Pap Is Still Our Guy
Written by Ben Pogany Monday, 19 October 2009 14:03
From the Onion
"Teammates Fully Support Jonathan Papelbon's Claim That Playoff Loss Was His Fault
BOSTON—Every member of the Boston Red Sox stood behind teammate Jonathan Papelbon during clubhouse interviews Sunday, vociferously defending the embattled reliever's assertion that the team's first-round sweep by the Angels was entirely his fault. "Pap is one of the best in the game, and if he says he single-handedly blew the series, then I'm with him," said second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who agreed that the closer's Game 3 ninth-inning meltdown was "100 percent on Papelbon." "Sometimes you have a bad day, and sometimes that bad day ruins an entire year's worth of work in the blink of an eye. I'm happy to go to war with a man who knows when he fails so totally and completely." Though Papelbon expressed appreciation for his teammates' backing, he did mention that he never actually said anything like that."
www.theonion.com
To use the latest Onion as another jumping off point, I feel like I gotta weigh on all the Papelbon talk. No doubt, Papelbon's meltdown to conclude game 3 and with it the 2009 season was painful to watch, an ugly blight on a largely exceptional career. But this should by no means signal the dawn of the Bard-era in Boston, which I have heard more than one fickle Sox fan suggest over the last baseball-less week. Lest we forget, up until the 9th inning of game 3, Pap had let up exactly zero earned runs in postseason play, a domineering streak of 26 innings through seven series with the Red Sox. The guy has a career line of 151 saves, a 1.84 era, and .98 whip, which, in case theres any doubt, is insane. For those thinking that a little offseason shopping is the answer, I ask who out there is even on Papelbons level. An aging Mariano Rivera? Good luck. Dido for Joe Nathan. Jonathan Broxton is undeniably nasty and up for free agency, but his era is stillover half a point higher than Papelbon, and he's pitching in a crappy division in the AAAA National League. Daniel Bard is good, someday maybe even great. But Jonathan Papelbon is THE BEST CLOSER IN BASEBALL. He's got that tenacity and killer instinct that was made to close ballgames, all the more so in the life and death environment of Fenway Park. He could stand to rely a little less on the fastball, but the guy is still a beast. He deserves to be in Boston for years to come. Don't let one blown save make you forget it.
