Jonathan Papelbon Smacks Boston Fans, a Bit
We were – rightfully – skeptical about the Phillies signing Cinco Ocho, partly because he calls his other self that, but mostly because he will make $50,000,058 as a closer… and because he asked for that extra $58 in his contract.
Anyway, Paps can win us over.
His making fun of Terry Francona the other day was a start. Winning a World Series will be a finish. Somewhere in the middle falls his appearance on the WIP Morning Show today.
Paps (ew, but I think that’s what we’re going with) first told Angelo Cataldi – who has been hosting a morning show for, like, 30 years – that he “didn’t seem like a morning person.” Angelo said he was just excited to have the closer on, a line which was met with this response from 58: “I don’t like grown men saying they get excited when they see me.”
Awkward. Fun. But this was better:
Angelo: Can you tell us a little bit about what [playing in Boston] was like?
5 8: It’s a religion, it’s a way of life. They come to the field and they expect certain things out of their players, and not that they don’t expect anything more than I expect out of myself, but it’s an environment where you put up or shut up. And I think, for me, that was an environment I succeeded in and I enjoyed that, and that’s what got my motor running every day. But, the difference between Boston and Philadelphia is that I think that the Boston fans are a little bit more hysterical when it comes to the game of baseball. I’d say the Philly fans, I think they tend to know the game a little bit better… being in the National League, the way the game is played. The Boston fans, I’ve had a guy take off his prosthetic leg and throw it in the bullpen, he wanted me to sign it.
Angelo: I don’t think that would happen here.
Well, it did happen here. Sort of: [taken from our post back in the summer of 2010]
Yep, that’s our former closer Brad Lidge signing a wooden leg
But whatevs– Paps just landed a solid blow to the chin of Bostonians everywhaaaaaaa. We like that.
Audio of his interview after the jump.