All this year, there have been rumblings that Papelbon has lost it a little bit, that he has had too many heart attack saves, or that his "internal numbers" are not as good as they used to be. Any of that talk stems more than anything else from the fact we have been spoiled by Papelbon. With only a few exceptions, closers are usually very up in down in their career. Papelbon has been a dominant closer for 4 straight years and already is the best closer in Sox history. (to all the Dick Radatz fans, I am referring to modern closers, not guys like Radatz who pitched 3/4 innings)