Papelbon says he deserves to close tomorrow

by anaconda on Jul 14, 2008 5:26 PM EDT in News

Jonathon Papelbon just might receive the loudest boos at the Stadium tomorrow night.

Pete Abe has the story:

Terry Francona has literally said all the right things when it comes to the Yankees, even to the point of saying he’s hitting Derek Jeter second "because that’s where he deserves to be."

Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, Dustin Pedroia … the same. Respectful of the Stadium, the Yankees, the tradition, everything.

Then we have Jonathan Papelbon, who thinks he should close tomorrow night.

"If I was managing the team, I would close. … But I’m not managing the team," he said today.

Sam Borden and some of the other writers there asked Papelbon whether Mariano Rivera had earned the right to close.

"I think we both earned that right." he said

After acknowleding Rivera’s status, he said he earned the right to close by winning the World Series last season.

Are you kidding me?

Not only is Mo having a better season than Papelbon, but he is unquestiionably the greatest closer in the history of baseball and the game is being played in his house.

Mo is the closer tomorrow. It will be the easiest decision Francona will have to make all night.

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Big Red Sox fan calling for peace

I am a rabid Red Sox fan who lived in NYC for 15 years

In my blog I argued that Red Sox fans and Yankee fans should not only not fight… but they should become friends on first sight

Curious to what Yankee fans think of my olive branch

by SullyBaseball on Jul 14, 2008 5:43 PM EDT 0 recs

That might be a tough sell

Francona has been pretty classy throughout this ordeal but big mouths like Papelbon isn’t making it easy.

Nonetheless, I’m not sure the olive branch approach is going to be very successful with the fans. Too much bad blood.

by anaconda on Jul 14, 2008 5:51 PM EDT up 0 recs

not saying

I’m not saying there won’t be some bad blood nor tension…
But the two fan bases are just too similar

by SullyBaseball on Jul 14, 2008 6:03 PM EDT 0 recs

I was going to say...

that you were nuts…no way it could happen.

Then I checked your post. Some good points but I wasn’t convinced.

But THEN I saw your reference to Enemy Mine.

You know what Pal…you’re alright in my book. Red Sox fan or no.

by bfriley76 on Jul 14, 2008 6:33 PM EDT up 0 recs

now the question is

Which fan base is which character in Enemy Mine?

by SullyBaseball on Jul 14, 2008 8:52 PM EDT 0 recs

Oh, Jonathon...

...any All-Star closing rights you may have earned during the 2007 World Series were quickly erased by your faux-Irish step dancing. Seriously, Papelbon’s from Baton Rouge.

As for Sully, I’ve been writing a piece on baseball fan etiquette these past few days, and both your character and logic are alright in my book, as well. Look for a trackback on your blog sometime this week.

by dzawaki on Jul 14, 2008 9:43 PM EDT 0 recs

let the record show

as a Red Sox fan I think Rivera should close
It’s a Yankee Stadium party for God’s sake!

by SullyBaseball on Jul 14, 2008 11:31 PM EDT 0 recs

FLAPPINGUMS (papelbon)

ONE…Papelbon, you’re in New York (your most hated rivalry / city)
TWO…It’s the ALL STAR game.
THREE…Oh snap! It’s in Yankee Stadium
FOUR…Oh snap snap! It’s the final season in Yankee Stadium
FIVE…You made a comment stating "If you were manager, you would choose YOU to close."
SIX…If I’m not mistaken, Mariano’s stats are better than yours this season w/exception of number of saves (minus 5).
SEVEN…Mariano is ‘perhaps’ the greatest reliever of all time.
EIGHT…You’ve already shown your big mouth w/comments about how "It ain’t over w/the RAYS." (yawn), so now you’ve established that you like to make antagonizing remarks.
NINE…what’s the point of even going on w/this?

You are so damned naive to think that making a comment like that won’t be taken out of context and abused by the NY media. You are a complete idiot! Do what you do best…Pitch the damn ball and let your actions speak for you.

"DUDE..."

by LOUtheMETSfan on Jul 17, 2008 4:43 PM EDT 0 recs