Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon had his share of haters after the 2010 season, which saw him post career-worst marks in ERA (3.90), WHIP (1.27), walks (28) and blown saves (8).

In fact, many people were already calling for Terry Francona to hand over the closer reigns to setup man Daniel Bard.

Papelbon wants those people to know that he loves them.

"Some people in this clubhouse need to be told how great they are to go out there and succeed. I like to be told I can't do something," he told MLB.com's Ian Browne. "Cinco Ocho needs to be told he stinks, and then he just takes the Haterade and fuels his engine. That's how he works, man. That's the God's honest truth."

Papelbon is 4-0 with a 3.14 ERA so far in 2011. In 27 save opportunities, he's converted 26 of them. He's also averaging 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings — the second best mark of his career — and his WHIP is under 1.00 for the first time since 2008.

Whether Papelbon's bounce-back season is the result of increased strength, the motivation of it being a contract year or a heavy dose of said Haterade, there's little denying the righty has looked as good as he has at any point in his career.

"I know I'm 30 years old right now, but I feel stronger than I really have in seven seasons of big league baseball," Papelbon said. "That comes with experience.

"I feel like, too, that, this year, when it's a 2-0 count or a 1-0 count and the hitters know it's a fastball coming, I've been able to still throw my fastball and get outs with it," he added. "That's a huge, huge part of pitching. My delivery is better, and therefore I'm finishing it better. It's a domino effect."