Papelbon of the Week 5/31

This week's Papelbon of the week is brought to you by The Boowahs, courtesy of Noah Syndergaard. Remember, this award goes to a player who gives a performance that indirectly replicates the gritty career of Jonathan Papelbon. This award is not for everyone, it is an honor only some managers may hold throughout the remainder of the baseball season. This week, I am proud to present the award to owner of The Boowahs, Pat.

6 foot 6, weighing in at 242 pounds, 23 years old.

 

Noah Syndergaard was ejected after throwing at Chase Utley on Saturday, and manager Terry Collins is worried he'll face a suspension. There are a lot of moving parts to this story that make this much more deserving that the Papelbon Award. Lets begin.

-The tension between the Mets and Utley dates back to last postseason, when Utley broke shortstop Ruben Tejada’s leg on a late slide into second base in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.

-Last week: Syndergaard threw a fastball at 99 mph to start the inning that missed Utley’s back by about a foot and led to his immediate ejection. Manager Terry Collins then came out to argue, and was thrown out as well.

-This happened the same night the team was honoring the '86 Championship Mets.

-This is the sixth game the Mets and Dodgers have played this season; they played a four-game set in Los Angeles, and one game in New York on Friday. The Mets didn’t seek retaliation for the slide in the three games to follow the slide, either. (so Noah waited for this night where he knew champions were in the building)

-Utley went onto hit a solo shot in the 6th, followed up by a GRAND SLAM in the 7th. This alone is so crushing to the Syndergaard ejection that I would not be surprised if he does the exact same thing next time he pitches to Utley (this time making sure he actually hits him so he has to leave the game and perhaps go on the DL).

-The Mets went on to lose the game 9-1. We know in the back of his mind Syndergaard will be thinking about hitting Utley in the wars to come.

This turned out to actually be a tough night for him if you think about the #'s, but that is not what the POW Award is all about. It's about making plays like this that get you the belt. It's about doing it for your team. It's about throwing at guys like Utley to prove a point. This 23 year old monster is scary and I for one would not want to see a 99 MPH Fastball coming at my backside. Props to The Boowahs for this week's Papelbon of the Week.


POW Award Count

•  Springfield Isotopes (Roughned Odor) - 1
• The Boowahs (Noah Syndergaard) - 1