In the long ugliness that is this lousy Smarch weather, it almost feels that even venturing outside to make the short trip from the house to the car is some sort of Puritan self-immolation ritual. The whipping sub-arctic winds cut through the useless layers of wool and denim like so much wet paper mache, making a harsh beeline for our collective cold-sensitive scrotal tissue. And maybe it's encoding in my maternal side New England-bred DNA, but after a while, I start to kind of like the meteorological punishment. It sort of gets me off, in a sick, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" kind of way.
But then a day like today happens and you remember that the universe is not some sort of personal medeival torture chamber. Sometimes, the sun comes out and there are nice days and the hibernating bears of winter start to stir from their slumbers. And they report to spring training.
That's right - Opening Day is a week from Monday.
The latest news out of Red Sox camp is that Jonathan "Big Papi" Papelbon has been converted from starter back to the closer role in which he was so dominant last season. Personally, I think Papelbon would be much more valuable to the squad as a starter. The idea of a "closer" is at best an overrated role, at worst a completely fictional marketing creation based more on perception than anything to do with reality. But Big Papi loves the role and asked the team to return him to the bullpen. And I feel it's my duty to point out that this is the team's own damn fault.
Look at what they did to the poor guy. They hooked the kid on coming in to the game in tense situations with the crowd going apeshit and Drowning Pool screaming "Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor..." over the loudspeaker. Essentially, they created an adrenaline addict. Seriously - who would want to give that feeling up? They created a monster and now they've got to live with him.
More baseball talk in the upcoming weeks and months. I'm happy to hear your opinions, although they are most likely wrong. Have a good weekend all. And most importantly, a big happy birthday tomorrow to my girl Arielle.
But then a day like today happens and you remember that the universe is not some sort of personal medeival torture chamber. Sometimes, the sun comes out and there are nice days and the hibernating bears of winter start to stir from their slumbers. And they report to spring training.
That's right - Opening Day is a week from Monday.
The latest news out of Red Sox camp is that Jonathan "Big Papi" Papelbon has been converted from starter back to the closer role in which he was so dominant last season. Personally, I think Papelbon would be much more valuable to the squad as a starter. The idea of a "closer" is at best an overrated role, at worst a completely fictional marketing creation based more on perception than anything to do with reality. But Big Papi loves the role and asked the team to return him to the bullpen. And I feel it's my duty to point out that this is the team's own damn fault.
Look at what they did to the poor guy. They hooked the kid on coming in to the game in tense situations with the crowd going apeshit and Drowning Pool screaming "Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor..." over the loudspeaker. Essentially, they created an adrenaline addict. Seriously - who would want to give that feeling up? They created a monster and now they've got to live with him.
More baseball talk in the upcoming weeks and months. I'm happy to hear your opinions, although they are most likely wrong. Have a good weekend all. And most importantly, a big happy birthday tomorrow to my girl Arielle.
7 Comments:
If Tavarez is now our #5, I sure as shit hope we get the whacked-out late season version we had last year: bouncing all over the place, pointing at bases and yelling gibberish for the entirety of the game.
But yeah this sucks. BRING BACK DAUBACH.
If Tavarez is now our #5, I sure as shit hope we get the whacked-out late season version we had last year: bouncing all over the place, pointing at bases and yelling gibberish for the entirety of the game.
I'm sure he's just holding the place until Jon "Cancer Boy" Lester makes his return.
I hate that Papelbon isn't starting.
Bring back the closer by committee! Oh wait, don't do that.
If you look at his numbers so far as a starter/reliever during this year, he may just not be ready for the longer stretch.
I mean, he gave up 25% of the runs he did throughout the entire 2006 season (68.1 innings) in one game (3 2/3 innings). Everyone has a bad game here and there, which could be the case.
I feel like if we needed him to start, he could, but maybe he needs to have some more time before that is his primary role.
BRING BACK DAUBACH
...AND DINARDO!
I don't know, flopping back and forth between reliever and starter seemed to work great for Derek Lowe, I say go with it!
I don't know, flopping back and forth between reliever and starter seemed to work great for Derek Lowe, I say go with it!
I know you're being sarcastic, but Lowe actually had a great career with the Sox. If Papelbon does as well as Lowe did, I'll be psyched.
On a side note, it's been 75 degrees where I am all week.
And I love Papelbon either way.
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