GatewayRedbirds.com

Hungary Jack wrote:
Chris Narveson.

You heard it here first.

Cronos69 wrote:

Hungary Jack wrote:
Chris Narveson.

You heard it here first.

We could trade him for Kerry Robinson!!! :cheers:

The Boston Herald wrote:Papelbon said that he approached Francona prior to Tuesday night’s game to make the request to return to closing. His manager was only too happy to accommodate.

“This is something I want to do for the rest of my career,” said Papelbon, who went 4-2 with 35 saves and a 0.92 ERA in 59 appearances last season. “Hopefully, what (Mariano) Rivera did for the Yankees, I can do for the Red Sox.”

Papelbon said that he arrived at spring camp with every intent of starting but began to have a change of heart as the days progressed.

“I hadn’t been sleeping well all spring because I had this feeling that I wanted to close,” he said. “In my heart, I had feelings for being a closer.”

Francona said that he had been toying with the idea of reinstating Papelbon in the role all spring but didn’t go ahead with the plans until the pitcher came to him. The manager said that Mike Timlin going on the D.L. and the inconsistency of Brendan Donnelly, Joel Pineiro and Craig Hansen had nothing to do with the decision. All were told this morning of the decision.

Francona, who acknowledged having to use Papelbon more than he would have liked during the second half of last season, said that his workload will be closely monitored this season to make sure he doesn’t re-injure the shoulder.

Curt Schilling wrote:This wasn’t done because we have ‘too much starting pitching’, or because anyone was panicked about who would do what in the pen, it was done because John has worked his ass off to be where he needs to be, to close in the big leagues again. His shoulder feels great, which is priority number one, and him closing for us makes this staff look entirely different for the long haul. Whoever ends up in the 5th spot will be just fine. Julian can do it, Kyle can certainly do it and Johnny is not far from being ready to do it, so there are many options, even though you hope you don’t have to exhaust them all to find the right fit (which I don’t think will be the case).

The Boston Globe wrote:Papelbon, despite his public declarations of embracing the role of starter, said he hasn't been able to sleep this spring because he wanted to close and finally told Francona of his desire on the field prior to Tuesday night's exhibition game.

Francona, who had spent a fair amount of time publicly disparaging the notion that Papelbon would start, acknowledged yesterday that the idea has been percolating for some time, so the team was ready to adjust on the fly. Julian Tavarez becomes the fifth starter, with Tim Wakefield sliding into the No. 4 hole.

Papelbon said he told team captain Jason Varitek of his desire to close before speaking with the manager, and also consulted his family. His parents were in Clearwater to watch him pitch three innings today.

Both Papelbon and Francona insisted that Papelbon had done so well strengthening his shoulder that the medical reasons for making him a starter have been allayed. Francona did say he would have to closely monitor Papelbon's workload to protect against overuse. He said last August, Papelbon threw more pitches than anyone in the big leagues.

skmsw wrote:shhhhh -- don't tell anyone, but the "medical reason" for Papelbon being moved to starter was bogus all along; a public relations gimmick to be able to make a move the team wanted to make but expected to be unpopular with fans

skmsw wrote:

mikechamp wrote:skmsw:

Well, I guess this kind of settles the debate we were having the other day about who's the better starting pitcher between Wainwright and Papelbon.

(chuckle) yep . . . for now.