Jonathan Papelbon News

Baring a shocking turn of respect for Terry Francona's managerial abilities or a gross miscarriage of justice somewhere, the Red Sox will be shut out of the official 2009 Baseball Writers of America awards, which will start being announced on Monday.

The annual holiday fair at Emanuel Lutheran Church, 1200 John Fitch Highway, will be held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov.

Ken Rosenthal suggests that today on the FOXSports.com web site. He wrote: "If the Tigers are willing to trade right-hander Edwin Jackson and center fielder Curtis Granderson to reduce payroll, why wouldn't they be willing to trade first baseman Cabrera, their highest-paid player? Thinking out loud some more: If the Red Sox were willing to offer ...

While Theo Epstein circulates amongst his peers at the Major League general managers meetings in Chicago this week, he'll be coming home to face an increasingly busy offseason of tedious contract work.

While they still hold exclusive negotiating rights with their free agents, the big one - left fielder Jason Bay, who yesterday earned his first Silver Slugger Award - is expected to hit the market next week.

After a change of heart, Billy Wagner would indeed be open to an arbitration offer in order to return to the Red Sox next season, his agent told The Boston Herald on Tuesday.

What: Dropkick Murphys, with The Flatliners, The Insurgence and Larry and His Flask When: 8 p.m. Sunday, doors open 7 p.m. Where: Midtown Ballroom, 51 N.W. Greenwood Ave., Bend Cost: $22 plus service charges in advance, $25 at the door.

He started as a starter. Then he became a championship closer. I'm just throwing it out there, OK? So don't all scream at once.

How good has Mariano Rivera been for the Yankees this postseason? Try five saves in five opportunities and a 0.63 earned run average in 11 appearances.

You think Brian Fuentes would like to have that pitch back to Alex Rodriguez in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series when the Yankees' third baseman took him deep to tie the game in extra innings that the Angels would eventually lose? Jonathan Papelbon would probably want a do-over, too.

Well did it end up any different than any of you thought? They sure didnt show up for the Angel series now did they? Ain't no blaming Paps for that! The pitching sure didn't let them down it was the hitting as we all know.

By any reasonable evaluation, the Angels had an exceptional season. Yes, it ended too soon for their fans, but that's true of the faithful of 28 other Major League clubs.

When asked to hold up his new No. 2 Houston Astros jersey, Brad Mills made sure to flip it from the back to the front.

The Angels' bullpen was the club's nagging question mark coming into the postseason.

NEW YORK The Angels have to play like they have nothing to lose when they fight against elimination from the playoffs versus the New York Yankees on Saturday, Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said.

Welcome to the offseason, which means I will try to take time once each week to answer all of your questions.

With two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning of a must-win game, Erick Aybar startles the crowd and singles off Jonathan Papelbon.

Got to admit it. I wanted to sleep late and then head to the Back Bay for a Boston Globe and a slow cup of wake-me-up-please. But the chance to spend two days in one place depended on the Red Sox beating the Angels on Sunday.

They say the third time's the charm. For the Los Angeles Angels, it was actually the fifth.

Jacob Davis and Cara Dorgan, sitting in the Cask'n Flagon, were a picture of dejection after the Red Sox's season came to an end.