Papelbon Closes

Damn, my 5/1/06 over/under was way off.

Why don't they just bring up Hanson?

damn, i wish i picked him in my fantasy league.

I did! :-)

It wasn't really all that gutty, though. Foulke stunk big-time Monday, and Papelbon is the next best option.

Papelbon is a starter they are going to ruin him this way.

You mean like Schilling was ruined by closing last year?

I think their a difference b/w a veteran pitcher and a young pitcher who is still developing the arm strength needed to be an effective major league starter. One of the reasons it takes a starter a couple of years in the majors before they are effective is arm strength. Papelbon has not had the same oppurtunities to start as Schilling.

Papelbon is a MLB quality pitcher that's with a team that already has too many starters. He has less than 40 innings pitched, so this is Francona's way of getting him experience at this level. It's a win/win/win situation for the Red Sox: getting a young guy the experience he needs, getting a broken down guy time to continue getting back to form, and getting important wins in April.

Hey I really agree with jschwanz about the win/win/win situation with Papelbon. He gets some closer time and gets his confidence up as well as getting him prepped for a starter position. You cant have to many good pitchers and yeah Foulky sucked but can He play him sef back into the line up? The season is still early.