind we know that the Sox have a great closer in Papelbon.
And a great lefty set up man in Okajima.
And we know new comer David Aardsma is doing well.
And Manny DelCarmen was doing well until pitching poorly his last 3 games, but he should rebound.

Also remember that Varitek has gotten some big hits and is handling the starting staff perfectly...
Youk continues to hit...
Pedroia has been a spark plug and made a great defensive play last night...
Lugo of all people has gotten some hits...
Lowell is back...
Manny might win the MVP...
Ellsbury is putting some hits together after a slow start...
Drew has slowed down but still is capable of some pop...
Crisp is playing great D and his average is hovering around .300...
Ortiz seems to be out of his slump...
Cash and the kid Lowrie have given them some depth off of the bench...
And the rotation of Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, Buchholz and even Wakefield have been getting the job done.

So what were we complaining about?

We were complaining that the 5th, 6th and 7th options out of the bullpen weren't to our liking.

That is being very greedy.

And we Sox fans had better get used to seeing at least Timlin and Tavarez.
Timlin seems like a good clubhouse guy and with a lot of young pitchers on the staff, it pays to have a veteran in the pen... even one with a 13 ERA.

As for Tavarez... he's Manny's buddy. And with Manny hitting the way he is, I want him as happy as possible.

Oh well... maybe I can find peace thinking 22 of the 25 on the roster can contribute!

Hey Terry... let Alex Cora play

Before the playoffs started, I listed the players on the active rosters with 10 years of big league experience and no rings.

The Cubs had the most and they will start next season ringless as well.

With Julian Tavarez mercifully not on the Red Sox post season roster, the only active player on the Boston roster with 10 years in the show and no ring on his finger is Alex Cora.

I know he isn't a beloved local All Star like Todd Helton or an oft traveled solid veteran returning home like Kenny Lofton... but he's a nice role playing infielder who has filled nicely in second and short during the year.

How about letting him play a game, Mr. Francona?
Look, far be it for me to complain about ANYTHING this post season... especially with the Red Sox 4-0 so far and winning each game by an average of 7 to 2.

But let him in one game... as a pinch runner. Hell tonight, Papi got a double in the 8th. Why not bring in Cora to run then? Or in the 9-1 clincher against the Angels, have him play shortstop in the 9th?

I know this sounds odd, but this is coming from a guy who sat on the bench all through high school... just waiting for a blow out for me to make a pinch hitting appearance.

Maybe I feel for Alex sitting on the bench while the team steamrolls.

Maybe he doesn't care.
I guess when your team is winning every game by 5 runs, you need things to root for.

Hey Francona

Do us all a favor... and put this kid Buchholz on the post season roster.

I don't want to hear "We've got to respect the veterans" and "it's too early to throw him into the fire."

He's a stud. He's the real deal. The team needed a pick-me-up after the sweep in the Bronx and the failed come back last night and this hayseed may have given the team the spark they desperately need.

Think of a post season match up with a team that has never faced him...
Think of the rush of sending him up to the mound rather than Julian Tavarez.

Remember 2005? Foulke was hurt, you tried Schilling as closer and down the stretch you used Timlin... who blew some key saves. Little did you know that that rookie sitting in the pen that you didn't use in save situations would turn out to be Jonathan Papelbon, already one of the best closers in Sox history.

The Yankees tied the Sox and took the division by the season series tie breaker.
The Red Sox get killed by the White Sox in the first round.

You didn't know then about Papelbon... but you know now about Buchholz!
Buchholz is pitching every 5 days. If that means sending Lester or Schilling to the pen and Tavarez to the glue factory, so be it.

Put him in the rotation RIGHT NOW and come playoff time give him a start.

Sonny Corleone put up a bigger fight in the toll booth than the White Sox this weekend!

Don't get me wrong, I loved it. I already expressed my love for a good spanking, but this was nuts.

A combined 46 to 7 score over 4 games?
Julian Tavarez throwing like that alien took over his body again?
The always awful J. D. Drew hitting a homer?

Hopefully they'll continue pitching and hitting like this when they come to the Bronx next week.