Strong-armed Papelbon is airing it out

DENVER - Unless he's pulling a fast one on us - and if so, it would mean his art of deception is the equal of his standard-cut 97-mile-per-hour fastball - then there is nothing too complicated about Jonathan Papelbon.

Papelbon raw? The uncut Papelbon? The Papelbon that no one knows? Not to be found at a news stand near you. Best to move on down the rack to Oprah's latest diet or how Rosie is learning to channel her rage.

The Papelbon you see, eyes fixed raptor-like as he peers out from under the bill of his cap to read Jason Varitek's signs, is the Papelbon you get. Remember back to the start of spring training? The 6-foot-4-inch righthander was slated to be a starter. Can you imagine Red Sox Nation rationed to only some 30 Papelbon appearances a year? Knowing Sox Nationalists never bought that one.

"God blessed me with my right arm," Papelbon proclaimed, following his second save of the World Series Saturday night in Boston's 10-5 Game 3 thumping of the Rockies, and then said, "That's all you got."

It's that arm, in part, that last night had the Sox poised to win their second world championship in four years.

Yes, there are many good relievers in both leagues, but no one more dominating or effective than the intimidating 26-year-old, who has followed up his 37 saves in the regular season with three in the playoffs. Headed into last night, he had appeared in six of the club's 13 postseason games, and sported a rather economical 0.00 earned run average.

That number is correct: 0.00. In his postseason appearances (totaling nine innings), Papelbon had a 1-0 record, three saves, and had given up five hits and four walks. The opposition's batting average is .156.

Whoever gave him that arm, he or she also gave him the right job to fit the right arm.

But Papelbon, perhaps reflecting a fatigue that has to set in over the course of three playoff series, didn't seem as energized, or charged, following Game 3. He didn't have that "Wild Thing" aura about him as he chatted with reporters in the clubhouse.

He entered in the eighth inning with two on and two outs, and promptly retired Matt Holliday on a deep fly to left. Papelbon then made simple work of the Rockies in the ninth, despite yielding a two-out triple to Brad Hawpe. The night ended one batter later when Yorvit Torrealba grounded out, leaving the Red Sox on the verge of completing their second consecutive Series sweep - equaling their 2004 whitewash of the Cardinals.

"I'm real beat up now," Papelbon said, in the quiet and businesslike locker room after the first World Series game ever played in Denver. "I'm not going to lie."

Papelbon closed out an emotional Game 2, also entering in the eighth inning with the need to rack up the final four outs, following a stellar relief job by Hideki Okajima.

It was also the night that Holliday met a Papelbon fastball with a laser line drive back through the box, one that nearly took a chunk out of the Baton Rouge-born Papelbon's hide a fraction of a second before second baseman Dustin Pedroia blocked it from reaching the outfield. Before making a pitch to the next hitter, Todd Helton, Papelbon made a quick pick to first base and caught an overeager Holliday leaning the wrong way. As Holliday attempted to dogpaddle back to the bag, Kevin Youkilis dropped the tag on him and Papelbon was out of the inning.

"I held the ball," said Papelbon, recounting his quick pivot that nabbed Holliday, "and it was just a simple pick - just a simple pick over, and it will probably go down as one of the biggest outs of my career so far."

The fatigue factor likely positioned Papelbon to the bench last night. With three wins in the books, manager Terry Francona had the luxury to give his prized closer a night's rest. In turn, that could have set up the much-maligned Eric Gagné, who at one time in his career pitched with Papelbon-like effectiveness, to be the closer for the Series clincher.

All of which shows, if it was a supreme being who decided to give Papelbon that right arm, he or she also has a pretty good sense of humor.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com.