Earlier this month former Sox closer and genius Jonathan Papelbon endeared himself to Philadelphia fans by saying they were superior to Boston fans. Today he seems to have satisfied the Boston media by clarifying these comments, but does so in typical not-really-an-apology fashion:
“I wasn’t trying to offend nobody, man,” said Papelbon, who signed a 4-year, $50 million deal with the Phillies. “I was just calling a spade a spade. I’ve been in the bullpen down there many a times in Boston to know this (fan) don’t have a clue what he’s talking about. It happens in Philadelphia, too. I’ve been in Philadelphia’s bullpen. I was just simply saying that, because the American League is different than the National League, there’s a little more thought process that goes along with that.
"I wasn't trying to offend [any]body" is a close cousin to "I'm sorry to those who I offended" in the "I'm only making this statement so people get off my back" lexicon. He's still an idiot, he's still generalizing for no good reason, and he's still giving Philadelphia too much credit.
That said, we can't be too bad. No organization more frequently or ruthlessly trashes its former employees than the Boston Red Sox. Maybe Pap just learned how effective that strategy is while he was here.
