The mystery of Papelbon’s fastball
Apr 13th, 2007 by Rob Bradford
We have an answer.
One of the interesting notes I got out of this subject was where Papelbon releases the ball. As pitching coach John Farrell points out when he lets go of the ball it is directly out in front of his body, which often can blend in with the uniform.
6 reader comments to “The mystery of Papelbon’s fastball”
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1lwinlc said:
Papelbon never ceases to amaze! How lucky we are to have him in our corner. Just a word to congratulate you on your new job at the Herald. I’ve been a fan for a long time mostly through WEEI but more recently I LOVE THIS BLOG! Hopefully you’ll be able to take it with you somehow. Best to you in the future.
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2Tom, stuck in NY said:
I heard about your new job at the Herald on WEEI driving into MA this afternoon. CONGRATS and I wish you continued success.
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3Jeff said:
Regardless of how the ball moves, one thing is certain - Papelbon is nasty. Keep him in the closer’s role for years to come.
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4Anonymous said:
Curious if you have any comments on Papelbon’s usage Rob. It appears, atleast to me, that Tito is going with a sort of “relief ace” role for Paps and bringing him into the high leverage situations (like Thursday night and Sunday in Texas) to face the best hitters. People like Theo has been preaching about how sometimes the most important outs that are needed to be made are not in the ninth and I am excited to see if Papelbon will continue to be used like this. Of course, it could just be a coincidence that we’ve had this happen, the stars may have just aligned, but I’m really hoping that this is a pattern for the season. Your take?
~Joe~ -
5Peter N said:
And commenter Joe, if Paps is needed to put out an 8th inning fire, as he was the other day, it will be so nice to have a healthy Timlin to close it out. Unless, of course, it’s a run or two run game. In that case, Paps for 5 outs…case closed, game won. BINGO. Tito has been careful, and so far, so good.
Bradford On Baseball is a great blog. I was not familiar with your work before, but I’ll make it a point to stop in daily! What Red Sox fan wouldn’t? I call it my “blog jog.”
Check out my blog, if you have a moment. I don’t want this to seem like a plug, but Sox fans like my spin, and I’m just a guy from Farmington CT. I’ll leave you my link, and this Sunday seems like it will be one without baseball. I hope you can check me out…Peter N. Peter’s Red Sox Forever.http://peteronall.blogspot.com/
Take care…I’ve already bookmarked you… -
6manny mota said:
To anonymous and peter n–although you’d swear the following was a four-letter word, this is the true definition of “closer by committee”, knowing exactly when to bring in your best reliever and not just having him come in for three outs in the ninth so he can record a save. A friend of mine explains it pretty well in his blog:
http://www.fragilefreddy.blogspot.com/
Great stuff on Paps and Schill this weekend, Rob–good luck running today!
