PAPELBON UPDATE

Baseball America should be required reading for the serious baseball fan (www.baseballamerica.com), a great Christmas present if you need to do some last minute shopping! A little humor regarding Jon Papelbon (Dans 2001) from this month’s Peter Gammons' column. “Boston has the luxury of an elite closer in Jonathan Papelbon, whose stuff and makeup are off the charts. He is fearless, and he is Fingers-esque, as in Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, who saved 341 games, won the 1981 AL MVP and Cy Young awards, and closed for three World Series Winners. In the bottom of the 9th in Game Two of the AL Division Series against the Angels, as David Ortiz was being walked intentionally to bring up Manny Ramirez, Papelbon asked Francona (Red Sox Manager), whether or not he would pitch the 10th inning if they scored. “If we score Pap, it’s over,” laughed a teammate. And Ramierz drilled a three-run homer.” Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to players, friends and fans!