What should we do with Julian Tavarez? Over the last five starts, Tavarez is 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA. This follows a June when Tavarez had a 3.00 ERA, and a May with a 3.99 ERA. Is he simply running out of gas, or is he simply an inconsistent pitcher? Don’t forget that in April, he posted a 7.58 ERA.
Whether or not he’s running out of gas or is inconsistent, this can’t keep happening the Red Sox are under .500 since May 30th, and it’s time to address the holes of the team. This is why Wily Mo Pena is being actively shopped and a more capable fourth outfielder is trying to be brought in (we inquired into Jermaine Dye, and rumors abound for Reggie Sanders). Curt Schilling is still two weeks away from his return, and the Red Sox may not want to give Tavarez two additional starts, which may send Kyle Snyder to the rotation or more likely, Devern Hansack or Jon Lester up to the majors (it’s way too early for Clay Buchholz!).
What do I think? I think it’s time to move on. Tavarez gave us some great innings, but we can’t afford to lie around and wait for things to right itself. We need to take initiative, to try to snap this slide and string together a five-game winning streak. Right now, we cannot win five games with Julian Tavarez going every five days. Sure, Kason Gabbard is always an enigma due to his average fastball and Tim Wakefield is insanely inconsistent, but Tavarez is the main problem right now. We cannot move forward without changing the Tavarez problem.
The Red Sox drafted high-school player Will Middlebrooks in the fifth round. Middlebrooks, viewed as a “tough sign” due to his bonus demands and commitment to Texas A&M, would be the best talent in the entire draft should the Red Sox convince Middlebrooks to sign. Middlebrooks, 18, would have been a surefire first round pick without all these questions. He was kind enough to answer a few questions I had for him. Middlebrooks was a baseball and football star in high school, but his favorite sport is unquestionably baseball. He played football because he loved to compete. “I’m not going to lie,” Middlebrooks said. “Football was hard. Baseball is more natural for me.”It’s quite obvious that baseball came naturally to Middlebrooks, as he excelled both at the plate and on the mound.
At the plate, he hit a jaw-dropping .555/.664/.927 in 110 at-bats for Liberty-Eylau High School in Texas. On the mound, he had a 13-0 record, giving up a scant 10 earned runs en route to a 0.86 ERA in 81 innings, dropping the hammer for 147 strikeouts, 12 walks and 47 hits. He has a four-seam fastball topping out at 95, with a two-seamer sitting around 88 mph. He also throws a 80-mph hard curve and has mixed in his slider and cutter while falling back on his out-pitch of a changeup. While he has quite the future on the mound, he prefers to hit.
“I love to pitch, but I would play short before pitching any day,” he declares. Middlebrooks is one of many baseball athletes who have grown up playing shortstop. Most of the major league baseball players played shortstop as a young age, as they were usually the best player on the team and the best players on a team always play short. However, he has been projected long-term as a third-baseman.
Middlebrooks’ favorite things to do are to fish, play ping-pong and hang out with friends … when he’s not hitting the weight room, of course. He attributes a good work ethic to his success. “I try not to slack in the weight room and cages,” he says, while also pointing to great coaching in the last few years to his success. However, he thinks he can improve his speed, saying that “you can never be too fast.” He also thinks that making solid contact is integral to the game, saying that “you can’t have power without contact.”
He was selected in the fifth round by the Boston Red Sox, a team Middlebrooks says he has always liked despite growing up watching the Texas Rangers due to the Rangers being near by. He says that Boston was very interested throughout the draft process, and that he’s honored to be selected by the Red Sox due to them being a great organization. However, the Red Sox and Middlebrooks have yet to discuss anything in particular, including a contract offer, which he says will have to be something he and his family agreed would be best for him to pass up the opportunity Texas A&M presents.
The final date a team can sign a player selected in the amateur draft is August 15. If that deadline passes without a contract from the Red Sox, Middlebrooks will head to Texas A&M, where he said he felt at home when he visited the campus. He also cited the A&M tradition, student fanbase and support for athletes as a big draw for Middlebrooks. If those are a draw for Middlebrooks, he should fit in just fine with Boston’s rabid fans once he hits the major leagues, as baseball is a religion in Boston.
Whether or not Middlebrooks signs with the Red Sox or goes to Texas A&M, there’s no doubt there is a bright future in baseball for this kid, especially given his strong work ethic and his talent on the field. He thinks he can make a name for himself at the plate, but “it will take a lot of hard work, but what doesn’t?”
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