Bullpen Concerns

[ksushi]

Mostly except for this:

 

But Rivera feels the same way about taking the mound for the ninth. "It's definitely tough, but we're here in Yankee Stadium. I think I should get the shot," Rivera said. "I definitely would love to. Knowing [Red Sox manager] Terry Francona, I have a feeling he'll put me there if we have the opportunity to close the game."

 

Its no big or anything. Just to avoid confusion.

[Gom]

Probably as good as not trading Manny for A-Rod. BTW' date=' how's that acquisition going for you guys?[/quote']

Who's to say you wouldn't have won 3 championships instead of 2? Worked out pretty well for us. It's not Arod's fault we didn't beat you in 2004.

 

The only reason Paps toned down his words is that someone told him he's talking a lot of s*** for the 5th best reliever in the AL. If you don't believe me, check the numbers. Mo, Krod, Soria, and Nathan are all better. No question. Both him and Tek are not deserving of their spots, but at least Tek knows the game and knows when to talk, and what to say.

 

f*** Papelbon. Thanks for letting a rookie in Brett Garnder beat you last week. *******.

[rician blast]

He's an outright idiot. Rivera is better than Papelbon in nearly every statistical category this year. Careers don't even match up. I would let Krod close before Papelbon. In fact, statistically, he's the 5th best closer...in the AL. What a f***ing joke.

 

It also happens to be the final All-Star game at Yankee stadium. f*** Papelbon. Now on my list as favorite Red Sox players to hate with Youkilis and Crisp.

 

I do like Manny and Tek though. Lowell is cool as well. Paps and Youk? *******s. Thank God you guys didn't trade Youk for Tex. Best non-move you guys did to help us Yankees out.

 

 

Lighten up, Francis.

[BoSox21]

Who's to say you wouldn't have won 3 championships instead of 2? Worked out pretty well for us. It's not Arod's fault we didn't beat you in 2004.

 

The only reason Paps toned down his words is that someone told him he's talking a lot of s*** for the 5th best reliever in the AL. If you don't believe me, check the numbers. Mo, Krod, Soria, and Nathan are all better. No question. Both him and Tek are not deserving of their spots, but at least Tek knows the game and knows when to talk, and what to say.

 

f*** Papelbon. Thanks for letting a rookie in Brett Garnder beat you last week. *******.

 

Worked out pretty well for you guys? I guess Yankee fan standards have dropped since you're happy with 0 titles in the 4 years and counting A-Rod has been a Yankee.

 

And Manny was the WS MVP in '04, I firmly believe A-Rod would never have and will never win that award in his career.

 

I agree Paps statistically isn't in the upper echelon of closers but if it's game 7 of the WS, who do you want on the mound (besides Mo) between Papelbon, K-Rod, Soria and Nathan?

[Gom]

Worked out pretty well for you guys? I guess Yankee fan standards have dropped since you're happy with 0 titles in the 4 years and counting A-Rod has been a Yankee.

 

And Manny was the WS MVP in '04, I firmly believe A-Rod would never have and will never win that award in his career.

 

I agree Paps statistically isn't in the upper echelon of closers but if it's game 7 of the WS, who do you want on the mound (besides Mo) between Papelbon, K-Rod, Soria and Nathan?

Unlike you, I realize that baseball is a team sport. How many has Mariano won since 2001? Arod has put the numbers up, his team fell short. Who's to say that Arod wouldn't have won 3 WS MVP awards if he went to Boston? No one remembers Nomar, but his numbers were better at the turn of the century than Jeter's. Jeter is going to the Hall of Fame, and a big part of that is how he did in the post-season.

 

To tell you the truth, after Mo, they're all about the same.

[Gom]

Lighten up' date=' Francis.[/quote']

I am a little sensitive on this, aren't I? LOL!

[BoSox21]

Unlike you' date=' I realize that baseball is a team sport. How many has Mariano won since 2001?[/quote']

 

First off, I'm not debating anything about Rivera. I've already conceded that I think he's a better closer than Papelbon.

 

Arod has put the numbers up' date=' his team fell short. Who's to say that Arod wouldn't have won 3 WS MVP awards if he went to Boston? [/quote']

 

Really? In the 2004 ALCS, he batted .258. In the 2005 playoffs, he batted .133 with no RBIs. In the 2006 playoffs, he batted .071 with no RBIs. In the 2007 playoffs, he batted .267 with 1 RBI. Where the f*** are these numbers you speak of? Where, in those numbers, does it suggest he has held up his end and his teammates are to blame?

 

So needless to say, I think there's very little chance A-Rod would have 3 WS MVPs if he was in Boston.

 

To tell you the truth' date=' after Mo, they're all about the same.[/quote']

 

Alright, you can take Joakim Soria in game 7. I'll take Papelbon.

[Gom]

First off, I'm not debating anything about Rivera. I've already conceded that I think he's a better closer than Papelbon.

 

 

 

Really? In the 2004 ALCS, he batted .258. In the 2005 playoffs, he batted .133 with no RBIs. In the 2006 playoffs, he batted .071 with no RBIs. In the 2007 playoffs, he batted .267 with 1 RBI. Where the f*** are these numbers you speak of? Where, in those numbers, does it suggest he has held up his end and his teammates are to blame?

 

 

 

Alright, you can take Joakim Soria in game 7. I'll take Papelbon.

Who's to say he would have done that bad in Fenway?

 

I'd take Soria this year. Who would have dreamt that Foulke would outduel Mariano in 2004?

 

End result, Papelbon should have known better. Forget about Mariano for a second. Krod and Nathan deserve it more than he does.

 

When it comes to baseball class, he's in the same boat as Youk. Mark my words. When Tek is gone, you guys won't win another World Series for a long, long time.

[YAZMAN]

I was listening to an interesting argument on ESPN radio the other day about the All-Star game. An interesting angle on the pitching assignment was to have Mo start the game, and I have to say I was both intrigued by the idea and in agreement with the reasoning.

 

1) The guy has been perennially world class and deserves a spotlight role in the game.

2) It's only one game and there's no guarantee that a closer will be needed.

3) It's a grand finale of sorts for Yankee Stadium, at least one Yankee should be allowed to play a prominent role.

 

With WS home field advantage riding on the game, I'd like to see the AL jump out to an early lead. One way to do that is score runs, the other is to prevent them. Chances are very good he will pitch a scoreless inning, so why not let him start, recognize the Yankee history with the stadium, and give the AL it's best chance to get ahead early in the game?

[BoSox21]

Who's to say he would have done that bad in Fenway?

 

I'd take Soria this year. Who would have dreamt that Foulke would outduel Mariano in 2004?

 

End result, Papelbon should have known better. Forget about Mariano for a second. Krod and Nathan deserve it more than he does.

 

When it comes to baseball class, he's in the same boat as Youk. Mark my words. When Tek is gone, you guys won't win another World Series for a long, long time.

 

I'm not gonna say he would've turned into Derek Jeter just cause he would've been hitting in Fenway.

 

And I agree, Papelbon's comments were stupid but he's a confident guy and that's part of his moxie so that being said, I wouldn't change him.

[BoSox21]

I was listening to an interesting argument on ESPN radio the other day about the All-Star game. An interesting angle on the pitching assignment was to have Mo start the game, and I have to say I was both intrigued by the idea and in agreement with the reasoning.

 

1) The guy has been perennially world class and deserves a spotlight role in the game.

2) It's only one game and there's no guarantee that a closer will be needed.

3) It's a grand finale of sorts for Yankee Stadium, at least one Yankee should be allowed to play a prominent role.

 

With WS home field advantage riding on the game, I'd like to see the AL jump out to an early lead. One way to do that is score runs, the other is to prevent them. Chances are very good he will pitch a scoreless inning, so why not let him start, recognize the Yankee history with the stadium, and give the AL it's best chance to get ahead early in the game?

 

It is an interesting argument but it wouldn't be fair to the starting pitchers who were named to the team. It's not as if Mo won't get into the game. And I think having Jeter and A-Rod in the starting lineup gives the Yankees a prominent-enough role

[TheKilo]

Papelbon should be quiet, but this story isn't as big as Gom would like it to be.

[YAZMAN]

It is an interesting argument but it wouldn't be fair to the starting pitchers who were named to the team. It's not as if Mo won't get into the game. And I think having Jeter and A-Rod in the starting lineup gives the Yankees a prominent-enough role

 

I could see if it were a starter who's career numbers and longevity dictated respect along the lines of what Rivera deserves.

 

But it's Cliff Lee starting. He's good, but he's not in Rivera's class. And this is an unusual game in a storied stadium about to be history. And if Lee or anyone else in his class had a problem with Rivera starting, they could go eat a bag of dicks as far as I'm concerned.

[Gom]

I would have liked to see Mo start too.

[BoSox21]

I could see if it were a starter who's career numbers and longevity dictated respect along the lines of what Rivera deserves.

 

But it's Cliff Lee starting. He's good, but he's not in Rivera's class. And this is an unusual game in a storied stadium about to be history. And if Lee or anyone else in his class had a problem with Rivera starting, they could go eat a bag of dicks as far as I'm concerned.

 

Then maybe it should be up to Cliff Lee to go to Francona and ask that Rivera take his spot the way A-Rod moved to third so Ripken could start at SS in his final game

[YAZMAN]

Then maybe it should be up to Cliff Lee to go to Francona and ask that Rivera take his spot the way A-Rod moved to third so Ripken could start at SS in his final game

 

If he were smart, he would. Chances are he'd get a hell of a lot more mileage out of that over the course of his career than he ultimately will for his performance on the field tonight.

[Cocos Disciples]

It's not Mariano's last year, it's the Stadium's. If anything he should pitch last, not first, right?

[a700hitter]

If Joe Torre was managing, he have his guy close regardless of the circumstance. He never demonstrated any conscience or sense of fairness when selecting the team or managing the game. If I were Tito, I'd go with Papelbon to close, because he'll have something at stake. Mo doesn't, and I don't trust a Yankee with our fate.

[BoSox21]

it's stupid that there is anything at stake in the first place

[a700hitter]

I think Whitey Ford should close the game.

[CrespoBlows]

 

When it comes to baseball class, he's in the same boat as Youk. Mark my words. When Tek is gone, you guys won't win another World Series for a long, long time.

 

Yeah, because the Red Sox are really loving that .299 OBP.

[ARod2212]

And if Lee or anyone else in his class had a problem with Rivera starting' date=' they could go eat a bag of dicks as far as I'm concerned.[/quote']

Papelbon had a problem with Rivera closing. Should he eat a bag of dicks too?

[Gom]

Paps sucks. If you had left it to him and Tek, by far the two worst AL All-Stars, the AL would have gotten smoked.

[MANNYHOF24]

Paps sucks. If you had left it to him and Tek' date=' by far the two worst AL All-Stars, the AL would have gotten smoked.[/quote']

 

Im speachless. Although Ive pretty much come to expect this from you, pretty much everything you say and have predicted has been wrong since you joined this site. Not arguing about Tek obviously.

[TheKilo]

Papelbon had a problem with Rivera closing. Should he eat a bag of dicks too?

 

From the OP:

 

"I feel I owe a lot to this game and that's one of the things I owe to this game, to let an elder statesman go ahead of me."

 

Yeah, huge problems. Not big on reading comprehension, huh?

[ORS]

The mental midgetry on display here is entertaining. The Daily News coverage of Papelbon's comments are completely disingenuous. They took a candid quote, diced it for the slant they wanted, and went with the most controversial coverage they could have in order to generate controversy (read: sales).

 

Every non-NY take on this has been that the article went overboard, Papelbon respectfully praised and deferred to Rivera, and he has every right to be pissed at how the story was handled, even if it was his own naivette/stupidity to have uttered what he did without a skeptical eye toward how it would be portrayed. How dare he be so trusting as to not suspect that the media might have an agenda other than the reporting of facts? Appalling.

[Cityofchampions33]

Yeah f*** the Daily News. As much as this rivalry is great, it should be a low point when fans threaten a player's pregnant wife.

[BoSox21]

threatening the wife is a bit much but it is nice to see characters on each side (Mini-Stein, Paps) emerging to add some spice to the rivalry, something that, to me, has been missing for a few years

 

I long for the days of Petey yelling at Jorge from the mound

[Gom]

I hate to say it, but Francona is a class act as a manager.

 

He let Jeter bat second, which he didn't deserve, and Arod bat fourth in the All Star game. He took both out in the middle of the inning so they could get the applause from the fans.

 

Rather than take a chance on not using Rivera, he burned Krod to get Rivera a guaranteed chance at pitching in a tie game.

 

Hat's off to you Francona. You understand the history and the tradition of the game as well as any manager I've ever seen.

 

As a Yankee fan, seeing the final All-Star game at the Stadium, you made it as special as you could with your managerial decisions.

 

As a Yankee fan....thank you.

[The Dustball]

It's funny how he got the s*** booed out of him too by the thousands of Yankee fans, guess they don't really understand how he tried to give the Yankee players the spotlight in their house.