Jonathon Papelbon: More of the Same

Got to watch another Red Sox spring training game on ESPN this afternoon, a thoroughly disappointing 4-4 tie with Philadelphia. That said all the interesting news revolves around the Sox pitcher Jonathon Papelbon. Jon-Boy, after a spring training in which he was prepped to be a starter, had a stud rookie season as the Sox closer, with the following stats:

59G 4W 2L 35SV 68 1/3IP 8R 7ER 75K 0.92 ERA 0.776 WHIP

Before shoulder issues ended his season as the Sox were tanking their way out of the playoffs. The shoulder problems were all the concerning the offseason and the word was they would stretch Papelbon out and start him next season, so he could get the rest a starter does.

ESPN is reporting today that after spending a spring training preparing to start, Papelbon will reprise his role as closer this season. This is a good move because all the closer prospects this spring have been uninspiring. This really will gel the bullpen roles quickly. Also there seems to be a glut of workable 5th starter options (to follow Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka, and Wakefield in the rotation) with the likes of Jon Lester, Kyle Snyder, Julian Tavarez, and even possibly Kason Gabbard (who is having an exceptional spring) vying for the job.

Papelbon (and Wakefield for that matter) looked sharp in today's outing. Jon threw hard and had good movement on his pitches. Also he threw his changeup for strikes, which gives him a third viable pitch. Also in an interesting note, he threw exclusively from the stretch, which is something a starting pitcher generally would not do in situations with no one on base. Does this give more credence to the rumor? Only time will tell.

Go Sox!

TomC