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That was evident again*following his appearance in Washington's extra-inning victory on Friday.*In this instance, Papelbon called out fans for not creating an atmosphere befitting the circumstances, though to his credit he did go about things more gently than usual.
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To set the scene: Papelbon took over in the ninth inning with Washington trailing by one. It's a spot manager Matt Williams indicated he wouldn't use Papelbon earlier this week, stating he was Washington's closer and a one-inning pitcher. Papelbon was neither on Friday, but he was very effective, holding Atlanta off the scoreboard. That allowed Washington to tie the game in the ninth and win in the tenth on Michael A. Taylor's walk-off home run.
Coupled with the Mets loss, Washington gained a full game in the standings on Friday, moving to within five games in the NL East. A very exciting turn of events for the team, but Papelbon felt the crowd didn't respond with the same energy or urgency.
From the Washington Post:*
Asked where the dramatic game ranked among wins, Papelbon said this: “It’s up there. These games from here on out are going to be playoff-type games and playoff-type atmospheres.”
Then he transitioned into something related, which caused him to smile and some reporters to laugh.
"I got a little bone to pick with some of the fans here tonight,” he said. “I saw a few of them sitting down. I’m not gonna lie. We need to stand on up in those situations. Let’s get that going. Ya know what I mean. Because this is playoff baseball.”
On one hand, he's right about these games being playoff games for Washington. Though the six remaining matchups with New York give them some extra hope, they still have very little margin for error over the next month. There's some degree of do-or-die attached to every result, and they'd like the fans to emotionally invest in those results with them.Unfortunately, the ship may have already sailed with some fans. Friday's attendance was a disappointing 23,536. That indicates the energy was already down going in.
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With all of that said, Papelbon might struggle getting through to fans by telling them how to be fans. While he's asking for more energy, they're obviously looking for reasons to invest again after being let down so much this season.
Perhaps Friday's win, which they followed with another win on Saturday, will be the start of something positive. Maybe it won't ,but the Nationals will have to do some reeling in here. And the best way to reel them in is to keep winning.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813