Mariano Rivera Highlights: October 2010

Saturday, October 23, 2010

In Texas ALCS game 6, October 22

2 reuters, 6 ap, rest getty, 5 and 7 in dugout before game

Labels: Mariano Rivera ALCS game 6 in Texas

# posted by susan @ 2:38 AM 0 comments

Friday, October 22, 2010

Teixeira: Mariano Rivera is the greatest pitcher of all time.

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10/21/10, "When Mark Teixeira was asked today about the impact Mariano Rivera has on an opposing team, the injured Yankee first baseman saw the interviewer's question and raised the stakes of his answer.

"To me, he's the greatest pitcher of all time,'' Teixeira said.

Noticing the raised eyebrows in front of him, Tex amended that assessment, but only slightly.

"Well, obviously he's the greatest relief pitcher of all–time,'' Teixeira said. "But with what he’s done in the post-season, his post-season numbers, how he closes the door in so many tight games,

you can make an argument he’s the best of all time.

When he’s on your side late in the game, you feel pretty good about it.

There's definitely people who will say a reliever can’t be the greatest pitcher of all time but you look at his body of work winning championships, putting up crazy numbers,

I’ll make that argument with anybody.''

Asked about the feeling of hopelessness Rivera inspires in opposing hitters, Teixeira cited his own limited history of facing Mo as a mamber of the Texas Rangers and L.A. Angels.

"I hated facing Mo as an opponent,'' he said. "I think I got one hit off him, maybe drew one walk. Every other time was a broken bat or a strikeout.''

For the record, Teixeira batted .111 vs. Rivera, with one single in nine at-bats, one walk and two strikeouts."

"Tex: None better than Mo," Wallace Matthews, ESPN blog

Labels: Teixeira: Rivera the greatest pitcher of all time

# posted by susan @ 2:21 AM 0 comments

Thursday, October 21, 2010

At the Stadium ALCS game 5, October 20

getty, getty, reuters, getty, reuters, ap

# posted by susan @ 9:32 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Jets nickname Dwight Lowery 'their Mariano Rivera'

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10/20, "Call (Jets) Lowery 'The Closer'

Dwight Lowery has acquired a couple of nicknames from his teammates --

"Mariano Rivera" and "The Closer" -- thanks to his defensive plays to close out the Jets' last two victories.

Lowery returned a Brett Favre pass for a touchdown to close out the Vikings two games ago, and on Sunday in Denver he recovered a fumbled snap by Kyle Orton to squelch a Broncos' comeback in the final seconds.

After the game, Bart Scott and other players were calling him "Mariano Rivera" and "The Closer."

Said safety Jim Leonhard, "We're definitely getting on him.

He's our Mariano Rivera right now.""...

from NY Post, Mark Cannazzaro, "Jets Revis must repair early-season image," 10/20

# posted by susan @ 11:05 PM 0 comments

Monday, October 18, 2010

At the Stadium ALCS game 3, October 18

reuters

# posted by susan @ 10:48 PM 0 comments

Sunday, October 17, 2010

"For him to get anybody's attention outside of New York now, he'd probably have to save 65 games." Sheldon Ocker, 11/9/05, NY Times

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10/17/10, "The wild card is Rivera, who probably shouldn't be anywhere near as good as he has been at age 40, converting 33 of 38 chances for New York while owning a 1.80 ERA in 61 appearances."...

(He also completed 2 saves in 1 day on 5/26/10, which isn't reported. This was the 6th time he's had 2 saves in one day in his career. On official records, 5/26's earlier game is listed as a 5/25 game, but only 6 innings were played. The final 3 innings were on 5/26 with Rivera along with the regularly scheduled 5/26 game.) ed.

(continuing): "It's incredible," general manager Brian Cashman said. "I know for years people have been waiting for it to stop, and thank God it hasn't.

He's been the biggest reason we've been successful. Closers don't last this long. They don't do the things he does.

Obviously, you're never going to see anything like this again."...

"I can't even understand why you would ask. Mariano is amazing," Posada said. "Mariano is, for me,

the reason why we are in this situation and the reason why we keep being in this situation.

There's not another Mariano and there is never going to be another Mariano.""

from MLB.com, "Core Four makes point to enjoy the ride," by B. Hoch

Sheldon Ocker is one of 6 MLB/BBWAA selected voters who

left Rivera's name off their 2005 AL Cy Young ballot.

NY Times 11/9/05 article, "Award Eludes Rivera, Colon wins the Cy Young"

Sheldon Ocker's statement about Rivera in the title of this post is from the NY Times article. As I post this, it's at the end of the article, though that hasn't always been the case.

For a long period of time Ocker's statement was excised from the article. Now it's back. I've documented this elsewhere which I'll link to here shortly. ed.

Labels: Sheldon Ocker says Mariano Rivera is no big deal.

# posted by susan @ 8:17 PM 0 comments

Saturday, October 16, 2010

In Texas, ALCS game 1, Oct. 15

reuters, getty, getty (final out)

Labels: Mariano Rivera ALCS game 1 in Texas

# posted by susan @ 3:12 AM 0 comments

Sunday, October 10, 2010

At the Stadium ALDS game 3 v Twins, October 9

ALDS game 3 v Twins, 10/9/10. ny daily news top, reuters 2, ap last, 3-8 getty, 9 Star-Ledger
mlb

# posted by susan @ 1:36 AM 0 comments

Saturday, October 09, 2010

In Minnesota, ALDS game two, October 7, 2010

1 getty, above beginning of 9th, ap
NY Post above; above that NY Daily News
Twins dugout 9th, ALDS game 2, ap

above ap, ALDS 2

ALDS workout day Yankee Stadium, 10/8, ap

# posted by susan @ 2:20 AM 0 comments

Friday, October 08, 2010

Girardi using Mo in the 8th showed how badly he wanted game 1

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10/7, "In Going to Mariano Rivera in eighth inning, Joe Girardi shows how badly he wanted Game 1," Mike Lupica, NY Daily News

"He came running out of the bullpen, running out of all the other Octobers, one out earlier than he should have in the first game of the playoffs.

But here came the great Mo Rivera anyway,

here came Rivera to show you how much and how badly Joe Girardi wanted Game 1. Here came Rivera with the Yankees up two runs to get a four-out save and make sure they got out of here a game ahead of the Twins at Target Field. You wonder how many more nights he will need out of Rivera's 40-year-old right arm to get the Yankees another World Series, how much that arm has left....

It was a new playoff season, even if it was against a familiar first-round opponent. But now

this ending was as old as anything, as old as Rivera, him coming through the bullpen doors this late in the game and the night. It was past midnight in New York by now.

Past midnight on the first Wednesday in October. So this wasn't just Rivera's time of the night. This was his official bio.

So much had happened in the nearly 3-1/2 hours the Yankees and Twins had played already. Francisco Liriano, the Twins' kid lefthander, had pitched the first five innings looking like he was Cliff Lee on training wheels, Cliff Lee being the guy the Yankees seemed to have tanked September to avoid in Game 1 of the playoffs. Liriano was ahead 3-0....

But then Liriano was behind 4-3, behind just like that because of four Yankee runs in the top of the sixth...

CC Sabathia then staggered all around the bottom of the sixth, walking three guys, finally walking home the tying run. So it was 4-4. ...

And when Teixeira hit a two-run shot in the top of the seventh, Sabathia was still set up to get the victory, even if it wasn't a work of art. Boone Logan and David Robertson got him through the bottom of the seventh after Teixeira's home run.

Kerry Wood, who has been generally brilliant since coming over to the Yankees from the Indians,

ended up putting two runners on in the bottom of the eighth.

So two on in Game 1, the Yankees up two runs. The Yankees trying to get the first of the 11 they need to win it all again.

Girardi had said this about Rivera in the interview room before the game:

"There is trepidation all year long about using him more than three outs. We try not to do it. . . . Last year we did it some. We'll see how he's feeling and how he's throwing the ball."

Four hours later, Game 1 in the books, the manager of the Yankees said,

"I just thought it was time to go to Mo."...

Now it was Rivera's game. He had scuffled down the stretch the way the Yankees had scuffled. Now he threw three straight balls to Denard Span before he threw a strike. But then he busted one in on Span's hands, one more hitter getting handcuffed like that in October, and he grounded to Jeter and the Yankees were out of the eighth, still ahead two runs on the Twins.

The ninth now. Nobody was worried about what Rivera, at his age, might have left for Game 2 Thursday night. Get this game. Get up 1-0 on the Twins on the road. Get the Sabathia game.

Orlando Hudson led off the bottom of the ninth for the Twins. He stayed in there for nine pitches against Rivera before grounding out to second.

Rivera was two outs away in Game 1....

Joe Mauer next. The Twins' star. He ripped one back at Rivera. He took it in his glove like a hockey goalie. Everybody on the Yankees knows what a great outfielder Rivera would be. Now he was a goalie, making the save on Mauer, collecting the ball, throwing Mauer out at first.

Delmon Young was the last chance for the Twins. Target Field still begging for some kind of miracle, even against Rivera, even the way the night had turned completely around on them here. Young lined one to short right. Greg Golson came in hard, somehow got his glove down, caught the ball on the dead run. It was called a hit. It wasn't. Another last chance, Jim Thome coming to plate as the tying run.

Rivera popped Thome out to A-Rod. Yankees 6, Twins 4. It was the Twins' night. Then it wasn't. New season, old story for them. The Twins have seen this movie before. It's called "Groundhog Day.""

# posted by susan @ 4:47 AM 0 comments

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Pettitte-Rivera win-save combination reaches #79 on 10/7/10, update, reaches #81 on 5/11/13, #70 in regular season

Andy Pettitte speaks with Larry Rothschild before his first bullpen of the spring, 3/20/12, ap

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****5/11/13, Pettitte-Rivera win-save #81, 70th in regular season, final 3-2 vs Royals.

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***WIN-SAVES: Total of 79. 68 in regular, 11 in post season:***

July 8, 2010 in Seattle was #68 win-save combo for Pettitte and Rivera in regular season,

along with then 10 post season win-saves for then total of 78.

(NY Post notes 65th on 4/18/10, 2/3 down page*)

Now, October 7, 2010 makes 11 in post season, added to 68 in regular season,

79 grand total.

Pettitte and Rivera's 11 post season win-save combos as of 10/7/10:

1. Game 2, 1998 ALDS, Tex @ NYY

2. Game 4, 1998 World Series, NYY @ San Diego

3. Game 2, 1999 ALDS, Tex @ NYY

4. Game 4, 1999 ALCS, NYY @ Boston

5. Game 2, 2000 ALDS, NYY @ Oak

6. Game 3, 2000 ALCS, NYY @ Seattle

7. Game 1, 2001 ALCS, NYY @ Seattle

8. Game 2, 2003 ALDS, Minn. @ NYY

9. Game 3, 2009 ALDS, NYY @ Twins

10. Game 6, 2009 ALCS, LAA @ NYY

11. Game 2, 2010 ALDS, NYY @ Minn.

8 of the above post season win-saves were multi-inning appearances for Rivera.

Honorable Mention: The "Bugs" Game, Game 2, 2007 ALDS, NYY @ Cleveland, 2IP for Rivera. Pettitte and Rivera appeared together in other games that didn't have the exact technical requirements for a win-save combo.

*References: 4/19/10 NY Post article notes 65th reg. season combo on 4/18/10. May 26, 2010 was their 66th regular season win-save combination. 6/11/10, 4-3 win for the Yankees at the stadium (6/11) was 67th regular season win-save. July 8, 2010 in Seattle was #68.

Lucky and not so lucky to be playing in post season while others are resting up. Regular season stats are the only ones MLB and other lead media use when describing a Hall of Fame player's stats
even when the player has post season and all star stats.

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Some photos of Andy Pettitte's return in 2012

Pettitte speaks with reporters on first official day back, 3/20/12, ap

3/20/12, Pettitte speaks to media at The Boss, ap

Pettitte at The Boss after his first bullpen with Larry Rothschild, Ivan Nova observes, 3/20/12, ap

Labels: Pettitte-Rivera Win-Save Combo totals 79 as of 10/7/10

# posted by susan @ 10:14 PM 0 comments

Mariano Rivera earns "600th career save" 10/7/10-Reuters

"New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera pitches to the Minnesota Twins during the ninth inning of Game 2 of their MLB American League Divison Series baseball playoffs in Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 7, 2010.