That #24, he can do it all! Normally, he hits up a storm and plays balls off the Monster - but today, #24 pitched a scoreless inning in relief against the Twins, giving up just one hit and no runs. No, not that #24 - this #24:

Jonathan Papelbon left his #58 jersey behind at City of Palms Park, so when he reported for duty this morning at Hammond Stadium he was jersey-less. He had a choice: don the spare #99 jersey (Wild Thing style), or use one of the extra Manny Ramirez #24 jerseys the Sox keep around. Papelbon chose to suit up Manny-style.

I could feel the dreadlocks flowing.

I just forgot my jersey and sure enough, they seem to always have an extra Manny jersey laying around here due to the circumstances. It looked better than 99.

"Due to the circumstances" is code for "due to the fact that Manny is nutty", I think. It should surprise no one that out of everyone on the team, the Sox keep extra Manny jerseys around. "Circumstances" being what they are and all.

Jonathan also had a successful outing speechifying for the college kids back at his alma mater, Mississippi State. I noted his appearance in the sidebar calendar (you can always check there for the latest events and appearances), but Jonathan was the keynote speaker at MSU's First Pitch banquet. The banquet was a fundraising activity for the baseball department, trying to get together enough money to build a weight room facility. And, kind of surprisingly, Papelbon's 20 minute (!) speech sounds like it was very heartfelt and not at all wacky:

"There are a lot of ups and downs in baseball," Papelbon said. "Baseball is an even keel game and you also can't go through life without having some ups and downs. I guess baseball is what has helped me keep a level head about me."

Papelbon spoke about his many experiences as a Bulldog and during his brief professional career in the Red Sox organization.

"Baseball is a very humbling game," Papelbon said. "When you think you've figured it out, it will turn around and punch you right in the nose. It's the same in life. I've tried not to get too ahead of myself.

"It's an honor to play the game of baseball and it has taught me a lot."