Jonathan Papelbon

As we head into the dog days of August, Jays fans are just now starting to get excited over the prospects of this team.

Usually around this time of year, it's the lull in the schedule where teams usually just try and play out the string until September, but for the Jays, things look completely different.

The Jays are fighting game in and game out, and are 57-55 in 102 games this season. The team was expected to maybe win at most 75 games this season, so they are definitely ahead of expectations.

As the MLB season creeps toward the end of April, all 30 teams have now played approximately 20 games each, and while there were certainly some surprises at the start, the expected cream is starting to rise to the top, while the expected bottom feeders, with some exceptions, are trending toward the bottom of the pack.

The "Texas Red Sox Massacre" of this past weekend was not the opening series that Red Sox fans had dreamed about since December. Buchholz surrendered almost half as many home runs as he did all of last season, Lester made it clear that he knows which month this is and Lackey's ERA is now sitting just north of 22. The bullpen wasn't much better, as every reliever pitched and only Reyes, Albers, and Jenks failed to surrender a run. Still, serious concerns at this point are unnecessary- the team is bound to win at least a game before the season is out.

It's time to call a spade a spade with the state of Jonathan Papelbon: He either soon finds a way to get the "giddy-up" back on his fastball or his struggles on the mound will likely cost him his job during the 2011 season. With setup relievers Daniel Bard and Bobby Jenks available, the team is unlikely to let Papelbon keep imploding like he did last year.

Jonathan Papelbon was having a decent spring—that is, until his fourth outing, where he allowed three earned runs on a hit, three walks and a hit batter in just one third of an inning of work.

However, he followed up that performance with a clean inning of work against the New York Yankees. All is perfect in paradise? Not quite.

Terry Francona has been given a Ferrari and is expected to drive it into the winner's circle. But to maximize the potential, he will need to take good care of it throughout the rigors of a 162-game schedule.

It would be hard to really screw up this lineup, as stacked as it is, but there are some changes that need to be made to make sure the team runs like a well-oiled machine. He's got the pieces, now its time to put them in the right places.

This past calendar year has been nothing but heartbreak after heartbreak for New England sports fans.

(All 29 other sports regions/cities roll their eyes collectively).

We're no Seattle or Cleveland, but these have been somewhat trying times for fans that have high standards for success.

Here is a debate for the ages. In one corner you have Jonathan Papelbon, who is arguably one of the most consistent closers in baseball on a consistently winning team. In the other corner you have Jonathan Broxton, who was considered the best closer in baseball going into drafts last season. Both suffered setbacks last season, but none bigger than Broxton.

MLB Spring Training has only just started, but the MLB buzz is continuous. There is already buzz about mid-season trades to come. There's also already buzz about the free agents after this season.

Albert Pujols and C.C. Sabathia will probably continue to dominate the MLB buzz. There are some other buzz stories past Pujols and Sabathia, though.

Here are some of the latest buzz in the MLB world.

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Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Jonathan Papelbon each face the daunting challenge of regaining the old velocity and movement on their fastballs.  That's a hard thing for any pitcher to do when their fastball has begun to decline.