Papelbon can’t close door, Sox lose
BOSTON — The Red Sox were one strike away from a win that would have prolonged their season another day. But the Angels wouldn’t stand for it, coming up with three runs in the top of the ninth en route to a 7-6 victory that swept Boston out of the American League Division Series.
The victim of the jarring rally was closer Jonathan Papelbon, who entered Sunday never having allowed a run over 26 postseason innings. The Angels started their improbable rally with two outs and nobody on in the ninth. Erick Aybar laced a single up the middle. Chone Figgins worked a walk. Bobby Abreu brought the Angels within one on a double to left. The Red Sox walked Torii Hunter intentionally to load the bases for Vladimir Guerrero, and the star slugger delivered with a two-run single that gave the Angels their first lead of the day, silencing the Fenway faithful.
With some pep back in their offense, the Red Sox rode a two-run double by Dustin Pedroia and a two-run homer by J.D. Drew to a 5-1 lead through four innings against Angels starter Scott Kazmir.
Clay Buchholz performed well for Boston, allowing two runs over five-plus innings. The Angels got one back in the sixth, and two in the eighth to make it 5-4.
But Mike Lowell gave the Red Sox breathing room with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth. As it turns out, it wasn’t enough breathing room.
The Red Sox entered the day 13-3 in potential elimination games under manager Terry Francona, and seemed primed to give themselves life again and force Game 4 on Monday night.
This time, however, it didn’t happen.
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Red Sox Land Billy Wagner
In the culmination of a deal that was on and off again more often than Mariah Carey changes clothes, Mets reliever Billy Wagner has, in fact, joined the Red Sox for two players to be named later.
The deal was confirmed first by Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman on his Twitter feed, with the same outlet and source pushing along the story there all day, just hours after Wagner had reportedly rejected the proposed trade because of health concerns and a desire to not be offered arbitration in an offseason bent on landing another job as a closer.
Wagner could be an intriguing addition to the Red Sox, who have used a strong bullpen as one of the team’s main supports throughout the season. The longtime Phillies and Mets closer is just coming off Tommy John surgery and has serious health concerns about his own durability. The Boston Globe’s Tony Massarotti cited those elbow concerns as the primary reason for Wagner rejecting a Red Sox deal last night, though his concern over his future desirability in free agency — he’s likely to be considered a Type A free agent this offseason — also weighed heavily into Wagner’s considerations.
So, why the sudden change in heart from the reliever? Well, according to Heyman’s Twitter feed (it was awfully active today, huh?), the Mets reached out to Wagner to “try to talk some sense into him,” essentially convincing him to accept the deal as a way to join a team in a pennant race. And while the two players to be named that Boston will send to New York are said to be mid-level minor leaguers, Boston will still be in line to receive two compensatory draft picks for Wagner should the Red Sox offer arbitration and Wagner signs with another team.
While Wagner’s arrival should bolster both power pitching and depth in Boston’s bullpen, it may also jar one of baseball’s most harmonious bullpens. When the potential “Wagner to Boston” waiver deal was first discussion last week, Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon openly questioned why the team would add Wagner. The now perennial All-Star closer asked what Wagner had done this year, and even said, “It’s kind of like the Gagne thing, I guess.”
As you might expect, that tune has changed within the past day, with Papelbon endorsing the move as a way for Boston to get better. We’ll see if any sparks fly when the two first meet up, but the quotes Papelbon gave to NESN.com some 18 hours before the deal were straight out of a love-in.
“Believe me, there’s nobody else on this team that wants that guy in our bullpen more than me.”
“He’s a competitor, and I see a lot of myself in him. For me, having him down there in our bullpen is not only going to make me better, it will make the rest of our bullpen better. He’s going to bring a professionalism and competitiveness to our bullpen that every bullpen could use. Believe me, I want this guy more than anybody on our team.”
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