Papelbon ripped by Eric Young

[Blackout]

I have a problem with Jonathan Papelbon's recent statement regarding Manny Ramirez. I don't believe it takes a great deal of guts to bad-mouth a player a year after they've left your team. It would've been gutsy for Papelbon to make these statements, calling Manny a cancer, last year when this all happened rather than recalling it now for no reason.

I don't agree with what Manny may or may not have done to leave the Red Sox. When a player is on a team, he should play as hard as he possibly can at all times, so don't think that I'm an apologist. But I do believe there are unspoken rules and Papelbon just broke one of them. The Red Sox players handled this situation the right way a year ago when they came to the conclusion that winning with Manny wasn't going to be possible. The clubhouse leaders went to their manager and general manager and voiced their concerns, and Manny was traded. The Red Sox went to the playoffs and Manny had a resurgence in Los Angeles.

It's very interesting that none of the team veterans, like Jason Varitek or David Ortiz, came out and trashed Manny. They know there is no reason to talk trash about a player who is no longer on the team and also because they respect that they won two World Series in large part because of Manny's contributions. There is no way they win those titles without him, and the veterans know that.

This game is about having a long memory, and the veteran leadership on the Red Sox realizes that trashing Manny serves no purpose except to sully a person who was a good enough teammate to help them win two titles. Papelbon should step back and understand that sometimes it isn't worth it to get a quick sound bite when baseball's unspoken rules are in play. Obviously, Manny is an easy target because the chances of him coming back to haunt the Red Sox are exceedingly slim now that he's an NL player. But respect for the game and former teammates is paramount and a part of baseball's storied history.

By Eric Young, ESPN

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/notebook?page=bbtn

[Lil Bit Special]

so when a guy asks him a question in an interview, he should just refuse to answer?

I agree that this sh!t should have come out last year. I disagree that "the veterans" came to the conclusion that winning wouldnt be possible.. Bullcrap. He was traded because management realized his #'s had declined to a point where he wasnt worth what they were paying him and would have to continue paying him. It had nothing to do with manny being manny. That was their excuse.

[Arsis]

I agree. It takes a punk to talk **** a year later. If Pap smear wasn't a coward he would have said something last year when Manny was pulling this ****. Q-Rich did it when Marbury refused to play in November. The fact is Paps had an opportunity to say make a comment or say something to manny when it happened and was too much of a ***** to do it.

[Gainzo]

[quote name='Blackout

[Blackout]

Gainzo, why didn't Pap have the BALLS to come out and say this last August?

[Garb]

What I find amusing is Pap calling Many a "cancer." No way Jonathan came up with that analogy on his own. Nope. He ripped it off from Dan Shaughnnessy, Tony Mazz and every talking head at Comcast Sports New England (where Paps has a weekly segment where we get to see what a complete retahd he really is). From what I have seen and heard, Jonathan Papelbon is as close to an idiot as you can get. He's a terrific clutch pitcher though.

[Gainzo]

[quote name='Blackout

[Arsis]

Because the team was trying to make the playoffs.

You're giving him the benefit of the doubt because he is on your favorite team. Which is perfectly fine. We all know if this situation happened with a Yankee or even a pirate. You would be singing a different tune.

[Gainzo]

You're giving him the benefit of the doubt because he is on your favorite team. Which is perfectly fine. We all know if this situation happened with a Yankee or even a pirate. You would be singing a different tune.

It has nothing to do with me being a Sox fan. The Red Sox closed ranks last year after the Manny trade and focused on trying to get into the playoffs.

Can we all agree that Manny phoned it in last year after he realized that the Red Sox weren't going to give him a new 4-5 year deal?

I think we all remember the at-bat he had against Mo at Yankee Stadium when he didn't even take a swing. That was beyond disrespectful to his teammates.

[Arsis]

It has nothing to do with me being a Sox fan. The Red Sox closed ranks last year after the Manny trade and focused on trying to get into the playoffs.

Can we all agree that Manny phoned it in last year after he realized that the Red Sox weren't going to give him a new 4-5 year deal?

I think we all remember the at-bat he had against Mo at Yankee Stadium when he didn't even take a swing. That was beyond disrespectful to his teammates.

I agree 100%. It has nothing to do with what we are talking about. We are talking about how no one had to balls to say anything when Manny was still around and could confront them about what they said. They wait almost a year to talk **** about the guy. Which is a cowardly move. You have something to say. You say it to his face when it is happening. Not a year later.

[JohnnyHector]

From what I have seen and heard, Jonathan Papelbon is as close to an idiot as you can get. He's a terrific clutch pitcher though.

I think the two go hand-in-hand... just like with Manny, these guys are too dumb and/or aloof to recognize pressure situations and perform exceedingly well in the clutch as a result.

[Blackout]

Gainzo, you are funny

Manny was a god to you a year ago.

[TaborJet]

It has nothing to do with me being a Sox fan. The Red Sox closed ranks last year after the Manny trade and focused on trying to get into the playoffs.

Can we all agree that Manny phoned it in last year after he realized that the Red Sox weren't going to give him a new 4-5 year deal?

I think we all remember the at-bat he had against Mo at Yankee Stadium when he didn't even take a swing. That was beyond disrespectful to his teammates.

Gainzo, you are funny

Manny was a god to you a year ago.

Gainzo talking about someone else being disrespectful is beyond funny.

[PFSIKH]

I agree. It takes a punk to talk **** a year later. If Pap smear wasn't a coward he would have said something last year when Manny was pulling this ****. Q-Rich did it when Marbury refused to play in November. The fact is Paps had an opportunity to say make a comment or say something to manny when it happened and was too much of a ***** to do it.

And you know he didn't how? Because he did not air dirty laundry as it was happening or just after it happened?

[quote name='Blackout

[Thai Jet]

I agree 100%. It has nothing to do with what we are talking about. We are talking about how no one had to balls to say anything when Manny was still around and could confront them about what they said. They wait almost a year to talk **** about the guy. Which is a cowardly move. You have something to say. You say it to his face when it is happening. Not a year later.

Please spare me this garbage. Why do players write books like "Bronx Zoo" years later ? You keep quiet for the good of the team at the time. Anybody but the Red Sox and you'd be saying nothing right now.

[Arsis]

Please spare me this garbage. Why do players write books like "Bronx Zoo" years later ? You keep quiet for the good of the team at the time. Anybody but the Red Sox and you'd be saying nothing right now.

Not true. I would say it was cowardly because it is. If he had something to say he had his time to say it. People write those books to cash in. Paps in a ***** who didn't say **** because he was afraid of getting knocked out by manny.

[war ensemble]

Please spare me this garbage. Why do players write books like "Bronx Zoo" years later ? You keep quiet for the good of the team at the time. Anybody but the Red Sox and you'd be saying nothing right now.

I call BS on all this "you don't say anything because you're trying to win" nonsense. If you are trying to make the playoffs, you absolutely have to call out a teammate if he isn't trying his hardest. The best it can do is motivate him to at least prove you wrong, the worst is he's angry and lazy.

Players write books years later for no other reason than to cash in the money. If you have a problem with a player, you say it to him. Don't take that crap to the media and don't go saying it a year later. If there's a problem, you go and fix it while it exists--not add fuel to a nonexistent fire a year later.

And I'd say the same about anyone. I purposely didn't use any names in the above so don't give me the "you're just a Yankee fan" garbage. I feel the same way about Joe Torre's book. Saying stuff about it later to the media is extreme attention whoring.

[PFSIKH]

Not true. I would say it was cowardly because it is. If he had something to say he had his time to say it. People write those books to cash in. Paps in a ***** who didn't say **** because he was afraid of getting knocked out by manny.

Nice spin. The way you talk you must be the Dominican towel boy in the Sox locker room.

I call BS on all this "you don't say anything because you're trying to win" nonsense. If you are trying to make the playoffs, you absolutely have to call out a teammate if he isn't trying his hardest. The best it can do is motivate him to at least prove you wrong, the worst is he's angry and lazy.

Players write books years later for no other reason than to cash in the money. If you have a problem with a player, you say it to him. Don't take that crap to the media and don't go saying it a year later. If there's a problem, you go and fix it while it exists--not add fuel to a nonexistent fire a year later.

And I'd say the same about anyone. I purposely didn't use any names in the above so don't give me the "you're just a Yankee fan" garbage. I feel the same way about Joe Torre's book. Saying stuff about it later to the media is extreme attention whoring.

That is crap.

If he threw Manny under the bus as I said above, it would have invited the media to run the "Manny is a cancer" ad nauseam. Letting Manny move on at the time ended with Manny looking like a tool and the team moving on. Here we are 8 months later and it is not that Paps threw him under the bus, but Manny is a tool that and made a whooping 1 million more by acting like a biatch.

[war ensemble]

If he threw Manny under the bus as I said above, it would have invited the media to run the "Manny is a cancer" ad nauseam. Letting Manny move on at the time ended with Manny looking like a tool and the team moving on. Here we are 8 months later and it is not that Paps threw him under the bus, but Manny is a tool that and made a whooping 1 million more by acting like a biatch.

Maybe I didn't make it clear. A player just absolutely shouldn't take it to the media. If he has a problem with someone, confront that person directly. Don't trash someone to the mafia, I don't care when it happens. If he was assertive about the problem when it happened and didn't start to bitch about it to the media almost a year later, I would have no problem with Paps.

[#27TheDominator]

Maybe I didn't make it clear. A player just absolutely shouldn't take it to the media. If he has a problem with someone, confront that person directly. Don't trash someone to the mafia, I don't care when it happens. If he was assertive about the problem when it happened and didn't start to bitch about it to the media almost a year later, I would have no problem with Paps.

Shhh, that organization does not actually exist.

[war ensemble]

Shhh, that organization does not actually exist.

LOL! I think I've played the Jetnation Mafia game a bit much now when I'm confusing media and mafia.

[BroadwayJoe12]

It's not that Paps was cowardly or acting like a bitch intentionally, it's just that his actions can be easily construed as being a *****, because he's an idiot, as aforementioned.

If he was smart enough to know that the media would blow this up and he would get negative pub for it, he probably wouldn't have said it. However, he ain't the brightest kid in the world and just said what was on his mind.

Every once and a while we have to remind ourselves that these guys aren't all the media savy Derek Jeter's who possess common sense and athletic ability. A lot of these guys are jocks plain and simple, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Paps isn't a ***** or a coward, he just might not think about the ramifications of what he says before he says them. Maybe he'll learn from this or maybe he won't.

[Sharrow]

Who cares? This is all just a worthless story about nothing important, on both sides. Just media-created controversy, as usual.

[Morrissey]

How about Manny show some respect for the game?

I've been saying that for years, how about you?

[PFSIKH]

It's not that Paps was cowardly or acting like a bitch intentionally, it's just that his actions can be easily construed as being a *****, because he's an idiot, as aforementioned.

If he was smart enough to know that the media would blow this up and he would get negative pub for it, he probably wouldn't have said it. However, he ain't the brightest kid in the world and just said what was on his mind.

Every once and a while we have to remind ourselves that these guys aren't all the media savy Derek Jeter's who possess common sense and athletic ability. A lot of these guys are jocks plain and simple, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Paps isn't a ***** or a coward, he just might not think about the ramifications of what he says before he says them. Maybe he'll learn from this or maybe he won't.

Joe he is getting slammed both ways.

Players and media slamming him saying he violated a club house code by speaking about Manny.

Players and media slamming him for not speaking about it then.

We do not know what Terry and/or the FO said to the players then. It could have been a hush order.

Again, I think he did it at the right time. Both parties have moved on.

[Klecko73isGod]

How about Manny show some respect for the game? Papelbon had every right to answer the questions honestly.

What did Papelbon say about Manny that wasn't accurate?

Typical Boston/New England fan whiny bitch response.

A player who helped the team win championships leaves and suddenly they hate the guy and try to diminish his contributions.

I never heard a single Sux fan complain about Manny when he was hitting homers for them in the World Series. Now he is an ungrateful prick.

It's no different than when Adam Viniateri, you know the guy who won all three of their SBs, left to go to Indy and suddenly they're posting nonsense trying to claim he wasn't that important to the team's success.

All the guy did was go on to kick Indy to a championship and the Pats haven't won one since.

[wildthing2022000]

Typical Boston/New England fan whiny bitch response.

A player who helped the team win championships leaves and suddenly they hate the guy and try to diminish his contributions.

I never heard a single Sux fan complain about Manny when he was hitting homers for them in the World Series. Now he is an ungrateful prick.

It's no different than when Adam Viniateri, you know the guy who won all three of their SBs, left to go to Indy and suddenly they're posting nonsense trying to claim he wasn't that important to the team's success.

All the guy did was go on to kick Indy to a championship and the Pats haven't won one since.

Lulz somebody hasn't been listening to sports talk radio. A prick is a prick no matter how good they are, people care less when they are winning despite it but becomes more outstanding when they lose.

[Thai Jet]

Nice spin. The way you talk you must be the Dominican towel boy in the Sox locker room.

That is crap.

If he threw Manny under the bus as I said above, it would have invited the media to run the "Manny is a cancer" ad nauseam. Letting Manny move on at the time ended with Manny looking like a tool and the team moving on. Here we are 8 months later and it is not that Paps threw him under the bus, but Manny is a tool that and made a whooping 1 million more by acting like a biatch.

Manny IS a tool . I think he's proven that beyond any arguements. The fact that there was only one team bidding on his services speaks volumes. Even the Latino crazy Mets who could use his bat big time, passed on him. I wish the Dodgers had let him swing in the breeze a little longer. I'll be interesting to see if he's still with the Dodgers in 2 years.

[GimmeShelter]

Typical Boston/New England fan whiny bitch response.

A player who helped the team win championships leaves and suddenly they hate the guy and try to diminish his contributions.

I never heard a single Sux fan complain about Manny when he was hitting homers for them in the World Series. Now he is an ungrateful prick.

It's no different than when Adam Viniateri, you know the guy who won all three of their SBs, left to go to Indy and suddenly they're posting nonsense trying to claim he wasn't that important to the team's success.

All the guy did was go on to kick Indy to a championship and the Pats haven't won one since.

In the same breath it is amusing how Manny is now of the same character mold as Lou Gehrig to some Yankee fans now that he is no longer in Boston. You need to take a refresher course on what exactly Manny did just prior to being traded. ANY player who did the same would be shown the door by ANY team.

The SOX let Manny be Manny until he basically quit on the team. Papelbon is guilty of speaking his mind but he is far from incorrect. I may have missed it but I haven't read any quote dimishing his contributions during their championship seasons.

What Papelbon said was,

[PFSIKH]

Typical Boston/New England fan whiny bitch response.

A player who helped the team win championships leaves and suddenly they hate the guy and try to diminish his contributions.

I never heard a single Sux fan complain about Manny when he was hitting homers for them in the World Series. Now he is an ungrateful prick.

It's no different than when Adam Viniateri, you know the guy who won all three of their SBs, left to go to Indy and suddenly they're posting nonsense trying to claim he wasn't that important to the team's success.

All the guy did was go on to kick Indy to a championship and the Pats haven't won one since.

As far as Manny is concerned, it was a messy divorce.

I am grateful for Manny and his contributions. It is not so much he wanted to leave Boston. Fine it is his prerogative. Just do it honorably and maybe stick to your guns the first time you were "Manny being Manny" and not the 6th time. Especially, when the team is in the middle of a pennant race. Then after leaving absolutely crush the ball.

This is similar to Rocket. He was fat, out of shape and average his last 4 years on a so-so team. He goes to Toronto. Finds roids....his legendary fitness ethic and dominates.

One of the sports personalities on the radio describe it best. "It is like your girlfriend breaking up with you. Losing 20 pounds and getting a boob job. It makes you go WTF?"