Julian Tavarez Trying to Mine Dice-K's Repertoire

Julian Tavarez has not had a good start to the 2007 season. Correction: Tavarez has had an abysmal start to the 2007 season, posting a 7.58 ERA and a 1.579 WHIP in 19 innings of work so far.

So perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that Tavarez is fawning over Daisuke Matsuzaka's stuff -- and taking some lessons from the Japanese import, too:

"I told him, 'I think you're one of the greatest pitchers I've ever seen,' " Tavarez said. " 'The way you go 88, 89 the first three innings, then 95 later. You walk around the mound, and all of a sudden you come out with so much power.'

"I asked him, 'Do you get sore at all?' He said, 'No, it's all mental.' He has seven pitches and command of all of them. He's at another level, that guy.

"There are little things I want to learn. He's going to work with me twice a week on a cutter. That pitch has kept a lot of guys in baseball. Mike Timlin, Doug Jones. He says it's OK with him."

Since they're teammates, I suppose Dice-K is obligated to provide a bit of help to the struggling Tavarez, but you never know: what if Julian, a bit of an MLB journeyman, winds up on a different team and gives away Matsuzaka's secrets? That could be disastrous for Dice-K, who thrives on providing the unexpected with every pitch.

Hmm. We'll need some sort of collateral payment ... I got it! Tavarez can rub him down with that weird goop he's always using. Daisuke: deal, or no deal?

Previously on the FanHouse:
Julian Tavarez is Into Some Interesting Medicines