Another rough outing for Jonathan Papelbon
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Another rough outing for Jonathan Papelbon
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
TAMPA, Fla. — Jonathan Papelbon lowered his Grapefruit League ERA on Friday, so there was that. He was able to finish an inning, which was also a plus.
Still, it was another shaky spring outing for the Phillies closer. He allowed two runs to the Yankees in a 10-5 win and needed 28 pitches to record three outs.
Papelbon has permitted eight runs in 1 2/3 innings, which leaves his spring ERA at 43.20.
"I ain't worried about Pap," Charlie Manuel said. "Pap is fine."
Earlier in the week, pitching coach Rich Dubee referenced some other closers — like Billy Wagner, Jose Mesa and Ricky Bottalico — who traditionally imploded during Grapefruit League play. Dubee's concern level for Papelbon, his $50 million closer, was less than zero.
If anything, Papelbon has gotten plenty of work. He threw 31 pitches in his first appearance before another 28 on Friday.
EXTRA BASES. Domonic Brown drew three walks and has a .600 on-base percentage in seven games. ... Ryan Howard will play again Saturday, marking his eighth start in eight days. Chase Utley has a scheduled day off. ... Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run double in his final game before the World Baseball Classic. He could be gone for up to three weeks depending on how far the United States advances.
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Leadership ? We talkin' 'bout leadership. Nice job Pap. Keep quiet and pitch.— mortt1956- Echoed in the halls '56. (except for the 'nice job Pap' part).
Beginning to think, with a FB that is off 2-3 mph, and all the talkin' that there is fire where the smoke is with this guy. Is he done?
Queue up the refrain on the fat contract..........
— 24sDad - Papelbon/Bynum....How does philly always end up with high paid BUMS!!!
93-95mph fastball ain't gonna make it in MLB!!! and Bynum...well nothing there to even say. He's just a thief!!!— mainstreet - Leadership. I guess he's never watched Chase Utley play before— Apollo Creed
- @mainstreet: 93-95 doesn't make it in the MLB..... Have you ever watched baseball? Pap will be fine, the dude can not pitch without pressure. Watch what happens every time he gets some work in a blow out, then compare it to a game where he is one run up. The guy is a beast and the Nats better not think they are running away with this thing.— KINGOFZED
- Practice. we aint talking bout a game. we're talking bout practice. practice, man. practice.— scootch
- As G. Cobb would say...he's STEALIN MONEY....and he's ugly!— AHash
- He's not stealing anything yet. If he continues to pitch like this in save situations, THEN you've got a point. He's a closer. They're different animals.
- Like I've said, he's being outperformed by Aumont so far. That has to be embarrassing for him. Maybe he should just shut up and pitch. And, I think he will do just that, once a REAL save opportunity exists for him. Adrenaline is everything with a closer and there's no adrenaline rush in Spring Training. He'll come around.
- You "ain't" worried about Pap, Manuel? Gee, that's comforting coming from a genius like you. Are you as much a "pitching guru" as you are a "hitting guru"? If so, we're in deep s**t.
- We all know he's not flexible in his mindset. This middle innings stuff is not his thing at all. Dont err and use him in anything but a save situation this year.— gubbers97
- Another bad outing for the DIVA.— NewMick314
Something tells me fans will be rooting for Aumont to slip into the closer role in due time this year. Trust me, he will learn to regret his mouth yapping about leadership in locker room and all. Stick around long enough as a fan and you can see these things coming before the player themselves realize wht hit 'em......- Does anyone who has seen the games think he looks like he'd hurt? If not, then I don't care how many runs he gives up. Different guys go into Spring Training with different goals. A vet might spend the whole spring working on a new pitch. If he's pitching like there's something wrong with his arm, then hoo-boy that's some money down the drain.— hillbillybirdsfan
- Pabst is worse than mediocre without the adrenaline of save situation. Just loosening up this spring. He'll be leading big time, except for the occasional ninth inning homer, come June.— Eephus
