Papelbon takes closing argument

Three nights ago, Papelbon made his feelings known first to team captain Jason Varitek, then to manager Terry Francona, who had gone to great lengths to discourage speculation that this would happen but yesterday acknowledged he'd been harboring the hope all along that this is how it would all play out.

"I felt that there was always that feeling deep down in my heart that I wanted to close," Papelbon said in the visiting manager's office at Brighthouse Field, where he and Francona confirmed the speculation that had run rampant from the moment ESPN pointed its cameras at the Sox and Phillies as they played to a 4-4 tie here yesterday.

Long before the manager and 26-year-old pitcher made it official, Curt Schilling had weighed in on his blog. (He also called Francona on his Blackberry while he and Papelbon were meeting with reporters, prompting Francona to show the caller ID and say, "Anyone want to talk to the general manager?")

"For me, it just kept getting at me and getting at me until finally I went to our captain one day and I said, 'Tek, I'm not sleeping good at night. I've got to do something about it,' " Papelbon said. "Basically I told him, 'Man, I think I want to close, that's what I want to do.'

"Tito happened to be walking by. We came in and I told Tito, 'If you want to give me the ball in the ninth inning, I want it,' and that's basically it."

By happy coincidence, Papelbon's wish to remain in the role in which he had few peers last season (a club rookie-record 35 saves, 0.92 ERA) dovetailed nicely with the fact that none of the candidates the Sox had auditioned seemed equal to the part. Mike Timlin is hurt, Joel Pineiro is still searching for a consistent arm slot, and everyone else -- including Brendan Donnelly, J.C. Romero, and Tavarez -- was better suited for other assignments.

Those connected to the Re elect Papelbon Closer campaign insist the current unstable state of the pen -- and a futile search elsewhere for help -- did not factor into this decision.

"We would be beyond foolhardy to make a decision like this based on our short-term needs," general manager Theo Epstein said during a conference call. "This decision was based on what's best for Jonathan Papelbon over the next 10 years."