Koji's last three years without 2013 have also been better than Papelbon's last three years. I can't find the composite numbers easily, but Koji has the edge in ERA, WHIP, ERA+, K/9, BB/9, K/BB. Papelbon only has the edge in IP. Over the last two, Papelbon has the edge in HR/9, ERA and ERA+, but Koji holds the edge in every other possible peripheral. Over the last five years Koji has been better too. And if you include 2013 in any calculation, well, you know the result. So iortiz is dead wrong because he did not check the numbers before posting. We get it, you like Papelbon, but be objective.
Also, half te teams in the league find competent closers consistently without paying big bucks. Saying otherwise is dishonest.