SAN FRANCISCO -- In what he described as a whirlwind of a day, hindered by flight delays and a layover in Phoenix, Mark Melancon arrived in San Francisco at around 2 a.m. PT Sunday morning to join the Nationals.
In between his own travel and Washington's 5-3 loss to San Francisco on Saturday afternoon, Melancon exchanged text messages with Jonathan Papelbon, the man he will displace as closer. Consider Melancon's answer for what makes a strong bullpen and it is easy to see why Melancon wanted to reach out to Papelbon -- whom he credited for handling what could have been an awkward situation well.