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Paps is Pissed? Is That Possible?by Cameron on March 4 at 5:17PM | comments (0)
[ comments (0) ] [ BallHype ] Is it possible for Jonathan Papelbon to be pissed off? WMYM isn't sure. Even when he tosses darts at the Red Sox front office, they seem to be tipped with honey from his "aww, shucks, that's the way it is" vibe.  When Papelbon held court with the media after yet another scoreless inning this afternoon, he made it clear that he and the team "weren't seeing eye-to-eye" about his next contract. He talked about how he had to help protect his (future) family and set a precedent for young closers in the league. But then, just when it sounds like he's sufficiently amped up, he drops this: Dude, just for the record, when you're in the middle of a rant about how your situation is completely unfair and painting yourself as an unemployed artist by the side of the road eating cold soup from a cracked open can of Campbell's, you might not just admit that you'll acquiesce to the other position. Everyone knows that at the end of the day Paps will come around and sign a one-year pact that the Sox have every right to shove down his throat. They SHOULDN'T shove it down his throat, but legally, there's no reason why they can't.  Why would the Sox even talk to Paps' agents, the Levinson brothers? That's easy: Because they desperately, DESPERATELY want to keep him happy. For their part, the Levinson brothers - Sam and Seth - aren't going Ryan Howard crazy here. They're asking for $900,000, double what Papelbon, tossing a heater while wearing Manny Ramirez's number in an AP photo on the right (don't ask), made last year. At that time, he was coming off a shoulder injury, his ability to return to the bullpen was in question because of the shoulder issues and he hadn't closed a postseason win. What a difference a year makes. Now Papelbon is one of the most feared, if not THE most feared, closer in the game. He locked down every ALCS win and the World Series, where he easily could have won the MVP. He looks more and more dominant each time out, and adapts his arsenal of pitches to keep batters guessing just enough they can't completely sit on his fastball. So what's to lose here? Why doesn't the Sox front office just cave? This argument is over $500,000? That's 1/28th of J.D. Drew's annual contract ... FOR JONATHAN PAPELBON! Jesus. Just sign the kid. Or at least get close to his asking price. Everyone knows that a front office never wants to capitulate. That's fine. Just get close and keep him happy. End of story. Except, of course, for the game that had just finished. The Sox bounced back from their first pair of exhibition losses with five runs off Pittsburgh pitching, which might not be the biggest accolade but is probably a slight confidence builder nonetheless. Jason Varitek, Manny Ramirez and Sean Casey doubled, with ManRam trotting home for one of the team's five runs. Oh, and Doug Mirabelli had his first RBI of the season, which - because you're reading a blog called WhoMadeYouMirabelli? - you'll read MUCH more about later. But aside from those blips on the batting radar - as well as the now prolonged 0-fer against big league pitching for Jacoby Ellsbury - the headline was rightfully on the mound, where Daisuke Matsuzaka tossed three fairly efficient innings, giving up his first run of the spring while holding the Pirates to two hits across three innings. He tossed 47 pitches, far less than his disastrous outings late in 2007 though not as efficient as his strongest starts, either. The immediate reaction seemed to be pretty positive, which would seem to follow a strong strike percentage (28 of his 47 offerings). After all, even Josh Beckett can occasionally yield a spring training run in a B-game. And how else would you follow a strong Dice-K start than with a perfect Papelbon inning? For what it's worth, both Big Lebowski Tavarez and Craig Hansen had strong innings for bounce back performances. Neither gave up a hit while both allowed a walk, a particularly nice change from last week's Hansen horror show. Now, about keeping that Papelbon guy around ... |
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