Monday, February 19, 2007
Brian Cashman demurs on Mariano Rivera again via Bill Madden column
Cashman's disrespect was noticed by commenters at Baseball Think Factory. Bill Madden discussed starters v closers, relative value, etc., and hit the jackpot.
- Madden got the San Diego Padres GM to say their closer was the reason for their recent success.
- Then Madden gave Brian Cashman a chance to cite value of starter v closer, and he immediately says, "Oh a starter." Leaving Rivera in the trash. (Madden says he later admitted the closer was important, too).
Comments following Madden's article
on Baseball Think Factory: - "23. nictonjr Posted: February 18, 2007 at 05:20 PM (#2299750) I think Brian Cashman sings another tune if Kyle Farnsworth is his closer in 2008...."
and "26.
J. Michael Neal Posted: February 18, 2007 at 06:50 PM (#2299769)
The big issue, I think, is that it's difficult to find pitchers who can pitch in the typical relief role, successfully, year in and year out. Papelbon excelled for five months as a closer, sure; but then his arm fell off, and was advised thereafter that his body is better off pitching in a normal starter usage pattern than in relief. Plenty of other pitchers have had one, or even two, good years as a closer; but it's hard to sustain. That's why it doesn't make sense to go out and pay top dollar for the latest flash-in-the-pan. - Are starters as consistent in each 70 inning increment as they are over entire seasons?"
Items referenced
from Bill Madden's NY Daily News column, 2/18/07, "Closers vs Starters" - (Where is Rivera's agent while all this is going on?)
- In the same NY Daily News today, Mike Lupica follows up on his statement last year that "Mariano Rivera is the greatest money athlete of all time," by saying:
"Michael Jordan, at the end, got paid as much by the Bulls for the past as he did for the present.
- And so should Mo Rivera, an even greater money performer than even Jordan ever was.
The Yankees got away with paying the guy retail for years, and that needs to change."
Rivera in Tampa to get physical,
2/15/07, ap
Friday, February 16, 2007
"Give Mo Whatever He Wants." Chazz Palminteri
Mr. Palminteri called WFAN on Friday, 2/16/07 to express his views about Mariano.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Another superlative, this from Steve Popper
- "Billy Wagner isn't Mariano Rivera, but who is? He's good enough to be the closer and Sanchez should be ready to pitch at the start of the season. Ambiorix Burgos provides another power arm and Heilman is still there. Jorge Sosa takes over Oliver's swingman role."
Steve Popper assessing the Mets bullpen, 2007, North Jersey Media Group, 2/11/07
Andy Pettitte on Mo: "PROBABLY WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER."
NY Post's Steve Serby has Q & A with Andy Pettitte:
'Q: How comforting is it to have Mariano Rivera behind you again?
- A: It's awesome! You realize how special he is when you see other closers. There's not another one, and probably never will be another one.'
From
the NY Post, Steve Serby's column, 2/11/07
MARIANO RIVERA ONE OF 4 "OVERACHIEVERS"--NY POST
The NY Post lists NY's best and worst in all sports. Mariano Rivera is one of only 4 'overachievers:'
OVERACHIEVING
Chad Pennington, Jets
Two surgeries have left his throwing arm a wet noodle. So it's remarkable how far he took the team last year usin' the ol' noodle.
- When you think about it, the probable greatest closer of all all-time has been doing it on one pitch, off a 193-pound frame, for 11-plus seasons. True, it is quite the pitch, but his durability and consistency are nevertheless astounding.
Fred Robbins, Giants
The interior of the Giants defensive line was the least of their problems. Pound for 325 pounds, this under-the-radar free-agent signing has produced as reliable a football player as exists in this town.
Jason Blake, Islanders
Undersized, undrafted, unwanted in LA. Acquired for a fifth-rounder, has become an Olympian and All-Star.
From the NY Post, 2/11/07 by Jay Greenberg
Another New England scribe notes "future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera"
"
The Yankees still have future Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera as their closer."
by Art Davidson of the Metro West Daily News, Framingham, Mass. 2/20/07
Saturday, February 10, 2007
For the record, Trevor says it's Mariano
On "Clutch Pitching"--Trevor says it's Mariano
Josh Lewin analyzes 'clutch pitching,' saying Bill James and others agree more with this concept than clutch hitting. He confines himself to starting pitchers, but asks Trevor Hoffman:
- "When I asked Hoffman whom he considered clutch, he conjured a dominant reliever: the Yankees' Mariano Rivera."
The article from Slate focused on Tom Glavine, and was posted
October 10, 2006. posted by susan mullen at
10/19/2006 01:44:00 PM | (I originally posted this on one of my other blogs, xmmlbchat.blogspot.com, and thought it would be helpful here as well). sm
Hockey Goaltender Champ "like superstar closer Mariano Rivera"---Rochester Dem. & Chronicle
"Looking like hockey's version of New York Yankees superstar closer Mariano Rivera, Menard stopped all 12 shots Air Force fired his way over the final 35 minutes and his shutout performance allowed the Tigers to rally from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Falcons, 5-4.- For the first time in his brief RIT men's hockey career, the native of Chicoutimi, Quebec, was being called in from the bullpen to relieve starter Jocelyn Guimond, and Menard really wasn't sure what to expect from himself in that unfamiliar situation." (The Freshman goalie played the final 35 minutes in relief AND ALLOWED NO GOALS.
Story by Sal Maiorana, 2/10/07, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
- (The Universal Standard of Mo).
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Mariano Rivera, "universally acclaimed baseball's greatest closer of all time--" Kevin Kennedy, FoxSports
"By the way, several years ago MLB announced that Jackie Robinson's number 42 would be permanently retired. No future player will ever again wear it. The players who were wearing it at the time could keep it until they retired.
Now there is just one man remaining with number 42 and he will be the last.
- Fittingly, it's Mariano Rivera of the Yankees, who is universally acclaimed as baseball's greatest closer of all time, and a player ticketed for the Hall of Fame. So the last man to ever wear number 42 is certainly more than worthy of it."
From article on
FoxSports.com by Kevin Kennedy, 2/3/07, "MLB Boys of Winter have plenty to keep them busy"
Friday, February 02, 2007
Colts getting Vinatieri would= Red Sox signing MARIANO RIVERA
"Adam Vinateri is the greatest clutch kicker in NFL history. - The Colts getting him from New England would be equivalent to the Red Sox signing Mariano Rivera.
You have to get him into a situation where he can win the game for you, but once you do that he will take care of business. Where Mike Vanderjagt froze in clutch spots, Vinateri relishes the big stage. - The Colts have a huge edge in this contest because they are almost guaranteed 3 points once they get into field goal range, especially when the game is on the line."
From
article by George Coztanza, Official Contributor, SBL, AOL, 2/2/07
Vinatieri, Mariano---"The great ones always want to take the last shot."--NY Daily News
MIAMI - "Adam Vinatieri, who already has won two Super Bowls with last-second field goals for the Patriots, would embrace putting it all on him from 40 yards out on the final play Sunday against the Bears. The great ones always want to take the last shot. Michael Jordan wanted the ball. So did Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
- Has there been a time Mariano Rivera didn't want the ball in the ninth inning? That's how Vinatieri feels, too."
From NY
Daily News article by Gary Myers, 2/2/07