Careful thought process

When he pitches tonight in Cleveland, 23-year-old lefthander Jon Lester will be returning to the Red Sox exactly a year after he pitched for the Sox for the first time in his home state of Washington. It was on the team's second trip to Seattle, a month later, that Lester went to see an uncle who was a doctor, setting in motion the events that led to him being diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"We want to win games so bad," Sox manager Terry Francona said. "But I can't say there won't be some emotion involved when he gets to take the mound. I think his folks are going to be there, which I'm sure for them will be extra special.

"I think talking to Jon, he just wants to win the game. I think he's got that attitude, he's already been through this enough and answered the questions, I'm sure he'll have to answer them again, but he just wants to win baseball games. He's pretty refreshing, pretty remarkable for a kid that age."

Lester displaces Julian Tavarez in the rotation. In his last five starts, Tavarez is 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA, giving up a staggering 41 hits and 10 walks in 23 1/3 innings.

While Francona insisted Tavarez's performance was not the determining factor, Lester has not been dominant lately in Pawtucket. Overall, he is 4-5 with a 3.89 ERA in 14 starts. He is 3-1 with a 4.87 ERA (13 ER in 24 IP) in his last four decisions, going seven innings in two of them, including his last start, in which he held Ottawa to seven hits and three runs. With runners in scoring position, teams have hit Lester hard: In 33 1/3 innings, he has allowed 28 earned runs on 28 hits and 16 walks while striking out 25.

Sox officials had said Lester's strikeout totals would be a good barometer of how he is advancing -- entering this season, he had averaged almost a strikeout per inning (376 Ks, 393 IP). But in his last 10 starts, he has not whiffed more than six in any outing, with 38 Ks in 55 IP, and had just three against Ottawa.

Given the special circumstances, there is more involved than just the numbers, though Francona insisted it wasn't based on emotion, either.

"No, it wasn't, we didn't let it be, ever, or he would have been here three months ago," Francona said.

Francona said there will be no pitch counts or limitations on Lester tonight. In the Indians, Lester will be facing the team with the best home record in the AL (34-15) and one that ranks third in the league in runs, behind the Tigers and Yankees. The Indians are 18-13 against lefthanded starters this season.

When asked how they determined Lester was ready to be called up, Francona said he didn't see him pitch, but, "You have to rely on the people who have seen him the most: RJ [Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson], Griff [pitching coach Mike Griffin], Ben [Cherington, VP player personnel], Mike Hazen [director of player development], [GM] Theo [ Epstein] to an extent. He's seen him on the video and in person a couple of times and you look at reports and consistency, a lot of different factors."

Of all the moves Epstein made to assemble a bullpen last winter, Hideki Okajima has been an unqualified success. But yesterday, Joel Pineiro became the second bullpen piece to be designated for assignment, joining J.C. Romero, who is now with the Phillies after signing a minor league contract there. A third piece, Brendan Donnelly, is on the disabled list with a strained forearm, hoping for a mid-August return.

Pineiro, who entered camp with a chance to become the closer after signing a one-year, $4 million deal with an option in 2008, instead finds his future in limbo. The Sox have 10 days to trade him, place him on waivers, or release him. If Pineiro clears waivers, he will have the option of becoming a free agent, the course he almost certainly will choose, instead of accepting an assignment to the minor leagues.

Pineiro, a career starter whose mechanics were reconstructed by pitching coach John Farrell as he attempted to adjust to a new role, at times showed he might master it. But overall, the numbers were not pretty: 41 hits and 14 walks in just 34 innings, a 5.03 ERA.

Tavarez, of course, had been signed as a reliever when the Sox inked him to a two-year deal before the 2006 season. Last year, he went 2-4 with one save and a 4.71 ERA out of the pen but had an up-and-down year. It started with a 10-game suspension because of his spring training fight with Tampa Bay's Joey Gathright, and by the time he came back, Francona was not inclined to use him in the late-inning role first projected for him. He finished on the upswing (1-1, 2.19 ERA in his last 11 relief appearances) before he was inserted in the rotation.

Francona noted that Tavarez, for all his recent struggles, still had done pretty well in his first time through the opposition batting order, which suggests he may do well in relief.

Tavarez accepted the move.

"I feel good," he said. "I've got my uniform on. I've been there [bullpen] before. I enjoyed every start I got. If they need somebody [again], I'll be more than happy to do it. I felt like something was going to happen. I haven't been doing my job. You've got to be realistic. You've got to admit it, they made the right move. I respect that. I'll enjoy my day, every day, as long as I have my uniform."

David Ortiz is still sore, Francona said, indicating he may miss more games. Ortiz said he might not be back before Wednesday.

"David has been examined and everything's fine in that regard," said Francona. "He's sore and stiff. I'm confident you'll see him in Cleveland at some point. I don't know which day."

Gordon Edes can be reached at edes@globe.com.