MIDDLE-RELIEF SITUATION

Julian Tavarez has an ERA of 4.61. Rudy Seanez has an ERA of 8.03. Manny Delcarmen had an ERA of 9.82. David Riske has an ERA of 18.00. Mike Holtz has an ERA of 27.00. The Red Sox bullpen is comprised of Papelbon, Timlin, Foulke, then three walking question marks.

Tavarez's ERA is misleading. There have been several outings in which he's entered the game, given up some baserunners, then left to be saved by Timlin or Foulke. In 13.2 innings (1.54 WHIP), he's allowed 16 hits, and 5 walks. Three of those 16 hits were homeruns. Opponents are slugging .588 against him.

The mid-relief isn't good. It is actually somewhat bad. However, the situation is not one that requires panic or a roster move.

Right now, Seanez, Tavarez, and Holtz are the middle relievers. But, we have two pitchers on the DL. Riske is rehabbing his way back to health and will probably replace Holtz on the roster. When/if Wells returns, DiNardo will return to the bullpen and push out Seanez. If (and that is a massive IF) we get Clemens, that will push Wells out of the rotation (possibly into the bullpen) and would totally alter the construction of our pitching staff.

Then there are the minor leaguers that will be coming up near the end of the season. Jon Lester will probably find his way into the Red Sox bullpen. Craig Hansen made it last year and is lighting it up in Portland with 11 innings, 12 strikeouts, 1 earned run in 5 appearances. Delcarmen pitched poorly with us in his short stint, but he might turn it around by the end of the season. Abe Alvarez is on the verge in AAA Pawtucket. And Edgar Martinez has 3 saves, and 2 holds in 11 appearances with an ERA of 1.69 in 16 innings with 18 strikeouts.

In short, the middle relief situation is not a major problem and it will probably solve itself as players come off the DL and minor leaguers come up to the majors. Middle-relief is also one of the easiest spots on the roster to fill via trades. We could give up some low level prospects for an old reliever and do small moves like that to plug the gaps.