They said it
Mar 23rd, 2007 by Rob Bradford
In short: I always said that if health is not concern, Jonathan Papelbon is your closer. Have they given his shoulder enough time to fully analyze the situation? I don’t know. I do know that some would suggest the likely scenario for a team constantly being quoted as saying Papelbon’s status wouldn’t precipitate an April arrival in the bullpen might wait a few more weeks before re-evaluating the situation on 26-year-old. But, again, evidently the Red Sox felt they had enough of a sample size regarding the pitcher’s recovery. Prudent or panic? We will see.
One aspect of this baffles me: Word from Fort Myers was that the Boston brass insinuated Dr. Thomas Gill hadn’t been asked to perform any additional check-ups of late. This was the person who supposedly had the ultimate say on the initial decision, and was quoted in The Eagle-Tribune back before Papelbon’s first spring training appearance saying;
“You can’t go to the literature and look at 200 pitchers who have had transient subluxations and say half are starters and half are relievers and this half did better than that half. That’s where my job comes into play. Whether it’s for baseball or something else, I have to figure out what physically and biologically makes the most sense.
“The question they asked me was which makes the most sense, pitching as a starter or as a reliever. Obviously, as a starter you have five days, you have time to strengthen during the season and you have a routine. We have a great pitching program for the starters. Josh Beckett pitched 200 innings and that was because he followed the program. … It’s a routine that gives a guy time to recover.”
Maybe we can get some clarification in the coming days.
Here are some more quotes, which should give you a better timeline as to how all this wackiness played out:
“They said I was going to pitch innings that matter.” â?? Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon, The Eagle-Tribune, March 23, 2006.
â??Something could very well easily change where we don’t get any help in the bullpen, and I could go back. But right now, the whole mindset is that I’m going to go back to the rotation.” â?? Papelbon, The Eagle-Tribune, September 15, 2006.
“I told (Red Sox general manager) Theo (Epstein) the other day, ‘I guess I’m going to have to go out and win my first five in a row just to quiet everybody and let them know I’m in the rotation. Right now, my whole body, mind, everything is focused on starting. I want to go out there and prove I can do this as well. It’s a little added pressure, but I like that. I like going out there and doing things nobody think you can do.” â?? Papelbon, The Eagle-Tribune, January 11, 2007.
“If I had my druthers, he would be our closer. It’s not happening. We have to respect the medical people’s advice.” - Red Sox manager Terry Francona, February 6, 2007.
“Nothing has been ruled in or ruled out, although we have had some internal discussions. I think we’re just going to wait and see how things go right now.” â?? Red Sox medical director Dr. Thomas Gill before the Phildelphia game, The Eagle-Tribune, March 3, 2007.
“That’s what I’ve always wanted,” he said of his chance in the rotation. “Now, if they wanted me to close and they went out and got another starter, that’s what I would do. But that’s not the route we took, and I’m going to take this advantage that Francona has given me to be a starter and run with it.” - Papelbon, Associated Press, March 3, 2007.
“I felt that there was always that feeling deep down in my heart that I wanted to close. For me, it just kept getting at me and getting at me until finally I went to our captain [Jason Varitek] one day and I said, ‘Tek, I’m not sleeping good at night. I’ve got to do something about it. Basically I told him, ‘Man, I think I want to close, that’s what I want to do.’â?? â?? Papelbon, MLB.com, yesterday.
10 reader comments to “They said it”
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1Randy Newman said:
Double Post!
Stop trying to keep up with Schill and get some sleep Rob!
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2Anonymous said:
Rob,
Do you think this move might change the Red Sox stance on signing Schilling to a 1 year extension?
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3Fenway Blogger said:
I remember a lot of those quotes and it is always the way how thoughts can change. Who said talk is cheap? I like the move. A closer we need. Hopefully Lester the lefty will play an important role. Tavarez can fill spots as he did last year. Great blog!
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4griffin said:
I’m a bit confused at this post, Rob. Either you’re pounding home the fact that 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.
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5John said:
The more I think about it, the more I like the move. What’s the use of having the best 5-man rotation in baseball if we can’t close games out effectively? If Paps wants to close, more power to him. Tavares can fill in until Lester is 100% again. And if Tavares is a disaster, Kyle Snyder or Kason Gabbard can fill the bill. Let’s face it: the Red Sox have far more options for starters than they do for closers.
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6Joe said:
I might be the only person in Red Sox Nation not concerned with his shoulder. He suffered from transient subluxation, which if you break it down means that he has a passing partial dislocation of the shoulder. It doesn’t necessary mean there was structural damage but that this could become a recurring problem (I associate it to a speedster having hammy issues). Now the doc’s right in saying that a set schedule would allow him time during the season to monitor and strengthen his shoulder but if he was planning on throwing around 3000 pitches (100 pitches a start, 30 starts) then he was going to have to strengthen his shoulder prior to the season regardless.
Also, Shelia Papelbon, Jon’s mom, is a sometimes poster over at soxprospects.com and she stopped by yesterday to calm some folks fears. She said that his 2006 MRI was as clean as his 2003 MRI when he was first signed. That’s signficant because she had told us awhile back how the doctor doing his physical was amazed at how clean his shoulder was, no scar tissue at all. This was because he mostly caught and played first in HS and when he was in college, he closed. So if after this arm injury, there was still no scar tissue in his arm, then I think his arm should be alright to close. Maybe Tito can’t use him like a yo-yo like he did last year and with a stronger pen (on paper) than last year, hopefully Jon won’t have to warm up out of no where to get one of his fellow pen members out of a jam as often. But I, for one, am not worried about his shoulder.
~Joe~ -
7Danielle said:
Rob–
Can you please ask Papelbon or Farrell what was up with his arm angle yesterday? It wasn’t 3/4, but it definitely looked lower than normal. Just trying something new, or what? Didn’t seem to help his control.
Thanks,
Danielle -
8Anonymous said:
Do you have / can you get insight as to why Tavarez was selected for the 5th spot instead of Snyder? Snyder seemed to have a significantly better Spring. What do they love about Tavarez? He seems to have a tough mentality (like a closer) but not dependable. Isn’t Syder showing better control, good enought stuff and more consistency? Thanks. Love your blog.
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9Anonymous said:
Last year, Snyder struggled immensely the second and third time through the order, and had a staggering HR/9IP rate. Doesn’t bode well for starter, and Tavarez did pretty well in his spot starts. That’s probably why Julian’s getting the first bid.
Snyder could work very well out of the bullpen if he curbs the longballs because of his high K rate.
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10Clem said:
I just want to chime in and speculate that having Pap penciled in as a starter might’ve made the Daisuke negotiations a little easier. Imagine Boras’ demands if he thought the Sox had Schilling , Beckett, and Wake… and Clement and Lester coming back from surgery and cancer, respectively. Not good. Along with all the other issues, it always made sense to consider Pap as a starter and make other teams think that you might not have him as a closer. Right? In the end, the shoulder looks good, Daisuke is signed, the back end of the rotation has a few people to choose from, and Pap is able to do what he did so well last year.
