Papelbon Perspective

Photo courtesy of Scout.com

To close or not to close? That is the pressing question this week for the Red Sox and young phenom Jonathan Papelbon. So far, Paps has been so lights-out (0.00, 9 SV) that every lineup he faces him in the 9th falls into a quick, painless sleep. But despite the late-inning success, it may be in everyone's best interest if Papelbon finds his way into the rotation, and quick. Why wait till the lights come on?

Red Sox fans, especially, will take issue with this philosophy -- you don't mess around with a good thing, you don't fix something that's not broken. But something is broken -- the rotation -- and all the Sox have to fix it are the parts that are already there.

Unless, of course, you're happy with Lenny DiNardo's 7.43 ERA. Now don't get me wrong, Lenny is a great guy, and a useful lefty out of the pen -- but not as a starter on a first-place team. I'd give him one more start, one more week to get the most out of Papelbon as the stopper. When that start goes bad, the Red Sox need to restore order.

Quietly, Keith Foulke has returned to form and become a legitimate option to reclaim the closing job. He's working a respectable 3.60 ERA, but more impressive are his strikeouts -- 14, compared to 2 walks, for a 7:1 K/BB ratio. The Red Sox have used closer-by-committee, and a much less effective Foulke, as closers in the past. Now that Foulke has proven he's back, he should be given the chance. After all, he's an awfully pricy setup man. Should he prove inneffective, the unflappable Mike Timlin is on call, and Craig Hansen waits in the wings.

Still more reason to move Papelbon into the rotation is that he belongs there. He is and always has been a starting pitcher, and there's no need to shorten his arm in a role that he need not play (though his ability to switch between the starting/closing mindsets speaks extremely well for his mental toughness). Papelbon is hot. He's been cool-headed, yet intense. His mechanics are flawless and his fastball is getting great life in the mid-90s. The confidence he has acquired through the fastball is enabling him to spot his off-speed arsenal better than ever before. And why not let him continue to come into his own in the role he is meant to play, as a starting pitcher, working magic over 7 innings a game instead of 1. Watching this future ace develop in his natural habitat will be a treat, not only for fans but for the Red Sox as well.

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Thank God for Manny finally... being Manny again! After David Ortiz was intentionally walked in the 9th, Manny made the Indians pay by way of the true clutch power hitter -- with a walk-off homer. It's not that Manny needed the lack of respect to get him motivated, but
that's not to say he wasn't thinking about revenge when the Indians opted to face him instead of Big Papi. Props to #24 for inflicting the final blow, and enabling Terry's lineup to work the way it is meant to.

And here are the preseason picks, out on the record
AL Cy Young - Josh Beckett, SP BOS
NL Cy Young - Carlos Zambrano, SP CHC
AL MVP - Vernon Wells, OF, TOR
NL MVP - Albert Pujols, 1B, STL

The position players are looking like solid candidates. I wish I could say the same for the pitchers thus far, but the whole season's still ahead of us!

-Andrew