Papelbon Fined

"Jonathan Papelbon needs to pick up the pace. Not on the field, where he is tied for the American League lead with 16 saves. But in getting there. According to report this morning by Maureen Mullen of the Lynn Daily Item, Papelbon was fined $1,000 by the league earlier this week for violating pace-of-game guidelines. His infractions have come while he is entering the game. A source told Mullen that the time from the third out of one half-inning to the first pitch of the next half-inning is supposed to be 2 minutes 5 seconds for local TV games, 2:25 for national TV weeknight games, and 2:30 for TV games on the weekend. According to Mullen's report, it took Papelbon 3:34 between the final out in the bottom of the eighth and the first pitch in the top of the ninth Wednesday night (Boston.com)."


This is fucking ridiculous. Papelbon is one of the most entertaining players in baseball. Fenway erupts when this guy comes into the game. I know it's not a big deal, but should Papelbon violate the rule again, he will be fined $3,000, with a third violation costing him $7,000 with the possibility of suspension. I know Francona and Papelbon will fix this, but the MLB needs to relax. This is almost as bad as when the MLB went after Francona for not wearing an MLB jersey under his jacket...