Mariano Rivera Highlights

10th inning v Phillies, 5/24/09, getty

• On what made the Yankees so tough in the championship years:

Newsday, Wallace Matthews: "That would be Mariano Rivera, whose very

• presence in the bullpen began applying pressure

• to the opposing team midway through a game, and whose appearance on the mound shortened

• the game by precisely the number of outs that were left.

You didn't get to see much of Mariano this weekend, just one scoreless inning yesterday, but watching Lidge struggle reminded you of how vital Rivera was, and still is, to the Yankees' success.

• If he came in to pitch the ninth, your game ended in the eighth.

• If he came in for the eighth, it ended in the seventh.

His cutter moved like the lid of a coffin on a team's chances to get back into a game....

• Watching Lidge struggle this weekend, you remembered that

• the most important Yankee of all isn't the biggest or the newest or the richest.

It's the one who can get the other guys out when it counts the most.

• If the Yankees are to go anywhere this year,

• Mariano has to slam the door shut

• one more time."

From Newsday column by Wallace Matthews, "Watching Lidge Struggle Makes One Appreciate Mo," 5/24/09

• (This is Rivera's 14th consecutive year as a late inning reliever. During that time he also pitched in 13 consecutive post seasons, 117.1 innings. The equivalent of one and a half more regular seasons).

Labels: Mariano Rivera changed the game, Without throwing one pitch

• WAR is Wins Above Replacement

Per Dugout Central: "For the Phillies, Lidge contributed a 2.2 WAR (2008),

• second in relievers to

• Mariano Rivera’s 3.1

and tied with Kerry Wood, helping Philadelphia edge the New York Mets for the National League East crown."...

• from Dugout Central article, "Time to Re-Evaluate the Lidge Contract?" by John Connelly, 5/22/09

After the Orioles win, May 21, 2009, getty photos. The one and only 42.

BBWAA member Stan McNeal--whose word delivers wealth and immortality-- thought one reason Joe Torre's leaving was good was...

• he made things too relaxing for

• ...Mariano...Rivera...
• 
  
• Only 9 days earlier (10/5/07), Stan must have missed Rivera's really relaxing 9th and 10th inning outing
• in a 1-1 tie game the Yankees desperately needed, now known as
  
• the "Bugs Game." It took place in Cleveland.
  

(10/14/07): "He (Torre) makes playing in baseball's biggest pressure pot as comfortable as anyone can.

• No wonder his veterans still support him. Mariano Rivera is in the latter stages of a brilliant career and wants to go out with the man who brought him along.

But maybe Rivera has gotten

• too comfortable,

• and would benefit from new blood."....

"The Yankees Need Someone New," by Stan McNeal, 10/14/07, SportingNews.com. Gee, here's a comfy scene:



An experienced veteran actually in the game sees Rivera differently than media member Stan McNeal. Eric Wedge knew what he saw in Cleveland a few months earlier and many times before that:

• From the NY Times, 5/8/08:

"Eric Wedge, the manager of the Indians, said Rivera had a “presence” as a pitcher who is charged with getting the most difficult outs of the game.

• Wedge said he was not sure if words could accurately describe how good Rivera is. “If he’s not the greatest, he’s one of the greatest closers of all time,” Wedge said.

“From what I’ve seen, he’s the best I’ve ever seen.”"

• From NY Times article by Jack Curry, "After All this Time, Rivera is Keeping it Simply Unhittable," 5/8/08

An opposing manager actually in the game has with an opposite view of a media member who just dismissed Rivera for being too "comfortable."

• (The Sporting News hired this person so they get partial credit).

Here's someone who doesn't look "comfortable" and who caved under the post season pressure and bugs swarming. The opposite of how Mariano Rivera reacted to the 'discomfort.'



Stan McNeal's Top 50 MLB players today puts Rivera #36...he even puts 3 of Mo's contemporaries ahead of him. McNeal makes it quite clear how he feels about Rivera being voted #9 of today's top 50 by 100 top people actually in the game.

"31. Nick Markakis, RF, Orioles 32. Derek Lowe, SP, Braves 33. Joe Nathan, RP, Twins 34. Jonathan Papelbon, RP, Red Sox 35. Francisco Rodriguez, RP, Mets 36. Mariano Rivera, RP, Yankees
37. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Padres"

The Sporting News "panel, which includes 13 Hall of Famers, 13 Cy Young Award winners and 12 league MVPs. Among the MLB legends who filled out ballots for SN: Willie McCovey, Stan Musial, Brooks Robinson, Tony Gwynn, Tom Seaver, Rollie Fingers and Greg Maddux."...

photos above from the "Bugs game," ALDS game 2, NYY v Cle, Oct. 5, 2007. top Rivera, bottom Chamberlain.

Labels: The Bugs game

Mariano Rivera v the Twins, 9th inning of tie game, Sunday, May 17, 2009. His third inning of work over 2 days. He

• "failed" to
  

• "pick up" a Save

• or a Win.

Although he pitched 3 scoreless innings. No one will question this as Bud Selig wants it this way at least for the next 6 years. After that, he'll talk about it. photo by getty.

The great Rivera mid 10th inning after his 2 scoreless innings in 4-4 tie game v the Twins which the Yankees won in 11, 6-4. ap photo. Sorry, no fist pump, and sorry his career isn't over. Really. He didn't get a Save or the Win for his effort, so Goose Gossage, MLB/ESPN/BBWAA will be able to say he's a wimp. Marc Carig from the Star Ledger reports during the game:

• NEW YORK -- "Bonus baseball here in the Bronx, with the score still tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 11th.

• If the Yankees win this game, part of the reason will be Mariano Rivera, who gutted one out on Saturday.
  

• He's not in the stage of his career where he should be going more than one inning.
  

But after retiring the side in the ninth, Rivera worked out of trouble to put up another zero in the 10th.

• Justin Morneau reached on an infield single and
  

• Jason Kubel followed with a broken-bat bloop to center.
  

But Rivera, as he's always done, kept it together."...."Mariano Rivera Works 2 Scoreless innings, Game still tied 4-4 in 11th"

• From George King, NY Post: "He zipped through the Twins in the ninth on 11 pitches. Then he asked Joe Girardi to let him work the 10th.

• "They had the heart of the lineup and I think that's my job," Rivera said. "I think it worked."

With a touch of anxiety. Justin Morneau, who has worked over the right-field seats in two games (three solo homers), singled with Rivera deflecting the shot. Next, Jason Kubel sent a broken-bat single dump into center. Two on, no out, 10th inning. What was Rivera thinking?

"I've got to get him out," said Rivera,

• who felt batter Michael Cuddyer wouldn't bunt, which was a plus for the Yankees.
  

"So I was trying to make a good pitch to get a groundball, not a flyball. A strikeout, something. . . . It went our way.""No Need to Panic...Joba, Mo look Strong," NY Post, 5/17/09

• (Maybe a reference to batters before Cuddyer or to Cuddyer himself, but the NY Times has Rivera thinking someone would bunt in that frame): "The Twins started that inning with two soft singles, and Rivera said he thought they might bunt. But Michael Cuddyer was up, and with no sacrifices since 2005, he swung away and popped out." The Post saying Mo didn't think Cuddyer would bunt (above). From NY Times, Kepner, 5/16/09, "Rodriguez's homer lifts Yankees in 11th"
  

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Chamberlain	6.0	3	2	2	4	6	1	3.76
Veras (H, 1)	0.1	1	0	0	1	0	0	6.75
Coke (BS, 2)	1.1	2	2	2	1	1	1	4.60
Ramirez, E	0.1	0	0	0	1	0	0	4.86
Rivera	2.0	2	0	0	0	2	0	2.93
Aceves, A (W, 1-0)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.45

• Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay at the 2008 All Star game, Yankee Stadium, 7/15/08, Reuters photo via daylife. With the Yankees facing Halladay today, 5/12/09, there's little chance we'll see Mo in the game.

The great Rivera deals v Orioles, Sunday, May 10, 2009. reuters photo

Last night Mo arrived at 1152.1 innings, the longest stretch for a dominant power late inning reliever and closer in history. What punctuated the occasion was Mo giving up back to back home runs for the first time ever in his now 15th consecutive year in the big leagues. He is coming off shoulder surgery. We'll wait to see if this continues to take a toll on him. I include both regular (1035 IP) and post season (117.1) because that's what he gave you.

• His achievement is especially unique as it's the first to span the era of 3 levels of post season play and is unlikely to ever be achieved again. Baseball is acutely aware of this feat and is violently opposed to its receiving the credit it deserves. On the contrary, baseball has taken pains to eradicate all mention of post season stats even in noting Hall of Fame careers (recently seen with Goose Gossage's induction and media only reporting his regular season stats).

Their view is it's "unfair" to list anything but regular season stats, saying those who had post season stats were just 'luckier' than others. They are deadly serious about this issue. I merely mentioned the topic on another blog and received a hateful email from a BBWAA member telling me I was stupid and stubborn to even bring up the topic. When it suits them they like to tout the 'regular season total save stat' as a qualifying benchmark to either elevate or diminish a player. The stat on its own has less to do with the pitcher than luck, opportunity, manager's acquiescence, degree of difficulty, in short circumstances beyond the control of the reliever. Or to use their own logic, things that aren't the pitcher's 'fault.'

• How "unfair" and "penalizing" is it to cheat someone out of his career? After all, it's not the reliever's 'fault' that he was pitching multiple innings on November 4th one year while others were relaxing. You might wonder what current national league pitcher baseball is desperate to get in the HOF and would benefit most if Mariano Rivera did not exist. What's to stop the baseball monopoly and its media arm from cheating Rivera out of his career? Nothing. There is no competition. The Yankees have no front office and everyone knows it. If you don't think Selig believes awards are his personal property like everything else, look at how he rigged the vote against Marvin Miller.
  

(In 1995, Rivera appeared as a starter in 10 games, so you can eliminate those innings from his reliever resume to be accurate. All of his post season appearances were in late inning relief starting with his 3.1 ip in extra innings for the win in game 2 1995 ALDS).

• P.S. Hal McCoy, a HOF writer gets to admit he also covered post season games. Whether he was lucky or not, it happened and he worked while he was there.
  
• So that blows baseball's campaign against post season stats being "unfair."
  

"Counting spring training and postseason games, McCoy has covered more than 7,000 major-league baseball games, written close to 18,000 baseball stories..."