Jonathan Papelbon to the Phillies? He Will be Missed

For the past 6 years, hearing "Wild Thing" blaring over the Fenway Park speakers has meant that its time for Jonathan Papelbon to enter the game and slam the door shut. However, today, we learned that Papelbon has agreed to sign a 4 year, $50 million deal with the Phillies. The move is certainly interesting due to the fact that it appeared as if the Phillies were going to re-sign Ryan Madson earlier in the week. Then, the talks with Madson fell through and it was on to the free agent closers left on the market.  The signing certainly solidifies a bullpen that many saw as the main weakness of the team last year. Papelbon is a 4-time All Star that has posted at least 30 saves in each of the last 6 seasons.

As for the Red Sox, Daniel Bard has served as Papelbon's apprentice over the last couple years and now, will get his shot to be a full-time closer in one of baseball's most highly scrutinized markets. The only part that may make Sox fans feel a bit uneasy about the move is the fact that Bard has not closed since college and closing in the major leagues is a whole different animal. We are about to find out a whole lot more about Bard's psyche and how he handles the pressure of being an everyday closer. How will he react when he blows his first key save and people are calling for his head? He must have seen how people reacted to Papelbon blowing a save in Game 3 of the 2009 ALDS and in game #162 of this season.  My point is, closing in Boston is a whole lot different from closing in say, Kansas City where the fans have become accustomed to losing over the past 15 or 20 years. In Boston, winning the World Series is the goal year in and year out. If that goal is not accomplished, the season is largely considered a failure.

Despite his blown saves over the years, a few of which have happened at critical junctures, Red Sox fans, such as myself may not realize quite yet how much we will actually miss Papelbon. Yeah sure, the guy blew a few important saves over the 6 years he served as the Red Sox closer, but he still managed to rack up 219 saves over those 6 years. The first save that Bard blows, some Red Sox fans who are jumping for joy right now will be wishing that Papelbon wasn't closing games in the City of Brotherly Love. The intensity and passion that Papelbon displayed on the mound each and every night may be seen as an underrated factor in this deal, but is something that can serve as an igniting factor for a team in search of a spark.