Wasn't elite in 2009? He had an ERA+ of 254. What, because he blew his first (and still only) postseason save ever he didn't have an elite season on '09? Idiocy.
Umm, no he didnt. He returned to "seriously above average" but his last really elite season is still 2009 -- you know, the one you said wasn't elite. 2011 was by any reasonable standard the second worst year of his career. Probably why the franchise opted to walk, actually.
Even in his worst year in 2010, Jonathan Papelbon was still a well above average power reliever. If that's his floor, he was worth money.
This is blindingly irrelevant.
People can't have it both ways -- either the bullpen is critical to the success of the franchise, in which case we need to panic over Bailey, or it isn't, in which case Papelbon is "just a reliever."