Hanrahan vs. Papelbon

Joel Hanrahan isn't the first Sox closer to blow a two-run lead, and I am not going to get on his case for it.  But what concerns me more is his attitude:

"It’s not the first time I’ve blown a save, and it’s probably not going to be the last. It’s part of the game. It’s just how it goes sometimes . . . . That’s the life of a reliever. One day you’re the goat, the next day you’re the hero. That’s just kind of how it goes."

Compare that to what Jonathan Papelbon had to say in 2010, following a similarly disastrous outing:

"It was a long weekend, but, you know . . . all that has absolutely nothing to do with anything. It was about my performance today. I think some of it is focus. I’m able to make adjustments out there from pitch to pitch pretty easily. You got to learn how to make adjustments out there."

Of all the ex-Red Sox players who are still playing elsewhere, Papelbon is the one I miss the most.

The Red Sox and Toradol

Never one to mince words, Johnathan Papelbon mentioned in a recent article by Gordon Edes that not only he but a good chunk of the Red Sox pitching staff regularlly took Toradol. While not illegal nor banned in the same manner as HGH or some of the other PEDs out there, Toradol is still a serious drug - strong enough that you have to be in a hospital to take in in the UK. The Phillies, Papelbon's new team, won't let him take the drug, but apparently the Sox still use it:

A Red Sox official, speaking on background Saturday, described Toradol as a legal drug with clear pain-management benefits, and acknowledged its widespread use in baseball, including by Red Sox pitchers before their starts. 

However, the drug has serious potential side effects. In fact, Edes notes that:

Toradol is the nonsteroidal drug that Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz acknowledged last season might have contributed to the esophagitis that sidelined him for 20 games. Buchholz was hospitalized in intensive care and lost three or four pints of blood while dealing with the condition, which is a known side effect of the painkiller.

It sure seems like injecting your pictures with extra-strong anti-inflammatories before games is a Performance Enhancing Drug. Can anyone explain to me why it isn't?

OK, but when was the last time a Red Sox fan got tasered?

“The difference between Boston and Philadelphia, the Boston fans are a little bit more hysterical when it comes to the game of baseball . . . . The Philly fans tend to know the game a little better, being in the National League, you know, the way the game is played. I’ve had a guy take off his prosthetic leg and throw it in the bullpen in Boston.”

                                         --Jonathan Papelbon, in a radio interview in Philadelphia

Papelbon to the Phillies

Last week, rumors began circulating that Papelbon was interviewing with the Phillies.  At the time, it seemed like nothing to worry about.  The Phillies were close to reaching a deal with their own free agent closer, Ryan Madson (2011 ERA: 2.37).  But, when that 4-year, $44 million deal fell apart, the Phillies grabbed Papelbon instead, for 4 years and nearly $50 million.

The Sox had been paying Papelbon $12 million/year, but evidently weren't confident that he would be worth that much on into the future.  And with good reason: star closers often often decline dramatically once they reach their 30's.  Just ask the Twins how Joe Nathan has worked out after the re-signed him for four more years in 2008.  Or, ask the Mets about Billy Wagner.  There just aren't many arms that have the durability of Mariano Rivera's.

It's fair to ask what the Red Sox are going to do with that $12 million per year.  Will they seek out another closer?  Ryan Madson's on the market.  There are also a number of older former closers on the market who might be able to fill in for a year or two.  The 34-year old Brad Lidge, in particular, just had an outstanding year in the bullpen for the Phillies (regular season ERA: 1.40) and would probably welcome the chance to close again.

More likely, the Sox will hand the ball to Bard, who certainly would welcome the opportunity.  Aceves, then, might become his primary setup man, assuming the Sox don't want to make him a starter.  And the Red Sox will go out and spend $12 million on . . . who knows?

In his six-plus years with the Sox, Papelbon pitched 429-1/3 innings and struck out 509 batters, compiling a 2.33 ERA.  His best season was his rookie year, when he posted a 0.92 ERA.  In each of his six full years as a closer, he earned more than 30 saves.  In fact, he was the fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach 200 career saves.  Of course, this is partly due to the fact that the Sox have been an extremely capable team over that entire period.  You can only get saves when your team is ahead in games  But, Papelbon has also been very durable.  As far as I can recall, his only significant injury was in September of 2006.

It's not all been fun and games, though.  While much is made of Papelbon's competitiveness, his ERA against the dreaded Yankees is a mediocre 3.86.  However, he more than made up for it by shutting down Texas (ERA: 0.40) and Anaheim (ERA: 1.16) and Tampa Bay (ERA: 2.01).  2010 was a rough year (ERA: 3.90), and in the last game of 2011 he gave up the run that shut the door on the post-season.

Overall, though, the memories are very good.  As much as his pitching, we'll miss his antics, on and off the field.  If there is a bright side to this news, it that the ninth inning should now start to go a little quicker.

Related posts:
The Awesomeness of the Bard
Bedard and Closers

Bedard and Closers

In our email exchanges last night, we were crapping on Bedard a little bit, bemoaning the fact that he was pitching like crap to the Twins. However, according to JoS, he may not have been pitching that badly, it's just that the umpire was calling balls and strikes irregularly. In true JoS fashion, he writes: "Home plate umpire Tim McClelland was squeezing Bedard as though the Boston lefty had defiled his daughter or run over his dog (or defiled his dog and run over his daughter)" and notes that "...even the Twins announcers were raising their eyebrows at McClelland's shitty calls." Click the link to see his computer analysis of the balls and strikes.

Moving to the other end of the game, I noted with pleasure this morning that Mariano Rivera gave up the winning homer and, according to hardballtalk.com, has "now allowed as many hits in 44 1/3 innings this season (39) that he did in 60 innings last year. His current batting average against of .241 would be his second highest mark in his 16 years as a reliever." Could the robotic Sox-killer finally be slowing down? I still don't want him to be up in a situation where it counts, but at some point the guy just has to start showing his age.

Finally, i'd be remiss (esp. considering how much i've been busting on the guy) if I didn't note that Papabalon has been lights out lately. He hasn't allowed a run in his last 12 appearances and in that time, as hardballtalk.com notes, "he's allowed just two hits and posted a 12/0 K/BB ratio. Papelbon hasn’t walked a batter since July 10, and he has a 64/8 K/BB ratio for the year." Here's hoping he can keep it up!

The Awesomeness of the Bard

So I knew that Bard was pitching lights out recently. What I didn't know was just how good he's been:

[Bard has] allowed a grand total of seven runs in 47 innings, including a Red Sox-record 21 straight scoreless appearances dating all the way back to May 23. ...That stretch includes 22.2 scoreless innings, during which time opponents have batted just .108 with one extra-base hit against Bard and he’s lowered his ERA from 3.65 to 1.90.

That's pretty awesome, and more food for the "Bard will be the closer next year" assumption that most Sox observers preach. However, I found this article interesting in that it presents an interesting scenario in which the Sox would sign Papelbon to an extension. Money quote:

Brian MacPherson's... thinking: there are a lot of relief pitchers who will be available this winter, which could depress Papelbon’s asking price on the open market. At the same time, Papelbon has been really good this year, reminding the Sox of just what they’ve had and what they might miss.

I don't really buy it, mainly because I still think Paps will demand more money than his performance really dictates, but it does seem foolish to let go of a decent reliever knowing how hard it is to find good ones out there.