Red Sox Bullpen

Last night was the final straw. Blow up the bullpen and get the kids to Boston as fast as possible. Coming off a year in which the Red Sox lost the AL East by one game, we here in Red Sox Nation need to truly understand that a Tuesday night loss in Minnesota to the Twins means as much in the standings as a September loss to the Yankees. With Curt Schilling pitching brilliantly for 8-innings against Johan Santana -- now that was a pitching matchup that lived up to the hype -- the Red Sox had a great opportunity to get a win last night to maintain their 1-game lead in the AL East. This game was so great that it was too much for 9-innings to hold so the Sox and Twins entered extra frames, tied at 1-1. In the top of the 12th-inning, Alex Gonzalez drove in the go-ahead run to give the Sox a 2-1 advantage. Enter Julian Tavarez. Tavarez filled the bases in the 12th and then allowed a walk-off grand slam to Jason Kubel. Game over. And with the Yankees shutting out the Indians 1-0, the AL East is once again tied at the top. What this tells me is that the Julian Tavarez' and Rudy Seanez' of the world can't quite hack it in Boston. So, if you're Theo Epstein, why not introduce Craig Hansen, Manny Delcarmen, Jermaine Van Buren, and Edgar Martinez to the bullpen to go along with Mike Timlin and Jonathan Papelbon. It might seem crazy to have five rookies in the bullpen but the thought of seeing Tavarez and Seanez in the 'pen for much longer gives me mental illness for sure.