Nearly two weeks ago, in a game against the Oakland A's, fiery Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon made contact with an umpire during a heated argument and wound up receiving a three-game suspension for his efforts. Papelbon, though, decided to appeal in an attempt to both delay and possibly reduce the sentence, and now word's out that he's kind of succeeded. Michael Silverman:
Jonathan Papelbon Suspension Reduced To Two Games; Red Sox Closer To Serve
Papelbon's suspension reduced to two days. He will begin serving it tonight. Will be available again on Sunday.
So it's down from three to two, meaning Papelbon will be unavailable to the Red Sox on Friday and Saturday against the Brewers. Given that Papelbon pitched on Thursday, the timing's really not that bad.
Should a save opportunity arise, look for Terry Francona to hand the ball to Daniel Bard. Bard is just about as good as Papelbon is, so that isn't a downgrade at the end. Instead, this makes the middle relief a little thinner. But, two games. It's probably not going to matter.
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