Jonathan Papelbon on boos from Phillies fans: 'I enjoy it'
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It's been an eventful few days for Philadelphia Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon in front of the home fans during his appearances against the San Francisco Giants.
After blowing a save Tuesday and picking up the loss Wednesday, Papelbon was greeted to a chorus of boos Thursday night when he entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Papelbon seemed to welcome the cold embrace, picking up his 24th save of the season, and talked about the extra motivation from the Philly faithful afterwards.
“I enjoy it,” Papelbon told reporters, via CSN Philly. “I just think that it's fun. It just brings a little bit of energy and life to the park and gives me a little bit of something to look forward to do every day."
He did, however, feel there was room for improvement when it comes to participation from the notoriously hard-to-please crowd.
“I heard some of them,” he said. “But that's it? Maybe we can get the whole park going here soon."
Even though he's had a difficult week and appears to be the scapegoat on a lackluster Phillies squad, his 1.91 ERA and 0.87 WHIP throughout the season rank him among the top closers in the league.
But it could be his unwillingness to waive his no-trade clause that's causing fans headaches as his refusal to accept a trade to a team with the financial flexibility to add his gargantuan contract, but is not willing to allow him to retain closing duties leaves the organization in a difficult position.
The Phillies are in selling mode as they sit in the basement of the National League East, yet Papelbon is optimistic about the team's strength in the bullpen.
“For me, I really, really like our situation down there in the bullpen. I really truly do," he said. "I like being a part of it. Just the circumstances are we're not in a playoff situation or a winning situation right now and, of course, if I had the opportunity to go to a playoff contending team, yeah that's all fine and dandy.
It's a saga that will likely get uglier before it improves.