Mariano Rivera Highlights

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

photos 3 and 5 with Billy Connors. all 2/18/10 in Tampa, by ap

• "Rivera Has Arrived," by Chad Jennings
  

"The clock above the clubhouse door read 9:19 — of course the number nine was involved – when Mariano Rivera walked in from the hallway and began

• shaking hands with everyone in sight.

• “Hello.”

• “How are you?”

• “Nice to see you.”

It was presidential, maybe even regal, the way he greeted everyone between the door and his locker. When he sat down, Rivera spoke for about 10 minutes. He said he’s not worried about his contract, that he doesn’t mind waiting until the offseason to negotiate. He said he wants to keep pitching as long as he’s capable of his lofty standards, but he wants to walk away the moment he starts slipping.

For now, he just wants to get back to work. Rivera’s spring training always moves at a slower pace

• than every other pitcher,
  

and Rivera said he’s only tossed off flat ground this winter. He has yet to throw off a mound."...

• from LohudYankee blog, 2/18/10

• 

Andy and Mo, 2/18, photo star-ledger, uspresswire

• 

• Mo throws in front of advance scout, 2/18/10, ap
  

Joel Sherman, NY Post, 2/19/10:

• "Enjoy it. Soak it in.

• You will not see anything like it again any time soon.

You are watching the final chapters of someone described by... Andy Pettitte as

• "the greatest pitcher ever."

• That is why as Yankees' workouts for 2010 began yesterday, we turned to the finish. We open with The Closer.
  

Mariano Rivera is 40, and by all logic that should mean the curtain is descending. But what is logic with Rivera? His age-39 season, after all, stands seamlessly with any of his best campaigns, and his best campaigns "make him the best closer ever," Jorge Posada said.

• Surgeons who have cut into skin and muscle and bone could attest that he really is not an android. So, at some point, the birth certificate will win. Not yet, though already the cutter that was once 95-96 mph is 89-91 mph.
  
• Thus Rivera is a great symbol that location and movement really do matter more than velocity. But how much more can he lose and still remain effective: 88 mph, 87, 86?

"The slower he throws, the more the ball moves," (Phil) Hughes said. "I really think he could pitch at 84 mph because the cutter will move 3 feet....

• This is the reverence for Rivera. There is something about him. A grace, a dignity. These qualities combined with his skill and results give him a Koufax-ian glean. ...
  

It is about longevity in a job known for its rise-and-fall, Gagne-esque brevity. It is about an unshakeable nature that enables him to flourish at the end -- of both games and seasons. Eight closers entered last postseason. Seven messed up. Rivera's team won a championship.

It is about how the Yankees have played tactically since Rivera's ascension,

• counting outs until he could be deployed.
  

• In the playoffs last year -- despite the age -- there were calls for him to pitch in the eighth inning
  
• and even the seventh.

But, again, this is about more than being the greatest closer, possibly the greatest postseason pitcher. He is humble, yet possibly the most self-confident player in the majors. He carries a regal flair without arrogance. He can be beaten, but never defeated.

• Rivera's mere physical arrival in the bullpen around the sixth inning each game transforms the tenor from
  
• frat house to laboratory.
  

He picks a different reliever to sit next to daily to play psychiatrist about yesterday's failure or pitching coach about today's challenges. "It is amazing," Hughes said. "He throws one pitch, yet knows everything about every pitch."

• It is about his annual stop across the street to the Yankees' minor league camp where he will gather prospects to share his wisdom.

"He's in street clothes," Cashman said. "He is not asked to do it and no one else does do it, but him. You have to see it. It is E.F. Hutton stuff. When he talks, people listen."

• It is about his annual jaunts to the Yankees' Dominican base where the organization's pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras said, "He is talking to kids in a room filled with pictures of him on the wall and you have to see the expression on the faces."

He defines living legend and defies the clock. But that clock is ticking.

• So enjoy this, soak it in.
  

• Another Rivera is not coming around any time soon."

"NY Yankees fans should enjoy every pitch of Mariano Rivera's career, " NY Post, 2/19/10

Labels: Joel Sherman, Mariano Rivera at spring training 2010