Jonathan Papelbon Says 2012 Phils Didn't Have Any Leadership

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Jonathan Papelbon came to the Phillies last offseason with expectations of winning a championship in Philadelphia while cashing those fat checks. The Phils fell way short of expectations in 2012 and Papelbon reflected a bit on last season while down in Clearwater yesterday. Specifically, he said they lacked leadership.

Now, this is a team with the likes of Chase Utley, Roy Halladay, Jimmy Rollins, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, etc. etc., so for Papelbon to speak out, he's either trying to play mind games to get guys to really step up in 2013 or none of the guys I just mentioned seem to have what it takes to be a great leader. I find the latter a bit surprising.

Speaking to the Morning Call, Papelbon let his thoughts be known:

"Since I've been here I haven't seen any leadership," he said.

[...]

"Every
good team that I've been a part of has had a good core group of
veterans and an influx of a good group of young guys and I think that's a
recipe for success," he said. "But at the same time, that doesn't mean
we're going to have success. In my opinion, this team has way more to
lose than to prove. I think a lot of guys on this team have proved a
lot. But I think this year if we don't go out and do what we're capable
[of] and supposed to do, then we have a lot more to lose."

I'm curious what some of the longer tenured guys on the team would say about Papelbon pointing out he hasn't seen any leadership.

Like I said above, I'm not entirely sure if this is some sort of mind game or if Pap really believes there was no leadership last season. How do you interpret his words?

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