Jonathan Papelbon's Run as Great Closer Is Over

5teamparlay said:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...onathan-papelbons-run-as-great-closer-is-over
Fantasy Baseball 2011: Jonathan Papelbon's Run as Great Closer Is Over


By Eric Ball
(Reds Featured Columnist) on March 30, 2011

Steer Clear of a Declining Jonathan Papelbon on Your 2011 Fantasy Baseball Team
The Boston Red Sox have felt extremely comfortable giving the ball to Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning for each of the last five seasons.
Over that period of time Papelbon has amassed 188 saves and 422 strikeouts with a spectacular 2.22 ERA.
He was as reliable as it gets for Boston and one of their best assets...until last season.
Papelbon gave up 11 more runs last season than he did in any of the previous five seasons. He constatnly got into jams and blew a career high eight saves.
Yahoo Sports Andy Behrens goes into greater detail as to why Papelbon is declining before our eyes:
"Excessive walks, fly-balls and an increased use of his very average splitter explain why his ERA jumped from 1.85 in 2009 to 3.90 last year. Papelbon announced earlier this spring he plans to feature his slider more often, a pitch he had marginal success with against right-handed hitters a season ago."
With Daniel Bard breathing down his neck—Papelbon may not even last till the All-Star break. Considering he is a recognizable name, Papelbon will likely go much higher than he really should in most fantasy drafts.
Don't be the guy to make that mistake...avoid Papelbon.

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Stylez said:

I cant wait to see him close out some games and shut all these haters up , nothing like a bunch of people talkin shit to light a fire.

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billhill999 said:

He lost seven games as a closer, blew eight saves.
That's 15 games he mucked up big time, consider he pitched in 57 games, that's almost 30 percent of the time he entered the game last season, the result was disaster.

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Soriano12 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you always credited with a BS if you are entering in a save situation and end up being the losing pitcher? So you can't just add up L+BS. As a matter of fact he was directly involved 7times (not 15) last year in BOS losing games because he either gave up a lead (BS) or came into the game in a non-save situation and ended up being the losing pitcher.
The other appearances were either won by BOS or he came into the game with BOS already trailing.

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PatsFanatic said:

just confident, not a head case

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billhill999 said:

Paps days as an elite closer are done.
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