Did you see Jonathon Papelbon coming out of the ’pen last night? I sure did, and I now have a whole new appreciation for the Boston closer. Through all of last season’s rumors of Papelbon being unhappy as a closer, as well as suffering through the whole offseason facing the terrible reality of him outside of the bullpen, I was admittedly fickle with my views on him. But his latest actions have done nothing but help his own cause, as well as the team’s. That’s the only part of what makes him so great.

What he did just a few weeks ago was one of my favorite things that he has ever done here in Boston. As the calendar flipped from March to April, Papelbon switched from a starting role back to his perfect closing position – willingly, nonetheless. He didn’t put up a fuss about it, and he absolutely didn’t make it all about him. With this move alone my new favorite number suddenly became 58.

But then Sunday night rolled around, and the Sox were facing a possible sweep on a chilly Texas night at the hands of the Rangers. This sweep seemed inevitable with no outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, after Joel Pineiro loaded the bases and now Javier Lopez stood on the mound.
With a two-run lead, Lopez could be aggressive, and would have gotten out of it unscathed barring an error by Youk. Still, only one run scored, and instantly everyone watching the game who new the name “Papelbon” knew what time it was.

Terry Francona gingerly strutted out to meet the baffled Lopez while looking more confident than Tom Brady marching downfield against the Rams. He signaled out to the bullpen to have the mighty righty come save this game single handedly, and the cameras instantly focused on Papelbon’s face. This scene instantly jumped into my top five all-time “Eye of the Tiger” moments. Just like the Sox in game seven of the ’04 ALCS, you knew Papelbon was going to win this. Sure enough, he pitched a perfect strikeout-popout combination to get himself out of Pineiro’s jam, and then pitched another perfect ninth to secure the win. Besides Papi’s power, it was Papelbon’s insane intensity that won the game.

And guess what: It’s only April.

With all this fantastic passion from Papelbon it really is hard to believe that it is only early April. On top of that, the guy isn’t even in the role he yearns for. It’s unbelievable. He’s got what Tom Brady, Larry Bird, Bill Russell and Bobby Orr had. I am by no means putting him in their class completely, but only in the intensity category. Talk to me after he’s got a couple of rings on his fingers and I’ll consider the rest. But as of right now, Papelbon is one of the most determined and fiery Boston athletes we have ever seen, and he’s only been here for two years (which is saying something). I may be sounding a little crazy here, but I’m still confident. Maybe even as confident as he is.

Written by Derek Bennett