PAPELBON

BOSTON — The job is fueled by adrenaline rushes and screaming fans, accompanied by rock music as the bullpen door opens and the closer enters the game, at least for home games.

But remember the Maytag repairman of advertising fame, the sad-faced guy who waited for the phone to ring so he could go out and rescue an ailing washer or dryer, calls that never came because of the reliability of the product?

Well, meet Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Not that Papelbon is sad-faced, mind you. He, along with his teammates and the Sox’ fans, has been reveling in the team’s success this season, a torrid 26-12 start that has Boston comfortably in first place in the American League East.

Papelbon, though, has been merely a spectator for the last 10 days or so. He has not had a save opportunity since May 6, when he closed out a 4-3 victory in Minnesota for his 10th save in 11 chances.

He has appeared in only one game for one 13-pitch inning since that save, working a garbage-time ninth in a blowout win against Baltimore last Saturday.

And Papelbon knows the culprits for his inactivity.

His teammates.

“I think the hitters are playing a game called (mess with) the closer,” cracked Papelbon yesterday afternoon before the Red Sox-Detroit Tigers game was postponed because of heavy rain.

The offense, he continued with a grin, has been conspiring to keep him out of games.

The Sox erupted early and often in a three-game sweep in Toronto last week, winning by scores of 9-2, 9-3 and 8-0, negating any need for Papelbon. A late-game offensive eruption against the Orioles, producing a total of eight runs over the final two innings, turned a save situation into a mopup inning last Saturday.

Then on Monday night against the Tigers, while Papelbon was fully charged and warming up for a save opportunity, Boston scored four runs in the eighth, turning a 3-1 lead into a 7-1 advantage, prompting Red Sox manager to sit down Papelbon and allow Daisuke Matsuzaka to finish the game.

“It’s kind of become a little bit of a joke. ‘We don’t need him,’ this and that. I think they’re saving me for the World Series. The good part about it is we’re winning. I’m for sure not complaining,” said Papelbon good-naturedly.

All kidding aside, though, it has not been easy for Papelbon to stay in closer-mode shape.

He says he knows that it can be a feast-or-famine role. Papelbon pointed to the demands placed on Mariano Rivera received early this season, a possible factor in the struggles of the great New York Yankee closer.

Two things have made it a little easier on Papelbon as he copes with the inactivity — his experience last year as a rookie closer and the presence of bullpen coach Gary Tuck.

Papelbon said he has thrown some side sessions in the Red Sox bullpen when it’s clear he isn’t going to be needed to save a game.

“I’ll throw maybe 25 pitches or so to stay sharp. I might grab (backup catcher Doug) Mirabelli (in the bullpen) and have him stand in as a hitter when I throw so he can tell me how my pitches look. I know now when to shut it down and when to start it up for my body and my arm. Last year I might not have known what to do about that, how to stay prepared and ready. I can draw on last year’s experience,” said Papelbon.

“And Tuck, man, the guy’s phenomenal. He had 10 years with Rivera in New York (as bullpen coach) and he knows how to be a bullpen coach. He helps with a lot of little things, mental things, check-points, going over hitters, little things that go a long way,” he said.

Almost more difficult to manage than his arm and his body, though, is the mental part of the inactivity. Papelbon’s mind and heart are racing at high speeds along with the mid-to-upper-90s fastballs he uncorks when he gets into a game.

There are times he has said he gets “too amped up” and has to turn himself down. Lately, just when his engine starts accelerating, he has to shut it down because of yet another Red Sox rally.

“It’s a roller-coaster, up and down,” said Papelbon of his emotions. “I’ll be watching the game in the fifth and sixth innings and it’s a close game and I’m getting myself ready (emotionally and physically) to come into a game, and then we score a lot of runs.

“It’s like a pinch-hitter,” said Papelbon. “The hitter needs at-bats. If he doesn’t get at-bats he starts to struggle and falls out of a groove. I’m trying to stay in a groove.”

He certainly has been living up to last year’s success, when he racked up 35 saves, fashioned a 0.92 earned-run average and held opposing batters to a .167 batting average before a shoulder injury ended his season on Sept. 1.

This year, Papelbon is 10 for 11 in save chances and his ERA. is 1.35. He has allowed runs (two) in only one of his 13 games, totaling 13 1/3 innings.

For now, while he’s enjoying the Sox’ string of successes, Papelbon would like to play a bigger role in them. And he knows a reliever can go from too well rested to overworked in a heartbeat.

“I’m sure at some point I’ll have to strap it on and pitch three days in a row, get my two days off and pitch three more days in a row,” said Papelbon. “That’s the way it is in this role. I just have to be ready to pitch.”

At that point, Papelbon glanced into his locker and saw an envelope.

“I collected my paycheck and I don’t feel I deserve it,” said Papelbon of the envelope’s contents. “But there are times when I collect the paycheck and I feel like I deserve more after working in 20 games.”

That work is likely to come any day now. And Papelbon, a passenger on the team’s recent segment of the Pennant Express, fully expects to be in the driver’s seat when needed.

skrasner@projo.com