Unknown Heroes Pt. 20: Julian Tavarez

To say Julian Tavarez was a little crazy was a complete understatement. Well-known for his volatile temper, and some downright quirky behavior, you never knew quite what to expect next from Tavarez.

Tavarez was brought to the Red Sox as a free agent prior to the 2006 season to help solidify the bullpen. His stats were never terribly impressive. In his first year, he put up a 4.47 ERA and a 1.561 WHIP. The next year, he was a starter and a long man in the bullpen for the World Series Champion Red Sox. He had a bad record and bad stats, but he remained entertaining. Tavarez was released after nine games in 2008. He never had much success with the Red Sox. But that's not why he was so interesting.

Tavarez was suspended for the first ten games of the 2006 season after he got into a fistfight with Joey Gathright of Tampa Bay. Tavarez placed a tag on Gathright when he was covering home on a relay and then before Gathright could get, Tavarez was punching him. Tavarez was also known for rolling the ball to first base on occasion.

Tavarez was not much of a player, but he was a hell of an entertaining player.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 13: Jesus Tavarez

For whatever reason, sometimes I am only able to find one card of certain players. To be considered a One-Card Wonder, a player must have been active since 1991 (when I started paying attention).

JESUS TAVAREZ
This is a 1998 Invincible Gems of the Diamond card. Tavarez spent a year as a backup outfielder for the Red Sox in 1997. He played in 42 games, hitting .174/.216/.243/.463. As you can see, not great numbers. He did not offer any power or speed numbers either, so there was good reason not to bring him back.

Boxscore: August 8, 2006: Royals 6 vs. Red Sox 4

This is, to this date, the last Red Sox game I have attended. My friend from work and I went down to Kansas City to see the Red Sox take on the Royals. This was during a particularly cold streak for Boston and they could not win a single game against the Royals that series. Injuries had decimated the team and the pitching was particularly hurt.

Jon Lester started the game, but he was a rookie and was very wild. He pitched five innings, giving up four runs, three walks, and five strikeouts. Of course, the bullpen was pretty bad and Craig Hansen and Rudy Seanez each gave up a run. Julian Tavarez also pitched in the game.

The big bright spot for the game was Wily Mo Pena who hit a ball so hard that the outfielders did not even move. The ball landed on top of the concession stand and was one of the furthest hit home runs in Kaufman Stadium history. David Ortiz also hit a home run in the game, his 41st. Manny Ramirez, Alex Gonzalez, and recent pickup Javy Lopez each had two hits in the game. Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis also each had a hit. Ramirez, Lopez, Youkilis, and Gonzalez each had a double. Coco Crisp stole a base, and Mark Loretta and Alex Cora each had two hitless at-bats.

The Royals simply played better than the Red Sox that game.

Boxscore: May 26, 2006 Red Sox 8 vs. Devil Rays 4

This is the only game so far that I have attended at Fenway Park.

My parents took me to Boston as a gift for graduating from law school. We spent a long weekend there doing a bunch of tourist stuff. The main reason for going though was to see this game. We were lucky to see a game at all as it was raining pretty hard immediately before the game.

David Wells started the game and pitched pretty well for 4.1 innings until being taken out after a line drive caught him in the knee. He gave up five hits and one earned run on a home run to Carl Crawford. Julian Tavarez came in to pitch 2.1 innings to pick up the win. He gave up two more runs. Keith Foulke pitched .1 innings and gave up another run. Rudy Seanez then came in to pitch 1.2 innings and handed it off to Jonathan Papelbon, the rookie closer who saved the game, getting the last out. The Red Sox bullpen got the job done, but it was pretty ugly. That was not a good year for the bullpen other than Papelbon.

The offensive star was Mike Lowell who had three hits, including a home run and a double. He drove in two runs. David Ortiz also added a double and single, driving in four. The other two runs were driven in by Mark Loretta and Trot Nixon. Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, and Wily Mo Pena each had a single and a run. Alex Gonzalez had three hits and a run. Manny Ramirez also had a single and Willie Harris appeared as a defensive replacement for Pena.

All in all, this was a great game and is still the only time I have been to Fenway Park.

My First Red Sox Game

I went to my first Red Sox game in Kansas City in 1997 on August 2nd. Unfortunately, the team was not particularly good in 1997.

Aaron Sele started the game and he was going through a ridiculously uneven year. You never knew which Aaron Sele you were going to get on any given day. Unfortunately, the bad Aaron Sele showed up at this game and he lasted less than three innings. He was relieved by Mark Brandenburg, Butch Henry, Kerry Lacy, and Ron Mahay, none of whom were terribly impressive or lasted long with the Red Sox.

Looking back at this box score, one thing really strikes me. I had no idea Shane Mack stayed with the Red Sox as long as he did. He was in this game, although he didn't do much. Nomar Garciaparra, Darren Bragg, and Mike Benjamin all had multi-hit games. Benjamin and Reggie Jefferson each hit doubles, and the runs were all driven in by Jefferson and Mike Stanley, towards the end of his tenure with the Sox. Mike Benjamin committed two errors.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
I remember seeing Tom Gordon playing long toss before the game, and it was not long before he was converted into a reliever.

Wil Cordero took some abuse from the crowd as this was soon after he was arrested for domestic abuse.

Walt McKeel, Jesus Tavarez, Troy O'Leary, and Jeff Frye all saw some action as well.