Since making himself public in recent months, Phillies fans have really taken to Phillies partial-owner John S. Middleton. What has made him so appealing to the Phillies fanbase is his honesty, and general desire to win. Middleton's son, John P. Middleton, apparently shares his father's enthusiasm to the point where he is willing to call out an ex-Phillie who called the Phillies out.
Philadelphia Daily News Phillies beat reporter Ryan Lawrence posted a Q & A with former Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon on Monday evening. Asked about the Phillies atmosphere, Papelbon remarked to Lawrence that "not enough people wanted win".
Papelbon: I was proud of my time. I felt like I came here and did everything I could from my position to create a winning ball club. So I have no regrets about that.
Q: Why aren’t you naming names? You said not enough people wanted to win. Where does the blame lie?
Papelbon: I think the blame goes all the way from the front office down to the bat boy. When you don’t have an organization that wants to win it’s pretty evident. They go out and publicly say we’re not going to win. What more – do you know what I mean?
If you are offended at Papelbon's comments, you are not the only one. The younger Middleton, a film producer, called Papelbon right out on Twitter:
Shut up, Papelbon. You're gone like you wanted. Sorry you're still not going to the playoffs. Moron. http://t.co/gSYSOUSXFt
— John Middleton (@johnmiddleton) September 15, 2015
Middleton's father clearly wants to win, as he bluntly stated during general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.'s dismissal that he wanted him to go and was willing to do whatever it would take.
Papelbon, meanwhile, blew his first save of the year after making these comments, against the Phillies, nonetheless. Papelbon ended up earning the win after Phillies reliever Luis Garcia allowed a run in the bottom of the tenth inning. But the blown save was gratifying enough for now. But the Nationals, who were one game ahead of the New York Mets in the National League East upon acquiring Papelbon, are now 9.5 games behind the Mets in the National League East and close to being eliminated.
