Phils Salary Dump Papelbon To Nationals

Papelbon won't be missed.  His arm will.

Loud-mouth, big-game all-star closer Jonathan Papelbon finally got the ticket he sought, almost since his arrival in Philly: a one-way exit.

You could fault him for his attitude, his lack of commitment, his failure to even fake allegiance, sportsmanship or teamwork.

However, you couldn't doubt his ability or his performance, because they were rarely lacking-- especially when it counted.

Papelbon often jeered teammates.  It was arrogant and unprofessional.  However, when he criticized the notion in 2013 of all-star selection Yasiel Puig, a player some local writers are calling for in return for Cole Hamels from the Dodgers, Papelbon was as spot-on as he was offensive:

"The guy's got a month, I don't even think he's got a month in the big leagues," Papelbon said then. "Just comparing him to this and that, and saying he's going to make the All-Star team, that's a joke to me.  It's just really what happens in baseball when … to me it really does an injustice to the veteran players that have been in the game for eight-, nine-, 10-plus years. It kind of does them an injustice because they've worked so hard to stay there."

When the Phillies passed on Ryan Madson in 2012 to acquire Papelbon via free agency, it was a startling move.  The Phils had a long, bad history with Madson's then-agent Scott Boras (JD Drew, etc.) and Madson was asking for a lot of money for the four year deal the team and player inked and were on the verge of signing.


Madson in the 8th spelled relief.

Homegrown Madson, who was pivotal during the Phils five-consecutive division title seasons, was an institution in Philly, where he had set-up Brad Lidge and the team's first World Series-winning season since 1980.

However, the Phils dumped Madson at the 11th hour and instead signed Jonathan Papelbon, a controversial mainstay in Boston during a number of celebrated seasons.

Papelbon had come to the Phils to win.  From the moment they signed him, they began to lose with steadily increasing proficiency.

Papelbon, never humble or a team player, began to flap his mouth at everyone around him.  While his comments were often accurate, he was obnoxious and arrogant-- to put it kindly.  It's hard to empathize with the guy making $13 million a year for pitching 1 inning every few days.  The Phils received endless criticism for agreeing to that price precisely when the rest of the league made a philosophical shift from valuing closers at anywhere near that rate.

Just last week, the preeminent Philly newspaper published an article criticizing the Phils for, of all mistakes made the past few years, paying Papelbon to work for them.


Fiery, competitive, arrogant, superb.

He is almost impossible to like.  After all, in addition to his miserable personality and prima donna antics, his big mouth and tendency to point the finger, he happens to have very few clean innings.  In Boston, they had gotten a little tired of his walk 2, allow 2 hits, hit a batter, squeeze out the 9th inning habits, which is part of how the Phils acquired him.

However, to criticize a closer who has probably been the best in the game, overall, during his 4 years with the team is like saying your Rolls Royce is at fault for your traffic tickets.

A glance at last year alone tells the tale.  The Phils lost 89 games last year.  Only 2 teams in the NL were worse than them.  Papelbon?  He recorded 39 saves with a 2.04 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP.  This season the Phils are much worse.  They have the worst record in all of baseball-- by far.  Papelbon, however, is better than he was last year.  He has 17 saves, a 1.59 ERA and a 5.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio for a team that is, sans 1 soon-to-be-former starter, basically a AAA squad.  He was the only Phillies all-star this year.  It was the 6th time he has been selected, the 2nd time with the Phils.

Criticizing him and the team for getting him, which local Philly journalists have and continue to, is baffling.  The fact that Madson went on to not pitch a single game for his next 2 teams (he actually failed to throw a MLB pitch from '12-'14) due to injury only cements what terrific kismet (if not forsight) Amaro Jr. had on that move, which at the time seemed somewhat heartless.

[Madson, by the way, is alive and kicking.  He now pitches for K.C.  This is his first season healthy since he last pitched in MLB for the Phils in '11 and his numbers are outstanding: 1.77 ERA, 0.86 WHIP as set-up man for the Royals, who have the best record in the AL.]

9/14 Alienating fans with this response to boos.

Papelbon, 34-years-old, became the Phils' all-time leader in saves on May 13th of this season with 113.  He was traded Tuesday to the Washington Nationals for Nick Pivetta, a 22-year-old right-hander in Double-A.  In other words, this was a salary dump, plain and simple. 

In 18 postseason appearances, Papelbon has posted a remarkable 1.00 ERA and 0.81 WHIP, while sealing a World Series win.  Not the resume for a rebuilding team.

He will replace the Nationals Drew Storen, who will now be relegated to set-up role, despite his 29 saves, 1.73 ERA and 4.89 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Storen was the club’s regular closer in 2011, lost the job, was a setup man, then reclaimed the closer role this year, his best-ever in MLB. Storen has a 8.44 ERA in 6 postseasons, the mirror opposite of Papelbon.

Tuesday, the Phils simultaneously shed themselves of a loud mouth and a great piece.  Apparently, you don't need the Rolls Royce when you're living in an outhouse.  Still, it hurts to see the Rolls rolling out of the division rival neighbor's garage every day while you're shoveling manure.