Again, I hit you with the subtlety. Never in the history of Western civilization (to borrow a phrase from Bill Walton) have two words had so much untapped pun potential.
Curt Schilling said it best when he said, in reference to Papelbon, "someone who can pitch 200 innings is going to help us more than pitching 60." Red Sox Nation would do well to keep that in mind before giving the Mandate of Heaven to Paps as their closer. RSN is going bananas over Papelbon's lights-out 9th inning last night, as well they should. But the nervousness surrounding Keith Foulke's first appearance on Monday should be tempered. As good as Paps looked last night, the Sox' best-case scenario does not have him closing. They are far, far better off with Paps starting and an effective Foulke closing.
If Foulke does not regain his 2004 form, then the status quo becomes the best-case scenario. But if not, and Foulke gets back his capabilities and confidence, slowly but surely, then I have to insist that he take over as the closer. A lights-out Foulke will make me happier than the lights-out Paps does. We already know Paps is lights-out... that's why he should be pitching 6 innings every 5 days. Using him as the closer just wastes him. Sure, if Foulke fails and Paps closes, the 2007 bullpen situation simplifies itself nicely... Hansen gets the reins, Foulke gets the door, and Paps takes the #5 rotation spot away from Fatty Beltbuckle. But Foulke can help us, and he deserves better than to be demoted after a single poor performance (which, by the way, he did survive).
What bothers me the most is the argument about Foulke's change-ups being inferior to Papelbon's 96 mph heat. That's just revisionist bullshit, from fans who are so insecure about the late innings that they need a flamethrower in order to feel comfortable. Fact is, Foulke's changeup was entirely unhittable in 2004, moreso than Paps' fastball. Now , Foulke's ineffectiveness is being blamed on his changeup. NO! It wasn't the problem in 2004, and it isn't the problem now. The problem is his health. If he's healthy, he can close; if not, then he can't. End of story. It's not because his out-pitch is a changeup.
It just makes me sick that Foulke destroyed his knees (and perhaps his career) for us, and it's STILL too hard for people to give the guy a chance. Like it's his fault. Grow up, people.
Curt Schilling said it best when he said, in reference to Papelbon, "someone who can pitch 200 innings is going to help us more than pitching 60." Red Sox Nation would do well to keep that in mind before giving the Mandate of Heaven to Paps as their closer. RSN is going bananas over Papelbon's lights-out 9th inning last night, as well they should. But the nervousness surrounding Keith Foulke's first appearance on Monday should be tempered. As good as Paps looked last night, the Sox' best-case scenario does not have him closing. They are far, far better off with Paps starting and an effective Foulke closing.
If Foulke does not regain his 2004 form, then the status quo becomes the best-case scenario. But if not, and Foulke gets back his capabilities and confidence, slowly but surely, then I have to insist that he take over as the closer. A lights-out Foulke will make me happier than the lights-out Paps does. We already know Paps is lights-out... that's why he should be pitching 6 innings every 5 days. Using him as the closer just wastes him. Sure, if Foulke fails and Paps closes, the 2007 bullpen situation simplifies itself nicely... Hansen gets the reins, Foulke gets the door, and Paps takes the #5 rotation spot away from Fatty Beltbuckle. But Foulke can help us, and he deserves better than to be demoted after a single poor performance (which, by the way, he did survive).
What bothers me the most is the argument about Foulke's change-ups being inferior to Papelbon's 96 mph heat. That's just revisionist bullshit, from fans who are so insecure about the late innings that they need a flamethrower in order to feel comfortable. Fact is, Foulke's changeup was entirely unhittable in 2004, moreso than Paps' fastball. Now , Foulke's ineffectiveness is being blamed on his changeup. NO! It wasn't the problem in 2004, and it isn't the problem now. The problem is his health. If he's healthy, he can close; if not, then he can't. End of story. It's not because his out-pitch is a changeup.
It just makes me sick that Foulke destroyed his knees (and perhaps his career) for us, and it's STILL too hard for people to give the guy a chance. Like it's his fault. Grow up, people.
posted by Jeff at
1:41 PM
5 Comments:
Spot on about Foulke; there's no substitute for a great change up. You know I'm not as convinced as you that Papelbon is a legit major league starter, but if he's as good as you think, then this is a no-brainer.
Sort of like how much better the M's would be if Rafael Soriano and Gil Meche switched jobs. Although, word is Meche's changeup looked great last night. Speaking of which, did anyone else notice that the M's are 3-1 and Felix hasn't even pitched yet?
I'm not getting my hopes up, but it's been a fun week. Welcome to Seattle, Kenji.
By
Jesse, at 3:09 PM
I know all about how he's not a "plus" prospect or whatever, but the kid's major league stats do not indicate so much as a sniff of struggles. His first three appearances last season were starts, and each time he held the opponent to 3 ER or fewer.
Teams have had ample opportunity at this point to review his stuff, watch game film, etc. After 3+ months in the bigs he has had ONE poor performance. I'm running out of reasons to think he'll hit a wall, and piling up reasons to really believe he's this good.
Besides, they don't need a closer prospect. They have one in Hansen, and he's better than Paps is.
I guess it's fine for Paps to close this season, if Foulke's not up to snuff. But I want to make it clear that a) Matt Clement is going to hurt this team before it's all said and done if they don't trade his ass to another time zone, and b) Paps is too good for the bullpen. It demeans and bores him to be relegated to late-inning heroics. He doesn't want to pitch a piece of the game... he wants the whole thing!!!
By
Jeff, at 3:36 PM
Yeah, I just think people being extremely effective in relief doesn't mean they can start, that's all. You have to fool all those batters at least twice. He didn't start at all last year, did he? So anyway, I'm not trying to claim any priveleged position to be skeptical of him from, just of relief success implying starting success.
By
Jesse, at 4:07 PM
Paps looked great yesterday.
I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed, despite the fact that he looks like the kid from Silver Spoons.
By
Alex, at 10:16 AM
I wonder if Dave from USSM is still gung-ho about preferring Jeremy Reed to Papelbon now. B+ prospect my middle nut.
I'd like to know how much effect Schilling's presence has had on him. I recall Schilling working on a pitch with him... his splitter maybe? I would think Schilling's tutelage would reap significant benefits, seeing as Papelbon is basically a young Schilling, minus 20 pounds and the a-hole tendency.
Then again, Paps is just a B+ prospect, so it's really a waste of Schilling's time isn't it???
Anyway, I've been thinking about whether Foulke and Paps should just bounce back and forth for the rest of the season. They'd be #1 and #1A, where #1 is The Man, but #1A either pitches the 8th or keeps #1 from going back-to-back. Foulke has shared closing duties before (with Bobby Howry in Chicago) and succeeded then, so why not now? I do kinda like the idea of not having to pitch the 40-year-old Timlin any later than the 7th.
By
Jeff, at 11:08 AM
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