Papelbon: "Going year-to-year is no big deal"

Jonathan Papelbon didn't back down when a reporter asked this morning, tongue firmly in cheek, if he was letting down his country by declining to pitch in the World Baseball Classic -- and if he was a Communist.

"I'm kind of like a Marxist," Papelbon said with a smirk.

Political leanings aside, Papelbon did have good reason to turn down the World Baseball Classic. To pitch for the U.S. team, Papelbon would have had to shorten his offseason program and get himself into regular-season shape a month earlier than he normally would. With the workload he assumed last season and the birth of his daughter last winter, he said he didn't feel like he had that chance.

He said he, like all other players, received a questionnaire about his interest in the World Baseball Classic -- and when he said he didn't want to participate, that was that.

"It was hard for me to prepare this offseason, with the baby and everything," he said. "I'm not going to jeopardize anything for my ballclub or myself."

The other factor was his contract situation with the Red Sox, and Papelbon didn't appear to be speaking tongue-in-cheek about that.

"I don't think, with me not necessarily locked in with a long-term deal, I'm going to jeopardize my career to go play in a three-week tournament, or however long it is," he said.

(Papelbon paused noticeably in the middle of the sentence, leaving one to wonder if he pondered an adjective like "meaningless" before opting for the neutral "three-week.")

When pressed about his contract situation, Papelbon reiterated what he'd been saying throughout the winter: He's perfectly happy to go year-to-year if that's what it takes for him to earn what he thinks he's worth.

"I love going year-to-year," he said. "I'm saying this, and I'm being totally, 110 percent honest: For me, I'm a person who is not going to settle for anything less than what I feel like I'm worth, and I'm definitely not going to settle for security when I feel like I'm worth more than what I'm getting.

"For me, going year-to-year is no big deal whatsoever. Let me repeat that. For me, going year-to-year is no big deal whatsoever."

Papelbon made a career-high 67 appearances in the regular season and seven more in the postseason, said he's taking full advantage of this year's stretched-out spring training. He hasn't yet thrown an inning in a game; he'll do so on Sunday.

Had he chosen to participate in the World Baseball Classic, he'd be on the hook to pitch meaningful innings as early as next Saturday.

"My first three years of spring training here have been full throttle ahead, and it's not like that this year one bit," he said. "I'm definitely taking it easy, especially with the workload I had last year and especially the workload I had toward the end of the season. ... If I can get to full-throttle, pedal-to-the-metal by the last two weeks, I'm happy. Right now, it's not even necessary."

Said Francona, "We're going to pains to ramp him up, and that would be a guy that would make you nervous, for sure. ... You want to build guys up, keep them strong and then keep them productive. Health and production go hand-in-hand, and we believe in that a lot. If you do it right, if you're able to do it right, if you stay the course, towards the end of the year, there should a lot left you can go to if need be."