By TERRY NAU

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET – The day after Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein jokingly told the baseball world that Jonathan Papelbon “is not a Rhodes Scholar,” the 28-year-old relief pitcher arrived at McCoy Stadium for a youth clinic and showed a group of youngsters what kind of person he really is.
Papelbon, dressed in khaki shorts and tee-shirt, joined an estimated 25-30 children in the outfield on Wednesday afternoon and began telling them what he thinks is important.
“The big thing for me is to be positive,” he told participants in this annual clinic, which is sponsored by Shaw’s Supermarket and hosted by the Pawtucket Red Sox. “Don’t let all the negativity bring you down. Sports have taught me a lot of life lessons. Sports taught me how to be a winner, and how to learn how to lose, too.
“When I’m having some ups and downs in my own life,” Papelbon admitted, “I think about how I deal with trouble when I’m on the mound and there are two or three runners on base. I ask myself how do I deal with this situation? I just bear down and concentrate. You can do the same thing in your own lives by learning lessons from sports.”
Of course, Papelbon didn’t begin his conversation with a heavy lecture on life. Instead, he walked to the front of the group and started asking them questions in an easy-going fashion.
“What’s up?” he began. “Enjoy your summer? Stay out of trouble?”
The kids looked up in awe from their seated positions on the field, most of them too awe-struck to answer. So Papelbon asked for questions.
“How come you lost to the Yankees?” came the first query. Papelbon did a humorous double-take, then asked the youngster, “Are you an insider from the Boston Herald?”
After getting a few laughs and helping the kids relax, Papelbon answered the youngster’s question.
“It’s a long season,” he said. “We’ve got around 42 games left. Our team remains very confident. This season has been good for us so far.”
Another youngster raised his hand and asked “Who is the best team you’ve ever pitched against?”
“I would say this year’s New York Yankees,” Papelbon replied with no time for reflection. “Their lineup is so tough. We’ve got to find a way to beat them. But just remember, we have beat them more this season than they have beat us. If we get into the eighth inning of a close game against the Yankees, I want you guys to remember that. Then you won’t be as nervous.”
Another youngster wanted to know if he is excited to have reliever Billy Wagner join the Red Sox.
“Of course I’m excited about him coming to the Red Sox,” Pap said with a laugh, knowing some comments he made a few days back about Boston’s bullpen not needing any help had come back to haunt him. Those remarks were what prompted Theo Epstein to make his “Rhodes Scholar” analogy.
“Despite what the media would have you believe,” Pap went on, still smiling, “I am very happy Billy’s joining the Red Sox. The media must have had a slow day for news and they twisted my words around. If you ever become a big league player, beware of those media guys!”
Papelbon then chose another question from a group of kids with their arms raised, eager to participate after a slow start.
“What’s the key to striking batters out?”
“Location of the pitch,” Pap decided. “It’s just like real estate. Everything is location, location, location. People worry too much about how hard you throw. It’s where you throw it, not how hard you throw it.”
“What’s your favorite pitch?” a kid asked.
“Fastball.”
Papelbon grinned again. Now all the children were engaged in the question-and-answer session. Boston’s closer was genuinely having fun, even though he would be reporting to work in less than three hours at Fenway Park.
“Who’s your toughest hitter?”
“Frank Catalanatto. He must be hitting .800 against me. Frankie really has my number.”
“What sports did you play growing up?”
“I played them all: soccer, football, baseball … I didn’t play hockey because it was tough to freeze over a lake in the South.”
(Papelbon was born in Baton Rouge, La. He went to high school in Jacksonville, Fla.)
“Who is your hero?”
“My grandfather. I lived with my grandparents during the summer for about 10 years. My granddad taught me how to hunt, to fish, to play sports. He has passed away but he was my best friend.”
One kid complimented Papelbon for saving Tuesday night’s 6-3 victory over the White Sox.
“You stayed up that late?” Pap said with mock anger. “You’re allowed to stay up that late? Are you kidding me? Where are your parents? I’ve got to talk to them.”
Papelbon’s easy-going manner with the kids is something that comes from his own life. His wife Ashley gave birth to their first child, daughter Parker Alice, last Dec. 29. Another child is due next April, according to the young family man.
“Jon’s a great guy,” said his booking agent, Mike Josselyn, who set up Wednesday’s appearance. “Once he became a father, he wanted to cut back on his bookings. He called me in and talked about spending more time with his family. I thought he was giving me the axe. But instead he told me he wanted to just do two or three of these events during the season instead of six or eight. He told me he liked working with me. That’s the kind of person Jonathan is. He cares about people.”
Except for the media, of course. In a brief interview before the clinic, Papelbon shrugged off questions about the pressure involved with playing in Boston and having every one of his words scrutinized by the media.
“To be totally honest with you,” he said, “I could care less what the media says about me. The fans are why I play the game. They have a right to cheer or boo whenever they want. As players, we consider playing baseball our job. It’s our profession. Fans and media are part of what we do.”
And so is taking time off during a game day to chat up some kids in Pawtucket. He may not be a Rhodes Scholar, this Jonathan Papelbon, but who among us is? He’s just a star player at the highest level in his profession who knows how to talk to kids.