File this under "what-ifs, thinly sourced," but ESPN Boston is reporting that the Red Sox were ready to non-tender Jonathan Papelbon -- if Mariano Rivera had agreed to sign with Boston.
What If The Red Sox Had Signed Mariano Rivera? ‘Source’ Says They Tried
The reasoning, according to a story based on the word of the ever-present “source with direct knowledge of the negotiations,” is that Papelbon is likely in line to go over the $10 million mark in arbitration this year -- despite the fact that he’s coming off the worst year of his career. Better to spend $30 million over two years on a more reliable reliever who’s only 11 years older than Papelbon, apparently.
You can imagine that the Worldwide Leader would have had a field day with this. But they wouldn’t have let it go with just a mere signing. No, this would have been different ...
[Show opens. We see a gym, with two director's chairs in the middle. One holds Buster Olney, the other Mariano Rivera.]
OLNEY: Mo, is there something you wanted to say?
RIVERA: Yes. This spring -- this is very tough -- this spring, I'm going to take my talents to Beacon Hill.
Commence constant coverage, inevitably ending with Skip Bayless coming up with a cutesy nickname for Mariano Rivera and yelling at someone. Or, pretty much how ESPN covers anything involving the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees in the first place.
Hey -- does Hank Steinbrenner use Comic Sans?
See More:
