Boston Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon may be a good closer, but there is something he should also work on closing - his mouth.
In the debut of his weekly web-only interview segment on Comcast SportsNet, Cinco Ocho - or should I call him Cinco Dopo - was irate that the players had to walk through Fenway Park's stands during Opening Day introductions.
The Boston Globe said "this symbolic gesture was made by the players to thank the fans personally for their passion, dedication, and unwavering support." And even a Yankee fan like me thought it was a cool thing to do.
But Papelbon agreed with Comcast hosts Gary Tanguay and Michael Felger that it was unsafe. "I know the fans probably loved it," he said, but "you do have to be safe, especially walking down the steps and stuff like that." OMG, steps!
"Just a terrible idea by [Red Sox senior vice president] Sarah McKenna, that was the person who came up with this idea, very stupid of her, " Papelbon said. "And if she pulls another act like that, she can go down to Pawtucket."
He added that "not many" of his teammates liked the gesture.
There's a reason Brian Cashman will not allow Yankee players to do such gigs. The propensity for an athlete to say something stupid in one of these things is pretty darned likely. Throw somebody like Papelbon into the mix, and the chances go through the roof.
I'm sure, if Papelbon is asked again about his comments, that he will say that he didn't mean to insult the fans. But that's sure what it sounds like - as if he didn't want to be in close quarters with the people who pay his salary. Nice!
As one commenter on the web site Boston Sports Media Watch put it, "here’s a new Schilling in town, with a third the IQ. And I don’t consider Schill to be all that bright."
What do you think of Jonathan Papelbon? Leave us a comment!
28 comments:
Felger? Ugh! Tool.
I don't watch Comcast Sportsnet (other than for Celtics games I don't think anybody here does) but I did see the link from BDD, however I didn't waste my time watching it. Less is more boys!!! Just shut up and do what you're paid a hefty sum to do.
Cheers
You do know that EVERY SINGLE Sox player said similar things, right? So are you going to put up an article that says, "Waah! John Smoltz whines and complains about Opening Day ceremony" or "Waah! Mike Lowell whines and complains about Opening Day ceremony".
When you've got a dude on the Yankees drunk driving (especially in light of what just happened to Adenhart), that you'd trump this up into a "Papelbon is an ass" post is nothing short of ridiculous.
And this somehow is worse than Joba the Hut and his drunken tirade or A-Roid's sober statements? But that's what I love about this Blog, I can read about my team almost daily.
I absolutely love how RS fans will defend their players' actions no matter what. That is until the inevitable RS organization/player divorce such as Nomar, Pedro, and Manny. We should start a Big Papi Divorce Watch.
I absolutely love how Yankee fans will defend their players' actions no matter what. That is until the inevitable Joba Chamberlain drunk driving incident. We should start a Joba Mugshot Watch.
(and I say that as someone who is an NL Central fan)
There was a basketball player once who said that, too often, we (meaning the players) step on fans on the way to our (Mercedes) Benzes. Okay, the player in question was former Nets star Jayson "Gee, I didn't know it was loaded" Williams, but he was right.
Say what you want about certain Yankees who have gone too far, but Jonathan Papelbon is scum. Not only does he essentially tell Red Sox fans that he's too good for them -- yuuuuck, I'm actually empathizing with Red Sox fans, but that's how much of a louse Papelbon is -- but he's threatening a team executive with being sent down to Pawtucket, as if he has that kind of influence over the front office. Hey, Paps, that jersey of yours don't say "23 JORDAN." Or even "34 ORTIZ," and you'll notice he didn't exactly lift a finger to save 24 RAMIREZ last summer.
Think about this: In the NFL, where the players' union is a joke, if a young star with the New England Patriots had said this, within 48 hours he'd be telling Al Davis, "Sir, please, I know I can still play, and I love the tradition of the Silver and Black! Please, just give me a chance!" After all, Davis' Raiders have had their share of villainous characters. And Papelbon does wear a football player's number.
This is going to sound like Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men," a truly loathsome character himself, but... Papelbon should just look the fans who pay his salary in the eye and say thank you, and then pick up a glove and man his post when the call comes.
Someday, the Red Sox will no longer have any use for Papelbon. And he'll have to beg some team to give him a one-year contract as a setup reliever. And the team that does will not be a New York team.
Then again, the Mets did just pick up what's left of Gary Sheffield, and it hardly seemed like a typical desperation Met move. But the team that picks up Papelbon then won't be the Yankees.
I love how you have to demonize one of the Sox players so you can feel better about the constant pathetic drama going on in the Yankees Clubhouse. Your clubhouse is so stagnant with yesterday's garbage even the new park stinks. RS Fans are a little tougher than NY fans. We can acutally take a player giving an opinion. We won't spend the weekend crying over it. If you need to demonize anyone, do it to Joba. But no, he's young, so he made a mistake. What a bunch of NY BS.
Hey Uncle Mike, How exactly is Papelbon "scum"? Because he gave an opinion? Your owner is a felon, your stadium is paid for by public funds, A-Rod is a steroid user and mental case, and Joba is a drunk driver and a head-hunter. I've lived in SoHo for 20 years, and I'm certainly no Red Sox fan, but I was embarrassed during the All-Star Game festivities last year when we had a parade-route full of so-called New Yorkers like you who were screaming death-threats to the very same pitcher you're calling "scum." You should re-evaluate your life and start by looking up what "class" means.
That same pitcher was shaking his Championship ring at the crowd as the car drove by...I guess that's a Red Sox fan's idea of class ??
Also ..saying he should close the game instead of Mo...the greatest closer of all time...at Mo's home for the final season. Pap is very good but he has to play 10 years at top level to put him in the same league as Mo.
If you want to learn about class ...Mo is the person. Never shows up a hitter...you can't tell if he won or lost ...he just does what he does best...saves games. Pap might eventually pitch near Mo's level but he will never be in the same class as far as a person.
Go Yankees 2009 !!!
@Mr. NL Central, you wouldn't be part of the fanbase that gave Tony LaRussa a standing ovation after his DUI would you?
@Nam and the other RS fanboys
Not one Yankee fan I know defended Joba's DUI. He's lucky he didn't kill himself or anyone else. I know more than 1 person who was killed by a drunk driver. It goes on everywhere in this country. So, spare me the Boston holier than thou BS.
Also ..an afterthought for all the holier than thou Boston fans...
I went to Baltimore for the Opener (which made for a LONG ride home to New York unfortunately). We spoke to a large group of Oriole fans and they told us that they hate the Yankees but they hope the Yanks kick Boston Butts (actually a little more colorful than that ..lol) because ever since Boston won a World Series their fans have become the most obnoxious on the face of the earth. That sort of brightened up my day ..lol. I'm
sure hoping the Yankees can oblige and make the Oriole fans happy .. :o)
Go Yankees 2009 !!!
all of you little red sox fans need to realize that yankee fans dont condone what joba did, but we will still defend him as a player, since he's on our team. once you start admitting that things like papelbon said are rude and offensive then you will start seeing that these posts will start to diminish.. and then maybe you will get some respect, bc papelbon is clearly a dirtbag.
I've been going to O's games since '92, and I can tell you that Yankees fans come down to Baltimore too and are also pretty obnoxious. Sox fans are just as annoying, but keep in mind these are the most dedicated and ravenous of the fanbase. If the O's haven't sucked so bad all these years there'd be more hometown fans at the games, and this wouldn't be a problem. Either way, you Yankees fans are just as annoying when you come to Charm City.
Is it just annoying because 2/3's of the Park are Yankee fans? Can't help it if Oriole fans only support their team on Opening Day when the opposing team is shut out because those tickets are in Oriole package plans. I've been going to Camden at least 2-3 times a season for the past 6 years and I'm truly amazed how little support there is for the home team. That same group of fans I talked to said the Opening Day win and the booing of Tex was fun because they won't have many more fun days this season.
Granted Yankee fans can be very obnoxious but this isn't the first time I've heard Baltimore fans say they can't stand Red Sox fans ..the
people at the Harbor too. They said they much rather deal with Yankee fans than Boston..so ..I guess there might be some truth to it. I for one have been a Yankee fan for over 45 years and never have booed a player ...Yankee or otherwise and I've always treated fellow fans (even Boston and Met fans) with respect knowing they are as passionate about their teams as I am about mine. I was just happy to hear that other fans finally hated someone more than the Yankees ..lol.
Go Yankees 2009 !!
Yankee Fans are so mean. The worse their team plays the angrier the posts. It speaks volumes about the quality of the fans. Where's the love NY?
@Anonymous:
Nice generalization with a hefty side of latent sexism. I'm a woman, and I hate the Cardinals- though I fail to see how either of those has anything to do with the subject at hand.
Everyone who drives drunk is a douchebag, period. Starting with Joba, including LaRussa, and ending with the guy who killed Adenhart.
That some folks in this thread continue to equate Papelbon shooting his mouth off with Joba driving drunk, as though they are somehow similar in severity, ASTOUNDS ME.
Hey all you fans who will not leave a name. Why don't you leave some kind of name..You have no guts, I don't care if yoy are a Yankee, Sox or Mets fan, leave some kind of name,
To the one Anonymous fan who said the O's Fans hate (Post 04 Bandwagon Sox Fans) more than Yankee Fans, I have heard the same thing from O's, Angels and Rays fans.
My experience is lifetime Sox fans are OK and I have no problem with them giving Yankee fans the business, after all we gave it to them for decades.
Nutball Gazette,
Great post. I sat down to write the same comment about not posting anonymous.
You go, Lisa. Way to get the blood pressure up!
Papelbon is an embarrassment to his organization. Joba Chamberlain embarrassed his organization too, but at least he owned up to it. He was stupid in one incident. Papelbon has been consistently stupid. Proverbs says that foolish men open their mouths to prove who they are.
Has Papelbon ever done or said anything likable?
It's better to be thought the fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt!
I liked the WS Title that Pap helped the team win.
ungrateful little punk who gets to make all his $$ because those 'unsafe' fans spend their money at the ballpark instead of bestbuy where they can get a nice flatpanel TV for just about every game they go to nowadays with all the ballpark increases.
How about nobody goes to a ballgame and that idiot palbelbon go back to France and wait tables among all those 'people who eat' in restaurants. This is a sure example of elitism if I have heard one. What a shame, this guy is a game player and thinks he should be protected as though he just broke the code on how to cure Cancer. SHMUCK!!!
Gerard Haughey
Poor little pitcher boy might turn an ankle on one of those big-bad steps, fall down and bruise his shins. OMG! My widdle heart is breaking.....
That boy needs to grow up. I am a born and raised Red Sox fan and his words are disappointing and downright stupid. To say something so negative about the "danger"of intermingling with fans AND the RS Senior VP? He should take a lesson from auto racing drivers. They have autograph sessions, and always thank the fans. Because of that the nice ones make many millions more with endorsements than Jonathon will ever make.
He is a spoiled athlete JERK. Stick him with the kids at Dana Farber and ask him to serve humble pie.
Lmao, wtf are you going to away games in the first place? Support? Thats kind of fruity, to be honest, and blatantly obnoxious. As a Baltimore born O's fan its offensive to me that fans of a couple other teams babble about attending games at Camden a whopping two times a year, guys! and then comment like they know how it is. The fans in Charm City dont have much to look forward to because of meddling ownership, a trend thats thankfully changing now, and if we voice our displeasure at having to witness the mangling of a franchise by not you know, paying for it, then thats OUR business. If you Sox and Yank clowns have THAT much cash to come to Bmore? then i suggest actually paying for some of those billion dollar seats in YOUR park.
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