Bring Back Jon Lester!

Jon Lester received a clean bill of health last week. That's great news for the family, friends, and fans of the recovering cancer patient. Red Sox fans received more good news about Lester. He tossed five shutout innings at Pawtucket and should be back in the Sox rotation soon.

In the meantime, we have to deal with stopgap Julian Tavarez, who, we now know, was in the bullpen for a reason. Don't get me wrong, Tavarez was the right choice to start for the Sox, but this guy seems to run out of steam after the fourth inning, to disastrous results.

I won't say I'm rooting against Tavarez. That would be inaccurate. I want the Sox to win today so that the Yankees can start a brand new losing streak. But if Crazy Julian falters again, Lester may be called up by the end of this week, solidifying an already impressive rotation.

Unless, of course, the powers that be decide to leave him in Pawtucket for a while.