Jonathan Papelbon in 2006

[Anuj09]

well it looks like Papelbon is headed for the pen in 06

[ksushi]

Didn't lowell hit a double last night? I thought he looked ok.

[mtbykr]

Didn't lowell hit a double last night? I thought he looked ok.

 

 

I don't think so. however i didn't watch the whole game--i flipped around a bit after the 7th! I thought he looked real slow, especially his bat! He had one good at bat that i remember where he drove the ball to rightcenter. It just looked like he knew he couldn't get around on the fastball quick enough so he took it the other way. I don't think that turned into a double, but i could be wrong!

[seabeachfred]

K, easy my friend. One Red Seat is one of us, don't forget that. I know what he's tyring to say, but that seems to be what the front office seems to believe, too. Me? I'm with you on Papelbon. He was 3-1 with a 2.65 ERA last season when brought up. That is good enough for me. Yes, I want him in the rotation, and you know what? He will be in there for sure in 2007, and I think he will get in there this season as well. Sorry to sound like a pessimist, but I think one of our starters will be going on the DL sometime this season. When that happens Jon will be in there. You also have to take into consideration that Paps might have to close if our friend Foulke is not fully recovered. To me, that means we have to cover all our bases and Pap is the closer if that scenario comes to pass.

[a700hitter]

I don't think so. however i didn't watch the whole game--i flipped around a bit after the 7th! I thought he looked real slow, especially his bat! He had one good at bat that i remember where he drove the ball to rightcenter. It just looked like he knew he couldn't get around on the fastball quick enough so he took it the other way. I don't think that turned into a double, but i could be wrong!

I don't know if I buy into the slowed bat theory. One scout said this and everyone on the message boards picked up on it like its a fact. It's hard for me to notice a decrease in his bat speed since I haven't watched him much in past years. His bat didn't look particularly slow while I was in Fort Myers. His timing was off for a little while and he was jumping out on changeups and offspeed pitches, but he made pretty good contact on fast balls. Last night he hit a curve ball, so he wasn't late. He had jumped out on the curve but kept the bat back long enough to drive the pitch to RCF. He's only a .272 lifetime hitter, so we shouldn't start jumping ugly on him if he hits .260. Hopefully, he will provide a little pop.