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The hot topic

Mar 23rd, 2007 by Rob Bradford

Forget all other analysis. When your mother weighs in, as Sheila Papelbon did on the fine Web site Soxprospects.com, than the definitive word has been said.

Wanted to weigh in on some observations from the previous post:

- First off, I really wanted to address this comment from Griffin:

“I’m a bit confused at this post, Rob. Either you’re pounding home the fact that (Jonathan) Papelbon is a liar, or (the way I look at these quotes), you’re showing us a young man who was trying to convince himself of something that, deep down, he really didn’t want to do (but would have done, for the sake of his team). I sincerely hope it’s the latter.”

Griffin, I hope you have been able to tell from my previous posts and stories that I think very highly of Papelbon, both as a player and person. He is about as genuine of a young man as you will find. The quotes which were posted served as a timeline to show just how surreal this process has been. In none of the quotes do I feel any of the subjects were being disingenuous. The bottom line with Papelbon’s approach the entire time is that he is the type of player who will do anything the team asks, and that is why you heard him say as much even when the team was locked into putting him in as a starter. Are there still some questions of the organization that need to be answered? I think so. And those answers aren’t to prove points or anything like that, but rather just to get the right information in place. That is always the goal.

- Clem had an interesting point about how slotting in Papelbon to the starting rotation could have only helped any negotiations for Daisuke Matsuzaka. While the cause and effect might be very small, it could have been something considering baseball team’s usual starvation when it comes to top of the rotation starters. I’ll tell you what else, this doesn’t hurt Curt Schilling’s contractual cause either.

- In terms of picking Julian Tavarez over Kyle Snyder I think one of the poster’s was right on in terms of Snyder’s struggles as the game progressed and home run rate. I just think that Tavarez really intrigued them with his starting performances last season, as did Snyder in his newfound role. Even though Terry Francona doesn’t usually subscribe to slotting in a reliever as a long man, Snyder’s versatility, ability to succeed in the first inning and throw strikes, while not walking many makes him a better fit in the pen right now.

- Danielle, Nick Cafardo’s blog on Boston.com allowed for an answer on this subject: “On the subject of what appears to be Papelbon’s lower arm slot, (Red Sox pitching coach John) Farrell said the issue is more with the balance in his torso than his shoulder. Farrell reviewed video on Papelbon this morning and he feels Papelbon will return to his normal slot after they iron out the mechanics.

Farrell said, “It has nothing to do with his health.”

Good work and thanks to Nick.

- Joe, the shoulder issue will just have to be a wait-and-see, no matter what his current condition is now and was over the offseason. Anytime you have a history of injury within a specific role, as Papelbon did last year, it bears watching. That said, I think a huge part of the equation in terms of where the shoulder concerns could be put on the back-burner is the pitcher’s enlightenment when it comes to taking care of his arm and shoulder. He has undergone a transformation in terms of care of his bread and butter (pitching arm) and obviously that has paid off to this point. In injuries like this it often comes down to whether or not the subject can remain diligent enough in his workouts, which I have no doubt Papelbon will continue to stay true to.

- John, you summed it up nicely when you wrote: “Let’s face it: the Red Sox have far more options for starters than they do for closers.” In terms of what portion of the starting rotation we are talking about, there is no question that is the case now with Tavarez, Gabbard, Snyder, and, eventually Lester.

The bottom line is exactly what a scout told me at 1:30 yesterday afternoon when word first trickled out: “Boston just got a whole lot better.”

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Posted in Red Sox | 7 Comments

7 reader comments to “The hot topic”

  1. 1
    Griffin said:

    Thanks for the clarification, Rob. I just wanted to get that straight - I did seriously doubt that you were trying to disparage Papelbon. Unfortunately I’ve seen/heard other comments doing just that, which is upsetting to say the least.

    Posted: Mar 23rd, 2007 at 4:11 pm
  2. 2
    ptodd said:

    Rob, since when does a player in his 2nd season dictate his role?. Paps may be happy with the decision but the team made this decision, not Pap. The story of Paps sleepless nights and going to Tito makes it looks like this is Paps decision to the average fan. Theo, Tito and anyone who has given Paps medical clearance to go back to this role are accountable for what happens, the good and the bad.

    Some of the arguments as to why it is Ok for him go back to the pen. His arm strength was good when tested at the beginning of ST. Duh, after an offseason of strengthening, shouldn’t it be strong?. Matt Clements shoulder tested strong and was a reason why they had difficult diagnosing a torn rotator cuff and labrum and had him try to come back from the DL when he probably should have had surgery in July.

    The other good one was the concern about his velocity drop off after a few innings and fear he would develop into a 5 IP this year. Duh again, the dude pitched 68 innings last year, how many innings do you think he will throw this year, 200? Certainly his innings are going to be kept to 5, maybe 6. Most rookie starting pitchers only go 5-6 innings due to command issues. Pap pitched all of 8 innings as a starter in ST, at least give him a chance to recover his arm strength and endurance as a starter after not starting for 1 year, thats what ST is for, no?

    Very disapointed in this change of direction, Pineiro has pitched well of late, he may not be a lights out closer, but at least let the boat get in the water before changing course. Pap moving back to the pen after a couple of months was always on the table, moving from RP to SP should the need arise is not as easy to do as going the other way, and remember Tito refused to even consider it with Pap last year.

    Repeat after me Theo, you can never have to much SP’ing, injuries can not be predicted, and you just removed one of your options for SP’ing like you did when you traded B. Arroyo for WMP last year.

    The options to replace Paps as the 5th starter Tavarez, Gabbard, Snyder, Lester are all good options to have to replace your 5th starter, not to start the season as your 5th starter. If one of the top 4 starters are injured, we are looking at a repeat of last year in having our 6th and 7th starters or worse out there. And all of these guys will be no more than 5-6 IP guys, including Lester, with a higher probability of having disastorous starts, you know, getting knocked out in the 3rd or 4th.

    Hope it works out. Tito will probably sleep better.

    Posted: Mar 23rd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
  3. 3
    deversm said:

    Given Papelbon’s youth and what seems to be everyone’s desire to have him remain as closer as long as possible, does this turn Hansen into a chip for the trading deadline? With the high price other teams were asking the Sox, do they turn that around now with Hansen? Do other orgs still regard him as a high ceiling prospect?

    Posted: Mar 23rd, 2007 at 9:19 pm
  4. 4
    Fenway Blogger said:

    Rob,
    I think Papelbon to closer is a good move assuming health? is not an issue. Did Dr. Gill get any questions this week from the Sox? Our starting five is now the same as last August plus Matsuzaka. Optimism reigns but last year we where in bottom of American league in ERA. I love Matsuzaka but it poses overall curiosity to me on this years optimism.

    Posted: Mar 24th, 2007 at 7:51 am
  5. 5
    Griffin said:

    I would venture to say that neither a team nor a player “dictates” a role. The team has the right to do what it sees fit, but a player also has the right to contribute some input into what is essentially a career-defining decision.

    If Papelbon’s heart is in the closer’s role, and that coincides with what’s best for the Red Sox, then it’s a no-brainer decision.

    Posted: Mar 24th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
  6. 6
    deversm said:

    Never mind on that Hansen question. It looks like he answered it for me himself today. Ouch. Maybe Ankiel can show him how to swing a bat.

    Posted: Mar 26th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
  7. 7
    Jonathan Singer said:

    Thanks for the nice plug of soxprospects.com Rob and glad you visit the site.

    Posted: Mar 26th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
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