If you read the first line of the NY Post Yankees Blog, you would think so:
Jonathan Papelbon may be closing for the Yankees sooner than you think.
And that’s about all the meat the article had to offer. The rest was based on Amalie Benjamin’s story on Daniel Bard. Sure, Papelbon is set to be a free agent after the 2011 season as it stands today. And it does make sense that the Yankees will be looking for Rivera’s heir to the closing throne. Not to mention, the Yankees will also be most likely to throw a few more wagon trains full of cash at Papelbon. But let’s be realistic, that is a long way off considering pitchers and catchers haven’t officially reported for duty for the 2010 season.
My question is: could Papelbon ever really be a Yankee? Could he really give up the cigars, the jigs, the box-on-the-head goofiness that is Jonathan Papelbon? I don’t think so. I know the transformation that Damon went through between 2005 as a Red Sox and 2006 as a Yankees was very Jekyll-and-Hyde…but this is different. Paps is more of a legitimate wild card than the manufactured image Damon had in Boston. I don’t think the pompous, rarefied-air-breathing, 27 rings-chanting Yankee fans are ready for the like of Papelbon.
And that’s fine with me.
