There is an excellent chance this is kick-ass!

So Paps is back to closing, which is awesome if he stays healthy. This does a few things:

1. It nails down the end of the bullpen. I like the prospect of Timlin, Piniero, and Donnelly working the 8th instead of the 9th. If Papelbon is 75% as effective as he was last year and just pitching the 9th, there will be order in the chaos that was our bullpen. Big help.

2. It could open a spot for Lester down the line. While I don't like the prospect of Tavarez being the 5th starter for the bulk of the year (and frankly, I would prefer Snyder from the get go). However, I prefer Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Wakefield, Lester with Paps closing to Schill, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Papelbon, Wakefield with no closer. It would give us a potentially stud power lefty in the rotation for the 2nd half.

3. If Lester isn't ready, it opens a spot for the Big Douchey Texan. As much as I freakin' hate Clemens, even more so with this "I'm pitching half a year for the highest bidder" bullroar, it would go a long way towards some cathartic healing if he came back to the Sox for the late summer push rather than back to the MFY to be reunited with the merry band of dipshits.

4. Not related to this move, and I know it pains Mets fans when I say this, especially Rizza the Raza', but I am freakin' excited about Matsuzaka.

5. While a forward-looking rotation of Paps, Lester, Matsuzaka, Beckett, and Bard would have been something to salivate over, we still have 3 power pitchers under 27 years old in the starting rotation at the major league level under contract for the next 4+ years. While there are questions about the 3 guys at the major league level, as well as the questions that always come from prospects, the Sox still have an eviable position in the rotation that many teams out there would beg to have happen. Hell, Zambrano and Santana both could pop up in free agency the next two years, as well, so the Sox could also enlist one of their services.

6. Also looking forward, the Sox pen in the future could be filled with Paps, Hansen, Delcarmen, Bryce Cox, and Justin Masterson. Another 5 power arms coming out of the pen to follow the starters makes for one hell of a pitching staff that is both cheap and all under contract for the next 4+ years.

7. This also allows both Manny D. and Hansen to go back to Pawtucket and get a little more polish to their game. Hansen has shown some promise back to his slider, and regular work is just what he needs to regain the dominant form he had through college and to AAA. Get these two guys ready to join the group as effective pen arms and anchor the group I talked about in point 6.




Now, granted, I would prefer to have Paps in the rotation (and in the long run he could probably help the team more there), this still has a lot of upside in the short run and wouldn't be disasterous at all for the team in the long run.