Wow.  Sox fans over on Primer arguing to trade Paps now.  Wasn’t he Mo’s equal/better a month or so ago.  Glad we didn’t trade him in 97.

I honestly fantasized last night about Papelbon blowing the season for the Sox today.  Couldn’t have happened to a bigger asshat.  That SI quote from him RE: Mo is comical.

Just awesome.

Seeing Papelboner get booed off the mound was well…priceless.

Pap was so proud of having never allowed a post season run.

Pride goes before a fall.

To be fair, most of the fans on Primer have been less than impressed with Papelbon all year.  His ERA was as good as it ever was, but his peripherals were much worse and a lot of them have been saying that they considered it a warning sign.

I do feel bad for some Sox fans, but not most of them.  SSF and maybe half the Sox fans at Primer.  The rest got what they deserve.

Stop gloating! The Twins loom.

There’ll be no need for a rally page tonite.

I do feel bad for some Sox fans, but not most of them.  SSF and maybe half the Sox fans at Primer.  The rest got what they deserve.

I can’t stop thinking about this one sox fan, a friend of a friend, who laughed at me in ‘07 when I said I would choose Mo as my closer before Papelbon even then.

#2 what was the quote?

Half @ Primer’s about right.

I can’t stop thinking about this one sox fan, a friend of a friend, who laughed at me in ‘07 when I said I would choose Mo as my closer before Papelbon even then.

Someone emailed me a quote from a Sox fan, I think it was from SOSH that said something along the lines of “5 years from now Rivera will still be closing postseason games while Papelbon is pitching middle relief for the Mets.”  I think it was the Mets.

[8] Probably the line about Mariano making it hard on Pap to break his records.

Here it is:

“And he’s even so darn handsome, with those teeth and that smile,” says Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. “Really, we all look up to him, and the way he keeps going, he’s making it hard on me to break his records. I have tremendous respect for what he has done for this long, especially because doing it under the daily pressure in New York or Boston is like nothing else in baseball.”

I don’t know, that quote seems more complimentary to Mo than anything.

The part about his looks seems a bit…..off. Like Papelbon was not really taking the interview/questions seriously.  Why mention it?

And its a bit egotistical to state that its tough for you to break another player’s records, as if to claim it’s only a matter of time.
The whole thing just seems weird.

Also, mentioning the pressure in both New York AND Boston. It seemed like he was comparing himself to Mo, and putting himself on that same transcendent level.

It might if it were anyone else, SG.  But it depends on how you hear the tone, especially of “making it hard on me to break his record,” as if it’s certain that he will break it, but also that “so darn handsome.” 

The final sentence aounds right to me; the first two not so much.  & given his track record…

I think the part that can be construed as annoying is his preoccupation with Rivera’s record and thinking about breaking it when his preoccupation should be to attain Rivera’s consistency. He is a competitive guy, and I think that is probably natural, but he is probably getting way ahead of himself.

I personally don’t find it objectionable, though.

That was satisfying.

The quote was surely intended as complimentary - it was just really unfortunately phrased and reflected too much about stuff that doesn’t work in context.

So, is John Henry twittering about the curse of Teixeira yet?

The part about his looks seems a bit…..off. Like Papelbon was not really taking the interview/questions seriously.  Why mention it?

It’s tough to infer tone from text, but I just read it as Papelbon being goofy, like he seems to be a lot of the time.  Who knows though?

And its a bit egotistical to state that its tough for you to break another player’s records, as if to claim it’s only a matter of time.

A lof of pro athletes have massive egos.  Mo has one.  It’s probably something that helps some athletes get to the pinnacle of their profession.

NY Mag: Inside Mariano Rivera’s mind

An outsider, though, can see clues. Rivera has lost big games, but he is buoyed by a well-hidden self-confidence that borders on arrogance. He allowed a pivotal home run to Cleveland’s Sandy Alomar Jr. in Game 4 of the 1997 American League Division Series. Cleveland won that night and went on to clinch the series, and the next year, reporters peppered Rivera with questions about whether the home run bothered him. Rivera had replied, throughout 1998, that he hadn’t given the home run much thought. This was a white lie. Rivera had mulled over Alomar’s home run, and he had come to view it as confirmation of his own dominance, rather than as a failure.

Alomar was lucky, Rivera decided; if any other pitcher had been on the mound, then the manner in which Alomar hit the ball—arms extended as he drove the ball to the opposite field—would’ve resulted in a long fly ball, because no other closer threw a high fastball as hard as Rivera. The power in the home run had come from Rivera, the pitcher believed, and not from Alomar. Even in a moment that would have been a devastating failure for any other closer, Rivera believed he was in complete control.

I think that inner confidence has obviously served Mo well, just like it has served a lot of others well.

Also, mentioning the pressure in both New York AND Boston. It seemed like he was comparing himself to Mo, and putting himself on that same transcendent level.

Yeah, I can see that being a little off-putting, but we also have to begrudgingly admit he’s had a hell of a start to his career, don’t we?

[19] I’m sure it was intended as complimentary. But that happens with a**holes; they can’t give a compliment to someone else without giving one to themselves at the same time.

Mortal man shalt not lift the hammer of god.

The quote is definitely a little back-handed. It is not as respectful as it should be.

I liked the article, but there was too much Bahston in it for me. To go along with the Pap quote there is Ortiz’s two cents (saying he feels bad for him when he watches him struggle on TV). I mean how often could Ortiz have possibly seen Mo struggle against another team?

“I dont think they (Papelbon and Wagner) lost them the game.”
-Barry Larkin

I beg to differ, Barry.

How can this have happened to the “best team in baseball”?  This was going to be just like 2004.  Mookie Wilson must have put a hex on the Sox.

There is a big difference between a massive ego and extreme self-confidence. If there is one thing that came through the SI article it is that Mo is a pretty humble guy.

Agree with 26.  I don’t remember hearing Mo talk about himself, especially in relation to other closers.

So, is John Henry twittering about the curse of Teixeira yet?

Yeah, he is a twit. 
Oh wait, I read that wrong.

I have a lot of friends who are Red Sox fans, having gone to college in New England.  I do feel bad for some of them.  But I couldn’t feel better about Papelbon completely blowing it (and there really is no other way to describe that 9th inning performance).  I thoroughly dislike him.

So how do the Twins match up against the Angels, anyway?

Amazing how pitchtrax has disappeared from tbs since the awful umpiring job the other night.

And amazing how depressed the MLBN guys are right now. All talk about the Sox WILL bounce back from this, and how Pedrioa NEVER wants the season to end. Not a lot of talk about the Angels.

Mo is 12 years older than he was when he gave up the Alomar HR.  He may not be the same person he was then.  But ok, I’ll agree there’s a difference between self-confidence and ego.

& it’s not like the NYY haven’t had their share of assholes over the 45 years I’ve been watching them.  Some damned good players who’re absolute jerks: Reggie, Roger, Wells come immediately to mind, the latter two in the buttoned-down Torre years.  & O’Neill could be a bit much. 

I remember Cone’s columns in 1988 pitching for the Mets; they were republished in the LA Times, which was my local paper at the time, whining about the Dodgers’ pitch selection when the Mets were losing.

Who knows.  Maybe Pap learns something.  If he does, good for him.  I don’t wish him ill.

I am not going to comment on the Angels until the Yankees have won their series. 2004 has scared me too much.

Jeter in his book: “Whenever someone tells my father how humble I seem, he’ll chuckle and point out that I have more inner arrogance than anyone.”

“Whoever loses this game tonight is in trouble. Period.”
-Barry Larkin in reference to tonight’s Rockies/Phillies game

Yes Barry, when teams go down 2-1 in a best of 5 they are in trouble.

O’Neill could be a bit much. 

Yeah, but I don’t recall him being pompous.  There’s too much of that out of Papelbon.

Pitching to Vlad over Hunter seemed to be the poor choice in that spot.

How can this have happened to the “best team in baseball”?

The format is really unfair to them.  It should be best of 13, with doubleheaders on six consecutive days.  Best of five with travel days neutralizes the 12-ace advantage.

Pedrioa NEVER wants the season to end

You know who never wanted the season to end?  Freddy Patek.