Papelbon back to Closer

[rudyjuly2]

Curt Schilling confirmed Thursday that Jonathan Papelbon is being shifted back to the bullpen by the Red Sox. Says Schilling: "Paps wanted to close because that's where he felt he helped the team best, but he had no issues or problems being a starter either."

This according to rotoworld.com. base on this site http://38pitches.com/2007/03/22/paps...e-pen/#more-50

Edit: You are right Longhorn. Here is the ESPN link: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring...ory?id=2808345.

[Beantown]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

It's on ESPN, too.

Expect the official announcement from Francona to come after the game today.

[Lintyfresh85]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

did the whole starting not work out this spring?

[Stu]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

No surprise, although I thought they'd wait until June or so. Papelbon was the only real option to close this year.

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

did the whole starting not work out this spring?

I think this is because Timlin is hurt and the rest of the closer candidates suck. As far as I've read (which isn't that much) Papelbon has looked good this spring.

[chippered]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

Papalbon had a shot to be a really good starter, and I can see him getting hurt this season. He was a starter in the minors, but closed last year because he was their best option. However, his shoulder didnt hold up last year, and he was shut down towards the end of the year.

The point of him going back to starting this year was that the doctors told him and the club his shoulder wouldnt hold up with the rigors of closing and he needed a more regular schedule, which starting would provide.

[RockyTop1]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

thank God

[Beantown]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

Papalbon had a shot to be a really good starter, and I can see him getting hurt this season. He was a starter in the minors, but closed last year because he was their best option. However, his shoulder didnt hold up last year, and he was shut down towards the end of the year.

The point of him going back to starting this year was that the doctors told him and the club his shoulder wouldnt hold up with the rigors of closing and he needed a more regular schedule, which starting would provide.

And Francona has stated the following:

-The Red Sox will not use Papelbon if he says he, or his arm, feels tired.
-Doctors will check Papelbon often, his shoulder that is, to make sure there is no damage
-He will not be used more than three days in a row.

They're being a lot more careful this year with him as a closer than they were last year.

[SlimKibbles]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

Holy crap! I have a draft in a cut-throat contract roto league on Saturday and Papelbon was one of my holdovers from last season. I've got a closer at a good price now. Sweet.

[skitch]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

That didn't last long, lol.

[elicoleman]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

Dammit. I was looking forward to seeing how many blown saves the Red Sox could tally before the All Star Break. I'm sure it'd be close to a record.

[chippered]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

And Francona has stated the following:

-The Red Sox will not use Papelbon if he says he, or his arm, feels tired.
-Doctors will check Papelbon often, his shoulder that is, to make sure there is no damage
-He will not be used more than three days in a row.

They're being a lot more careful this year with him as a closer than they were last year.

Its good that their being careful with him, and i'm not trying to nitpick, but closers rarely pitch three days in a row anyway. The guys on ESPN Fantasy said he was still a top 10 closer, but they ranked him near the bottom of the top ten. If he can stay healthy, he's definetly good for 35-40 saves, but that could potentially be a big if.

[rsox]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

In a way this is great news, the 9th inning won't be a on your knees and pray for 3 outs before giving up the lead situation that it could have been with some of the candidates for the job but i am a bit concerned with Tavarez as the fifth starter. I imagine that will only be until Jon Lester is ready to return.

[GBrushTWood]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

Papelbon is an idiot, and the Red Sox are extremely fortunate that he is an idiot. No question, this is mighty opportunistic of them.

The closer's role is one that is inherently violent to the arm and highly prone to injuries. There is no way around this, he WILL be much more susceptible to a serious injury from now on. As a starting pitcher, Papelbon would likely go years between arm injuries and also likely perform at a very high level. This move really pisses me off because the kid is only making the major league minimum right now (no more than $370,000 or so). Yeah, that's great cash for you and I, but it doesn't last a lifetime. If his arm falls off this year, he's really got nothing else set up. Anybody think "the team" will take care of him? Hah, fat chance in hell. He'll be yesterday's garbage and summarily thrown away. So much for "helping out the team" in that scenario. I bet he'll be sleeping a lot less when that happens than he would as a starter and seeing the bullpen **** the bed every night.
If he's a starting pitcher, he can absolutely rake in the cash and minimize his chances of physically falling apart.

I can't even believe these bozo managers and GM's went through the charade of signing Joel Pineiro and claiming he would be a candidate to close.

"Well yes, you see, we are changing his arm slot, and because of this, we believe he can close."

Just embarrassing all around to be honest. I'm not sure I have ever seen any baseball GM in my history as a fan fail as badly at constructing bullpens than Theo Epstein has.

[deeman11747]

Re: Papelbon back to Closer

Damn, I was really looking forward to a few months of Joel Piniero.