And for those of you that are paying close attention, this is the strike zone just before Papelbon walked the batter in the Phillies game. Good job Ump, those are DEFINITE balls.
I don’t yet know why, but I have developed a passion for criticizing Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
But he’s currently my favorite Red Sox player? I confuse myself…
Ladies and Gentelman, I present to you my favorite baseball player, Jonathan Papelbon. He is wearing red this year, but just not the right shade of red. This season, much to my chagrin, he is a Phillie. It was a strange sight to see him doing the same stare, routine, and windup for another team. He started his career in Boston, and went through so many things here.
I became a Red Sox fan during the 2007 world series, at which the franchise was at its peak. Team chemistry was good, and our record was even better. That’s also when Papelbon became my favorite player. Watching how he decided when to use his effective Splitter against opponents demonstrated good use of strategy in the game. Strategical thinking in pitchers appealed to me, and is a big part of why I love the game of baseball today.
I expected Papelbon to be traded after his miserable 2010 season. It was a season that he struggled in, and I tried to defend his efforts as best as I could; often yielding negative results. A lot of Boston fans and media gave up on him that year, and that was a shame.
Papelbon did great during the 2011 season, something that many people didn’t expect to happen. I can’t even be sure what it was that turned him around, perhaps it was the thought of a clean slate that put him in a different mindset. But in regard to the 2011 Red Sox in general, it was a good season. We were on pace to win over 100 games, but things got in the way… Things that deteriorated team chemistry to such a low level, that we were unable to compensate. I just wish Cherington had given Papelbon more of an offer. He had said Boston was the place he wanted to play in, but perhaps after all he had seen during September, he felt it was time for a change.
So, he went to Philadelphia without commotion. It almost seems as if he’s forgotten Boston altogether. I am glad to see him on a team he is comfortable with, but I can only hope that he never forgets where he came from- Boston.
Good luck in Philadelphia Jonathan, I hope you win hundreds of games for your team. You will always be my favorite player, but always remember where you started out…
I didn’t know poor Krej was missing a bicuspid (and perhaps a premolar too)! Not too many of the Bruins are missing teeth, because we have the best dentists in the NHL!
As far as Horton’s status goes, it looks like he’s going to be out for the year. It’s a shame, but time is crucial to his recovery, even if that amount of time is longer than the remainder of the NHL season…
Good luck next year mate!
When you see the Hamelin brothers on this zipline, you know where they’d rather be zooming down…
…ON A HYDRO-QUEBEC TRANSMISSION LINE OF COURSE!!!
