Jonathan Papelbon has not recorded a save since July 11, and most of that has to do with how badly the Philadelphia Phillies have struggled. A 12-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday was the eighth straight for the Phillies, who have fallen out of playoff contention and appear unlikely to climb back in.
After the most recent loss, Papelbon told reporters he believes the team needs to make some drastic changes.
“I definitely didn’t come here for this,” he said, via MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “It’s going to take, in my opinion, a lot. And in my opinion, I think it’s going to have to be something very similar to what the Red Sox went through a couple years ago. From top to bottom.”
The Boston Red Sox parted ways with their general manager, manager and several key players and now find themselves with the best record in baseball. However, it rarely works that magically. It takes a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers to take on a huge chunk of salary, which is something the Phillies would need as well.
“That’s part of the business,” Papelbon continued. “If you want to go in a different direction and I’m not a piece of that puzzle, so be it. This is a job. There are no feelings in this game. I left. Carl [Crawford] left. [Josh] Beckett left. Adrian [Gonzalez] left. Now look at them.”
Papelbon is in the second year of a four-year, $50 million contract and has not exactly been lights out, so he would be very difficult to move. The same is true for Ryan Howard and the more than $75 million he has remaining on his contract. Pap even hinted that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. deserves to be fired.
“If I don’t do my job right, they’re going to find somebody else,” he said. “How is that different than the rest of the organization?”
Boston scored big time when it was able to get the Dodgers to take on some horrible contracts. The Phillies may be forced to simply ride it out for a while, whether Papelbon likes it or not.
