Jonathan Papelbon Just Wants to Get Paid

If you think players today are motivated solely by the love of the game, well, that's awfully quaint -- cherish your naivete and quit reading this post.

Still here? Then you're among the rest of the grown-up world that knows baseball is as much of a business as it is a game, a point that's certainly not lost upon Jonathan Papelbon. From the Boston Herald:

"I'm here to get my fair share of money," he said. "My main priority is to stay healthy and be able to make money, not to go out and try and hurry up and win a championship this year (at the risk of injury). It's not like I'm hurrying up and going back to the closer's role because we have a good team this year and I'm going to blow (my arm) out and try and win as many games as we can (at any cost). No, it's not going to happen.

"I've got a lot of money to be made in this game, whether it's with Boston or not. My goal is to make sure I'm ready to play every day and to make money, and you can't make money if you're sitting on the bench. That's the way I look at it."

What is a fan reading at home supposed to take from this? Well, considering the fact he used the word "money" five times in two paragraphs, I'm guessing he wants us to know he's looking forward to getting paid (which shouldn't be too much of a surprise considering he coined the term "ca-drillionaire"). But with that in mind, I guess it also speaks volumes about his confidence that pitching from the bullpen won't endanger his long-term ~~earning potential~~ health, which even the most jaded fans have to be happy about.

Previously on FanHouse:
Jonathan Papelbon Wants to Be a Ca-Drillionaire