January 12, 2024
Eric Hartline/USA Today Sports
Former Phillies pitcher and franchise saves leader Jonathan Papelbon.
Jonathan Papelbon was a lightning rod during his Phillies tenure from 2012 to 2015. Papelbon, a big money free agent signing who ended up as the franchise's all-time saves leader, came as the Golden Era of the team collapsed into mediocrity. Papelbon racked up 123 saves in red pinstripes, but the Phils fell off a cliff.
In an interview with the Foul Territory show with former Phillies teammate Erik Kratz and Scott Braun back in October, which resurfaced on social media this week due to the @PhilsTailgate account on X, Papelbon let it fly about his years with the Phillies.
Talking about being 'jacked up' on Red Bull, Adderall and coffee, here are some choice cuts from what Papelbon said...
"When I got to the Phillies at first, Ruben Amaro was like, 'Yeah, man. You're going to come here and win two more championships.' I'm looking at them like the [Chase] Utleys and Jimmy Rollins and, man, on TV, these guys look like grinders. And then when I get there, it's like 'Sh**t.' Utley's only playing 40 games. He's hurt and Jimmy's getting into it with Ryne Sandberg...
Sandberg was the worst manager ever. S**t hit the fan real quick, man. Ruben Amaro got the keys to the Porsche and went out and wrecked it in my opinion.
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We had Cliff Lee, [Cole] Hamels, [Roy] Halladay... Halladay had his problems and issues... Bro, how did we not win? That's what frustrated me so much...
That energy wasn't there like it used to be...
I say Ruben Amaro screwed it all up, but at the same time, we did have a lot of injuries. Ryan Howard's Achilles. He was never able to come back from that. Anytime you take a Big Piece out, man, s**t, you have no protection in your lineup. Things started to fall apart." [Foul Territory]
Jonathan Papelbon on his time with the Phillies pic.twitter.com/AmjQVo0Fsp
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) January 11, 2024
Sandberg, who became Phillies manager in 2013 and quit in the middle of the 2015 season, is perhaps the only figure from that forgettable period in team history more reviled than Papelbon.
In discussing fans' relationship with Papelbon, the infamous crotch grabbing incident from 2014 needs to be brought up. Papelbon recounted that moment after blowing a save...
The Phillies booed me off of the field, so I grabbed my nuts at them. F**k you guys. [Umpire] Joe West comes around and throws me out. I'm like, 'Joe, what are you doing, man? You can't throw me out. I'm adjusting my cup!'
I was soft, I was salty and I was pissed. [Foul Territory]
Jonathan Papelbon was ejected Sunday for grabbing his crotch in response to booing fans: http://t.co/KqllsLKBBm pic.twitter.com/rBtqEyNvpk
— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) September 15, 2014
Well... the Phillies desperately need a reliever to knock Paps off the saves leaderboard. I'll say that. At least this current Phillies era with the likes of Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler and Kyle Schwarber is infinitely more likable than that dark period.
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