Rookie emerges as topflight closer

BOSTON --Is he Jon or Jonathan? A starter or a closer? A pitcher who craves strikeouts or just any kind of out?

For Boston's newest mound sensation, none of that really matters.

The soft-spoken 25-year-old with a Southern drawl, a slingshot arm and growing confidence just wants to enjoy himself. And the best way for him to do that is by helping the Red Sox win.

"I'm just going out there trying to do my job and have fun with it," he said.

Because the Red Sox had a crowded rotation, the rookie who figures to be a mainstay as a starter for years to come was expected to spend much of this season as a setup man. But when Keith Foulke struggled early this season after having offseason knee surgery, manager Terry Francona tried the hard-throwing Papelbon in Foulke's spot in the bullpen.

The results have been spectacular: seven saves in seven opportunities in Boston's first 10 wins. No runs, two walks and just three hits allowed in eight innings, and regular standing ovations when he comes in from the bullpen to protect another lead.

"I like the fans expecting a lot because I expect a lot of myself," the pleasant but physically imposing Papelbon said. "It's good to have them behind you because they can carry you through innings when it gets rough."

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound righty is doing so well that Francona may keep him in that role longer than many people expected.

"I wouldn't be disappointed," Papelbon said. "I get a lot of satisfaction out of closing and right now that's all I'm focused on."

The unflappable Papelbon, a closer at Mississippi State but a starter in the minors, has a similar ambivalence to what people call him. Soon after making his major league debut last July 31, he let it be known that he'd prefer to be called Jonathan. But when he reported to spring training this year, he said either Jon or Jonathan was fine.

And although he fanned 34 batters in 34 innings last season, he doesn't care how he retires them.

"Strikeouts are great," he said, "but that's just icing on the cake."

Still he's impressed opponents.

"He has the mentality of a closer," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "He has an easy delivery which is part of the deception to the hitters. He is like an old-time Bryan Harvey."

Harvey, also a right-hander, pitched five full seasons for the California Angels and two for the Florida Marlins from 1988 to 1994. In his career, he had 177 saves in 372 appearances, a 2.48 ERA and 448 strikeouts in 387 innings.

Harvey never started a game, but that's where Papelbon still seems headed. Papelbon worked primarily as a starter during the exhibition season to build his arm strength and posted mediocre results.

But on opening day he pitched a perfect eighth inning before Foulke allowed one run on two hits in the ninth in a 7-3 win at Texas. And in the third game, Francona tried him as the closer and he struck out two of the three men he faced to preserve a 2-1 victory.

He's been closing ever since.

"I do tend to look at hitters, the way they swing at previous pitches, and use that to my advantage," Papelbon said. "I just want to go out there and start attacking hitters and not necessarily give them the ability to think their way through an AB, just be in attack mode the whole time."

Boston's new second baseman Mark Loretta admires his toughness.

"It's a testament to his mental capabilities that he's able to handle a different role than he's done coming up from the minor leagues as a starter," Loretta said. "He doesn't seem to be affected by anything, which is great. He goes out there and attacks hitters in the ninth inning."

Few of Papelbon's saves have been easy; Boston led four of those games by just one run when he entered.

"He's a young guy who works hard," said Mike Timlin, who filled the closer's role when Foulke struggled with injuries last season. "He's not just scraping by in the ninth inning. He's going out there and dominating hitters and people in the stands want to see that in a ninth-inning guy."

That's not what they saw in the ninth inning last Tuesday night when, for the first time this season, he struggled with his control. He loaded the bases on his first two walks of the season and a single, but Adam Stern's diving catch in center field clinched the 7-4 win over Tampa Bay.

"He gave me a big hug and said, `Thanks, brother,'" Stern said.

Kevin Youkilis, who had the go-ahead hit in that game, wasn't surprised that Papelbon faltered.

"He's going to blow a save. It's going to happen at some point," Youkilis said. "Mariano Rivera probably came up doing the same thing."

In fact, Papelbon had been so dominant that one fanciful discussion on a radio talk show even compared him to Rivera, one of the greatest closers in baseball history. Boston's bullpen ace is having none of that. He knows there will be slip-ups along the way.

"Every outing builds confidence," he said the day after fans saw for the first time this season that even he makes mistakes. "Every outing you try to learn as much as you can and gain experience for the next time out."

Papelbon's major league education began last season, two years after the Red Sox chose him in the fourth round of the draft. He appeared in 17 games, starting three, and finished with a 3-1 record and a 2.65 ERA.

He didn't allow a run in 10 of his last 11 regular-season appearances, but his precociousness under pressure really showed in the third game of the AL division series against the Chicago White Sox. Boston trailed 4-2 when he came in with one out in the sixth. He retired all eight batters he faced, two on strikeouts, but Boston was eliminated with a 5-3 loss.

"He's a pretty mature kid," Francona said.

And a realistic one.

"I understand that eventually there's going to be that day where I may not close the door," Papelbon said, "but right now, I'm just trying to run with it and do the best I can every time I get the ball."