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.