Phillies 2015 Christmas: Naughty or Nice?
By Matt Veasey
Jun 12, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA;
Philadelphia Phillies closer Papelbon (58) looks on against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at PNC Park.
(Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
JONATHAN PAPELBON: “NAUGHTY”
How do you perform as strongly as Jonathan Papelbon did for the Phillies on the field, and still end up on the “Naughty” list with old Saint Nick? To use an old legal phrase, he reached that list based on the “totality of the circumstances”: good play most of the time, bad attitude and example other times.
Papelbon is a jerk, plain and simple, and it showed with his public dugout choking of Bryce Harper in Washington. He came to the Phillies prior to 2012, and the team deteriorated. He went to the Nationals at the trade deadline, and that team faded. Some will call it a coincidence. Santa does not.