The quick brown fox...

Al:
You are, Doug.

 

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Mike:
Yep.

 

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Doug:
No, seriously, dudes.

 

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Doug:
I am so not gloating.

 

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Doug:
But just let me say that I think yesterday was a metaphorical Bill Bucknah moment for the Massachusetts Democrat Pahty Machine.

 

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Al:
Memo to Mahsha Coakley — Bill Bucknah played with the 1986 Red Sox and, well, look it up, dumbass.

 

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Mike:
Ahem, back to baseball... $9.35 million for Papelbon?

 

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Al:
I'm not feeling it dawg.

 

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Doug:
Yeah, why do I get the feeling this is the Red Sox equivalent of spending money on the "Bridge to Nowhere."?

 

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Comments

[Kaz]

When asked about her Buckner moment, Martha responded: "I did not get a chance to meet him on my frequent trips to DC Lobbyist fundraisers, but I will be happy to work with him on his committee on January 20th when I become the "First Female Senator from MA™!"

As I said on Twitter, I've already started mailing Seppuku How-To books to all of the MA Dem Party leaders. It's the only honorable thing for them to do.

Speaking of which, I should keep an extra copy around for about August until we see whether we get 2007 Papelbon or 2009 Papelbon this year.

[Bob]

The question is, is Paps better when he's happy or when he's pissed off?

[da kine]

Coakley is Bucknah in that the Democrat Party of MA should have pulled her in the 8th for a defensive replacement.

[RonF]

My paycheck says that the 2012 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate will:

a) know the starting lineup and rotation of the 2012 Red Sox,
b) know the starting lineup and rotation of the 2004 Red Sox, and
c) be shown on TV and in the newspapers shaking voters' hands outside Fenway Park

[RonF]

My hometown is part of Sen. Brown's State Senate district! It went 2:1 for him in this election.

[jfm]

Remember when paps used to have a devastating splitter? What the fuck happened to that pitch. If he is just chucking heat, he is not the invincible closer he was a few years ago.

[Moore]

Thank you thank you thank you. That's all, really.

[Colin]

Methinks when Martha mistook Curt Schilling for a Yankees fan, the death knell rang across all of Massachusetts.

What a moron.

[madraider]

Last season, apparently Paps was thinkin about his long term career and not flaming out a la Gagne and was tinkering with his mechanics.

I think overall it's better to get a contract before the arbitration hearing. Paps could've walked away with $10 mm. He did only blow 3 saves last year, I know the walks were up. And I know he blew a playoff game but those Sox last year weren't going to get to the WS anyways. Still it would've been nice to have held on to Saito as insurance.

07 and 08 were two of the most dominating seasons any closer has ever had anywhere. And we as fans hold him to that amazingly high standard.

[jfm]

@madraider

Those are all valid points, and the splitter can be rough on long term wear(arent most breaking pitches) but I still think papelbon is no where near as effective without it. Was he unable to throw it or thought he could get by without it? I dunno.

[Jeff in NC]

Paps was good when he was unsure of his place on the team. He kept his fat yap shut and just pitched. And pitched well. Now he's just a big damn superstar. No longer putting in the hard work, the focus. But he can sure talk the hell out of the press and opine on subjects he can barely pronounce. Not sure if he just ignores pitching coaches or they really are less observant than us simple fans. I tend to think they are not that bad at their jobs.

[ponch]

Look at it this way: Is Paps one of the top seven relievers in baseball? Without a doubt. So you're getting him for #7 money and he's happy. Meanwhile you get this season to see if Bard can make him expendable. To me, a good deal for both sides.

[Steve in MD]

Excellent point Ponch.

And I really hope the dems keep believing that it was Martha's Red Sox / Fenway Park flubs that lost a Senate seat in the bluest of all states. I really, really do.

[madraider]

If Paps gets back to 07 or 08 form you might have the flexibility to trade Bard for Adrian Gonzalez. And that is my crazy conspiracy theory .

[past a diving jeter]

wait, is Paps the "bridge" or is he the "nowhere"?

[Rob in CT]

Neither...

He's the bridge to Tarabithia. And his big mouth is the rope over the creek.