Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon has never been one to mince words, and he was up to his usual antics again Monday when he said there were people in Philadelphia who didn't want to win.
"I don’t know if I got a bad rep here or whatever, but I can promise you I was by far (not) the bad guy on this team," Papelbon told reporters, via the Philadelphia Daily News. "I was one of the few that wanted to win. I was one of the few who competed and posted up every day. Other than that, that’s all I view an athlete or a baseball player on. I don’t have any regrets, no."
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Asked to expand on that thought, Papelbon continued:
"You had one guy going down to Triple-A, one guy that’s coming back from Triple-A next week, you’ve got different positions every week. That for me wasn’t a formula for winning. We just had too many non-regular guys in there, and granted we did get hurt. But we didn’t have the personnel, the leadership, the A-to-Z to win. It was felt all throughout the clubhouse, felt all throughout the stadium I believe."
Papelbon joined Washington before the July 31 trade deadline after spending three and a half years with the Phillies. He amassed 123 saves during his time there, but was adamant before he left that the team was never going to win anything.
The reliever was back in Philadelphia on Monday for the first time since being traded as the Nationals opened a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. He remains proud of his time with his old team, even if he feels his contributions weren't appreciated.
"I tried to do certain things, I tried to bring certain things to attention that would make us better, and it just seemed like anything I brought to attention, whether it was to another veteran or a pitcher or infielder or outfielder … to me it was never accepted," Papelbon said via philly.com. "They just kind of all let it fly by the wayside. They never really paid attention to what I had to say.
"I was proud of my time. I felt like I came here (Philadelphia) and did everything I could from my position to create a winning ball club. So I have no regrets about that."
Shortly after that answer, a Nationals media relations official cut off the interview session.