April 09, 2015
Jonathan Papelbon is a loose cannon, so Wednesday's comments about "not feeling much like a Phillie" shouldn't have come as much of a surprise to anyone that has followed the team in the past three seasons. After bailing out the struggling Ken Giles with a four-out save last night against the Boston Red Sox (his former team, the jilted lover's one that got away), the 34-year-old closer was asked to elaborate on what he earlier told The Boston Globe. What ensued was something out of a "Saturday Night Live" sketch (video via CSN Philly):
First off, I'd love to know who the person to his right that initially said "horse" is. It seems to me as if Papelbon has found his Ed McMahon or Andy Richter. That man needs to be on camera!
Of all of the big contracts the Phillies handed out that played a part in placing them in their current predicament, Papelbon's four-year, $50 million deal isn't the worst. At least he's still productive, like last year when he submitted a 2.04 ERA and was almost a three-win player. Of course, giving out all of that money to a reliever — It might actually end up being more than that figure, because Papelbon's contract has a $13 million vesting option for 2016 he'll likely hit if he's able to stay healthy this season — is an extremely poor allocation of resources. Closers can only pitch so many innings.
It's kind of funny that the Phillies' misjudgment of a closer's impact on a baseball team has come back to bite them in the form of Papelbon's comments. While Papelbon saying that he doesn't feel like a Phillie isn't "the right" (i.e. politically correct) thing to say, it's understandable. He had an excellent year last season, but there was nothing he could do to prevent the team from going 73-89. In the most basic sense, an excellent closer that doesn't have many wins to close out should feel at least a bit alienated from his team.
Papelbon will continue to be honest, and the honest truth literally everybody knows is that the Phillies are a bad baseball team. When the pitcher said that he wanted to be traded to a contender last year, he was criticized while others were doing the same to Chase Utley for feeling the opposite way. The infamous crotch grab incident wasn't great, but would the fans have been booing him so lustily if the team was cruising to a division title like in years? Probably not, right?
Through all of the controversy, Papelbon is only six saves away from passing the red and blue gloved one (aka Jose Mesa, aka Joe Table) on top of the Phillies' all-time list. He'll continue to say things that won't win any public relations awards along the way, and for that reason, I kind of want him to stay. At least he'll keep the Phillies more interesting for the time being.
