News: Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, pitching a non-save situation in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Yankees on Sunday, allowed three runs on four hits and one walk in one inning. He recorded one strikeout.

Analysis: Despite the meltdown Sunday, Papelbon is one of the most dominant closers in baseball and, pitching for one of the best teams in the league, deserves to go as a No. 1 closer in next year's drafts

News: Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon pitched an inning on Thursday against the Indians in a non-save situation with the Sox safely out in front. He had one strikeout.

Analysis: He's one of the most dominant closers in baseball and, pitching for one of the best teams in the league, deserves to start at all times

Jimmy Golen, of The Associated Press, reports Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 41st save of the season Tuesday, Sept. 23.

News: Cleveland loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth Tuesday before Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon came on and, with his first pitch, got Jamey Carroll to ground out. Papelbon, who was on the mound when the Red Sox won the World Series last fall, retired the Indians in order in the ninth to record his 41st save.

Analysis: He's one of the most dominant closers in baseball and, pitching for one of the best teams in the league, deserves to start at all times

Jonathan Papelbon went 1.1 innings and struck out two to pick up his 41st save of the season in the Red Sox victory over the Indians.After allowing four earned runs in his first six outings this month, he has now shut down the opposition three times in a row.

Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon earned his 40th save of the season Sunday, Sept. 21, against the Toronto Blue Jays, according to The Associated Press. In one inning of work, he allowed one hit.

News: Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless inning Friday at Toronto, giving up one hit and recording one strikeout for his 39th save. He had given up four runs in his previous three appearances, but manager Terry Francona stuck with him. "Pap threw the ball well," Francona said.

Analysis: No worries with Papelbon, who still has a 2.08 ERA. He's one of the most dominant closers in baseball and, pitching for one of the best teams in the league, deserves to start at all times

Jonathan Papelbon worked out of a jam on Friday to help the Red Sox defeat the Blue Jays 4-3. He struck out the last batter of the game with a man on third base.Papelbon had given up four runs in his last three appearances. Lately he has developed a trend of pitching poorly on the second of consecutive nights. Frisay's appearance was his first since Sunday.

The Associated Press reports Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 39th save in 44 chances Friday, Sept. 19.

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon has not been as effective recently as he had been because he is struggling with locating his fastball, according to the Boston Globe. "For the past month, I've thrown 20 scoreless innings basically just going out there and throwing my heater and locating it. Well now, the same teams I did that against, they're making their adjustments on me," Papelbon said.Papelbon was also critical of Red Sox television announcers Tom Caron and Dennis Eckersley, saying they were more worried about it than he was and that, "I'm a human. You know? I'm not a machine." Fantasy owners should not be overly concerned with Papelbon, who should continue to dominate when his location returns.

The Boston Globe's Adam Kilgore reports Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon is irked by a couple of Red Sox broadcasters wondering why he has struggled of late. "I'm not worried at all. That's like I said yesterday - I'll let (NESN broadcasters) Tom Caron and Dennis Eckersley worry about it. I'm not worried about it. They seem to be more worried about it than I even am," Papelbon said. "Here's the deal. Here's what everybody - including Tom and all the reporters - (expletive), I'm a human. You know? I'm not a machine. And, (expletive), a machine breaks down sometimes, too."

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon might not be available for tonight's game against the Rays. Papelbon pitched on Saturday and Sunday and has only pitched on three consecutive days three times this season. The last time was last week, and on the third day, he blew a save opportunity to the Rays, according to the Boston Globe.Recently, Papelbon has struggled on the hill. Dating back to August 28th, Papelbon is 0-1, with an ERA of 6.00. Those numbers might scare fantasy owners but he should be forgiven due to his 38 saves and overall ERA of 2.11.

Tony Massarotti, of The Boston Globe, reports Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon (rest) will likely be unavailable for the team's game Monday, Sept. 15, according to manager Terry Francona. Papelbon pitched Saturday, Sept. 13, and Sunday, Sept. 14.

Mark Remme, of MLB.com, reports Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon earned his 38th save of the season Sunday, Sept. 14, which is a new career high for him.

The Associated Press reports Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon nearly blew the save Sunday, Sept. 14, as he allowed two runs in the 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. In the ninth inning, Blue Jays 1B Lyle Overbay was called out by second base umpire Doug Eddings when he tried to stretch a single into a double. Replays showed Overbay was safe.

News: Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon gave up two runs on three hits in the ninth inning Sunday against the Red Sox, but he held on for his 38th save. He now has saves on back-to-back days but has allowed two earned runs in two of his last three appearances.

Analysis: Papelbon still has a 2.11 ERA, so don't worry too much about his recent struggles. He remains a must-start Fantasy closer

Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth inning Saturday, Sept. 13, against the Toronto Blue Jays, in the second game of a doubleheader, according to The Associated Press. He earned his 37th save of the year, striking out one of the three batters he faced.

News: Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon recorded one strikeout in a perfect ninth inning Saturday in the second game of a double header against the Blue Jays, recording his 37th save. He blew a save in his last opportunity Tuesday but has only a 1.86 ERA overall.

Analysis: The save Saturday was only Papelbon's third of September, but you have to figure he'll get more than most closers down the stretch. He remains an elite Fantasy option

Adam Kilgore, of The Boston Globe, reports Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon (rest) is unlikely to be available to pitch Wednesday, Sept. 10, after pitching three days in a row.

News: Tampa Bay Pinch-hitter Dan Johnson homered off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning to tie it, and Dioner Navarro doubled in the go-ahead run Tuesday night as the Tampa Bay Rays rallied past the Boston Red Sox 5-4 to snap a four-game skid and extend their lead in the AL East. Tampa Bay took a 3-1 lead in the fourth and still led 3-2 with two outs in the eighth when Dan Wheeler (4-5) walked Kevin Youkilis and then Jason Bay barely cleared the Green Monster to give Boston the lead. Bay, acquired at the trade deadline, homered for the third straight game. But Papelbon (5-4) blew a save opportunity for the fifth time this season. Papelbon allowed three hits and two runs in his inning of work.

Analysis: Papelbon has only two saves in September and three since Aug. 20, so the Red Sox haven't give him many opportunities lately. When they do, he usually makes the most of them but could not on Tuesday against the Rays when it counted most. He should still be fine down the stretch and they should give him more as a contender. Start him in all leagues that reward saves

The writing may have been on the wall for Papelbon, who'd surrendered five hits over three innings in his last three appearances. Despite the shaky effort, it's hard to find fault in the young fireman, who'd tossed 20 1/3 straight scoreless frames prior to Tuesday's contest.

Jimmy Golen, of The Associated Press, reports Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon blew his fifth save of the season Tuesday, Sept. 9.

Jonathan Papelbon served up three hits and two runs to the Rays on Tuesday night and blew his fifth save of the season. The Rays won 5-4. Papelbon hadn't given up an earned run since July 13, a span of 18 outings.He can't always be perfect. Papelbon picked a bad time to blow his first save since June 22, but fantasy owners should be able to forgive him.

News: Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon came in with two outs in the eighth inning and struck out Rocco Baldelli on Monday against the Rays. He finished up for his 36th save in 40 opportunities, allowing one hit and striking out three.

Analysis: Papelbon has only two saves in September and three since Aug. 20, so the Red Sox haven't give him many opportunities lately. When they do, though, he makes the most of them, and they should give him more as a contender down the stretch. Start him in all leagues that reward saves

Jonathan Papelbon collected his 36th save of the season Monday night as the Sox beat the Rays 3-0.Papelbon collected three strikeouts in 1.1 innings of work. He is a close to a guarantee that you can get in fantasy.

Howard Ulman, of The Associated Press, reports Boston Red Sox CL Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 36th save in 40 chances Monday, Sept. 8.

News: Red Sox RP Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth inning during Monday's 7-4 win against the Orioles for his 35th save. Papelbon opened the inning with consecutive strikeouts, but allowed Kevin Millar and Jay Payton to reach on two-out singles before retiring Oscar Salazar on a grounder to second. He earned his first save since Tuesday.

Analysis: Papelbon has just five saves since Aug. 1, but has allowed just one unearned run since the All-Star break. He hasn't had many save opportunities in the second half as we would like, but the Red Sox continue to win games and Papelbon remains a must-start Fantasy closer

Nothing new here, as Papelbon is as steady as they come. He hasn't even allowed an earned run 16 games.