Monday, August 27, 2012
Rivera in pinstripes for 2012 Yankee photo day
8/5/12, "SIGHT FOR SORE EYES: While he’s not coming back to pitch this season after tearing his ACL in April, legendary closer Mariano Rivera donned his pinstripes and greeted fans during photo day before the Yankees’ 6-2 victory over the Mariners yesterday." NY Post, photo Bereswill.
8/6/12, "Yankees surviving without missing pieces," NY Post, Larry Brooks
--------------------------------------
Ed. note: Until finding this photo I hadn't seen any of Rivera's appearance at photo day this year.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Derek Lowe speaks up for Mariano Rivera
.
8/15/12, "Does Chapman deserve the Cy Young Award?" Ken Rosenthal, FoxSportsOhio.com
"If it's awards season, it must be time for a narrative....
After talking Tuesday to three pitchers who performed as both starters and closers — Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, future Hall of Famer John Smoltz and Derek Lowe — I'd at least like to hear more of a debate....
Lowe said that because Mariano Rivera has never won a Cy, then it's difficult for him to envision any current reliever winning one....
Only one reliever — Eric Gagne in 2003 — has won the award in the past 20 years. The great Rivera has six top-10 finishes — one second, three thirds, a fifth and an eighth....
Lowe offers a different historical perspective, saying that if Rivera never won a Cy Young, then perhaps no reliever should.
Is Chapman that much better than Rivera was?
Can anyone be?"...
"The guy was so dominant, he changed the way the other team played. You knew it was an eight-inning game. Everyone knew it. If that guy doesn't win one it would be hard to say these guys (Chapman and Kimbrel) deserve it more than he did."
Lowe, who finished third in the 2002 AL Cy Young race as a starter after leading the league in saves two years earlier,
-------------------------------------------------
Editor's notes: In 2003, Eric Gagne's face was seen nightly on ESPN, and he was given the NL Cy Young Award based on his "regular season total save stat" record. Rivera has never come close to winning that award. Even by 2003, not much was said about Mo other than he was "good in the post season." His picture was on the cover of a book, "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," about the 2001 Yankees.
In 2005, Rivera was #1 on the MLB AL Cy Young Predictor. He was almost 19 points ahead of Colon:
Specially selected BBWAA voters in 2005 judged Rivera a very distant second. 6 voters left his name entirely off their ballot. Not to say every pitcher who clearly dominates the above 'predictor' (in 2005 it was called the "Bill James/Rob Neyer Cy Young Predictor) should win, but there's a bloodbath's worth of difference between that poll and what the award voters did. Among other things, the "save" stat is very handy. 'Experts' may say it's a meaningless joke of a stat. The next day the same 'experts' can say a pitcher isn't good enough because he should have had more saves. And the 'respected experts' won't get fired from their jobs for this. In 2005, one of the 6 assigned AL Cy Young voters who left Mariano Rivera completely off their ballot was Sheldon Ocker who found it necessary to mention "New York" in his evaluation of Rivera though New York votes have no more weight than 12 other markets. If anything, screwing the Yankee makes a NY voter immortal and increases his likelihood of being invited onto ESPN:
11/9/2005, "Baseball; Award Eludes Rivera; Colon Wins the Cy Young," NY Times, Tyler Kepner
On July 28, 2006, BBWAA member Dave Sheinin suggested the AL Cy Young and MVP could both be given to Jonathan Papelbon.
In 2008, Krod, Frankie Rodriguez, was discussed for both AL Cy Young and AL MVP. He came in 3rd in Cy Young voting and 6th in MVP voting. In all his years,
10/23/09, "Moves Making ALCS More Interesting," Howard Bryant, ESPN.com
"Not that he needed it or that anyone cared about the number itself."...
Above 2009 ALCS game 1, 10/16/09, Angels in the Bronx, drizzle, 11:15pm, was 45 degrees at game start, likely below 40 by 11:15pm.
---------------------------------
Rivera for many years has had shorter off seasons than other relievers. The year 2011 was the first time I'd seen the topic mentioned of stress on post season pitchers and its effect on their subsequent regular season. Even then, the topic was only about one year's worth of stress. MLB's concern was about 2010 champ SF Giants pitchers breaking down. (Rivera wasn't mentioned in the article).
1/14/11, MLB.com, "Giants' pitchers arming themselves against short offseason," by Chris Haft
MLB expressed concern that Giants' pitchers had to work an extra month in the post season. Yet teams have been in this situation since 1995 when 3 levels of post season play became standard:
"Adding a month to their 2010 season while winning the World Series also added
4/29/12, AP, "Then there's the cumulative strain. Wilson set career highs in saves, games and innings pitched in 2010, when the bearded closer helped the Giants win the World Series. His elbow acted up in 2011, causing him to miss more than a month....
"A lot of times, people don't understand mentally and physically how you have to overextend when you go to the playoffs and World Series," Baker said. "You're still pitching while everybody else is home resting. That's a lot more. And you have less time to recover for next year. You have a shorter winter.
"Winning takes its toll, big time. There's nothing better than that, but it takes its toll.""...
Rivera was named MVP of the 2003 ALCS and the 1999 World Series. 'Experts' would say, "Rivera's good in the post season," as if it were a separate sport, not to be dwelt on. Move along. He pitched the equivalent of 2 additional years of relief work, 141 innings, sandwiched alongside his regular season work, but it's not allowed to be mentioned.
Two more citations about baseball awards voters and anti-Yankee bias:
11/11/2005, "Bias against Yankees shows in Cy Young Award," AzCentral.com, John Gambadoro
"On the West Coast we believe there is a thing called the East Coast bias. In New York, they believe there is a thing called the Yankees bias. How else to explain how Mariano Rivera didn't win the Cy Young Award? The best closer in the history of the game happened to have the best year of his career and he gets beat out by a guy who posted a fine-but-hardly-stellar ERA of 3.48. Bartolo Colon did win 21 games but his 157 strikeouts were far from phenomenal - you could even make the argument that Johan Santana had a better year as a starter.
So how does a guy whose numbers are good but not Bob Gibson-like win the award over a reliever who at one point in the season converted 37 straight save chances. Rivera had 43 saves. He had 80 strikeouts and just 18 walks, and he gave us just one run on the road all year. One voter didn't even put Rivera on his ballot.***The only logical explanation is that there is, indeed, a Yankee bias."...
***Ed. note: Actually 6 writers left Rivera's name off their ballots, per NY Times above:
11/9/2005, "Rivera, who finished third
in 1996, 1999 and 2004, was left off six ballots."... ------------------------------------------------------------------
9/22/2011, "Joe Girardi deserves a lot of credit," Rob Parker, ESPN New York
"New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi likely won't win American League Manager of the Year.
In fact, he'll be lucky to finish in the top three in the voting.
Sadly, most baseball writers/voters just can't look past the Yankees' $200 million payroll to actually see what he's done.
Plus, there's an anti-New York vote that swirls around Baseball America whether folks want to admit it or not."...
--------------------------------------
Reference: 7/28/06, "Papelbon Makes a Speedy Arrival," Washington Post, Dave Sheinin
8/15/12, "Does Chapman deserve the Cy Young Award?" Ken Rosenthal, FoxSportsOhio.com
"If it's awards season, it must be time for a narrative....
After talking Tuesday to three pitchers who performed as both starters and closers — Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, future Hall of Famer John Smoltz and Derek Lowe — I'd at least like to hear more of a debate....
Lowe said that because Mariano Rivera has never won a Cy, then it's difficult for him to envision any current reliever winning one....
Only one reliever — Eric Gagne in 2003 — has won the award in the past 20 years. The great Rivera has six top-10 finishes — one second, three thirds, a fifth and an eighth....
Lowe offers a different historical perspective, saying that if Rivera never won a Cy Young, then perhaps no reliever should.
Is Chapman that much better than Rivera was?
Can anyone be?"...
- [Ed. note: In the context of AL post season awards this is a disingenuous comment. Rivera is safely beyond consideration for AL post season awards so Rosenthal knows he won't suffer politically for superlatives about Rivera.]
"The guy was so dominant, he changed the way the other team played. You knew it was an eight-inning game. Everyone knew it. If that guy doesn't win one it would be hard to say these guys (Chapman and Kimbrel) deserve it more than he did."
Lowe, who finished third in the 2002 AL Cy Young race as a starter after leading the league in saves two years earlier,
- also expressed skepticism about how closers compile their stats.
-------------------------------------------------
Editor's notes: In 2003, Eric Gagne's face was seen nightly on ESPN, and he was given the NL Cy Young Award based on his "regular season total save stat" record. Rivera has never come close to winning that award. Even by 2003, not much was said about Mo other than he was "good in the post season." His picture was on the cover of a book, "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," about the 2001 Yankees.
In 2005, Rivera was #1 on the MLB AL Cy Young Predictor. He was almost 19 points ahead of Colon:
Specially selected BBWAA voters in 2005 judged Rivera a very distant second. 6 voters left his name entirely off their ballot. Not to say every pitcher who clearly dominates the above 'predictor' (in 2005 it was called the "Bill James/Rob Neyer Cy Young Predictor) should win, but there's a bloodbath's worth of difference between that poll and what the award voters did. Among other things, the "save" stat is very handy. 'Experts' may say it's a meaningless joke of a stat. The next day the same 'experts' can say a pitcher isn't good enough because he should have had more saves. And the 'respected experts' won't get fired from their jobs for this. In 2005, one of the 6 assigned AL Cy Young voters who left Mariano Rivera completely off their ballot was Sheldon Ocker who found it necessary to mention "New York" in his evaluation of Rivera though New York votes have no more weight than 12 other markets. If anything, screwing the Yankee makes a NY voter immortal and increases his likelihood of being invited onto ESPN:
11/9/2005, "Baseball; Award Eludes Rivera; Colon Wins the Cy Young," NY Times, Tyler Kepner
- ''That's probably another thing that hurts him: he's had so many good seasons that, well,
- it's just another good season for Rivera,'' (Akron Beacon Journal's Sheldon) Ocker said.
- the Yankees and Red Sox
- ended the season in an exact tie.
On July 28, 2006, BBWAA member Dave Sheinin suggested the AL Cy Young and MVP could both be given to Jonathan Papelbon.
In 2008, Krod, Frankie Rodriguez, was discussed for both AL Cy Young and AL MVP. He came in 3rd in Cy Young voting and 6th in MVP voting. In all his years,
- Rivera has never been higher than 9th in MVP voting.
10/23/09, "Moves Making ALCS More Interesting," Howard Bryant, ESPN.com
- "Of all the positions in all of professional team sports,
- there is no greater gap than the best closer of all time
- to the second-best.
- He is that good....
- his two-thirds of an inning in the eighth of Game 5 (10/22/09)
- underscored his greatness as a pitcher."...
"Not that he needed it or that anyone cared about the number itself."...
- 9/20/11, "Mariano Rivera: Dream-come-true closer reaches the pinnacle," Washington Post, Thomas Boswell
Above 2009 ALCS game 1, 10/16/09, Angels in the Bronx, drizzle, 11:15pm, was 45 degrees at game start, likely below 40 by 11:15pm.
---------------------------------
Rivera for many years has had shorter off seasons than other relievers. The year 2011 was the first time I'd seen the topic mentioned of stress on post season pitchers and its effect on their subsequent regular season. Even then, the topic was only about one year's worth of stress. MLB's concern was about 2010 champ SF Giants pitchers breaking down. (Rivera wasn't mentioned in the article).
1/14/11, MLB.com, "Giants' pitchers arming themselves against short offseason," by Chris Haft
MLB expressed concern that Giants' pitchers had to work an extra month in the post season. Yet teams have been in this situation since 1995 when 3 levels of post season play became standard:
"Adding a month to their 2010 season while winning the World Series also added
- concerns for the Giants about the state of their pitching."...
- ----------------------------------
4/29/12, AP, "Then there's the cumulative strain. Wilson set career highs in saves, games and innings pitched in 2010, when the bearded closer helped the Giants win the World Series. His elbow acted up in 2011, causing him to miss more than a month....
"A lot of times, people don't understand mentally and physically how you have to overextend when you go to the playoffs and World Series," Baker said. "You're still pitching while everybody else is home resting. That's a lot more. And you have less time to recover for next year. You have a shorter winter.
"Winning takes its toll, big time. There's nothing better than that, but it takes its toll.""...
- 4/29/12, "7 closers on disabled list, showing it's a high-risk job," AP, Joe Kay
Rivera was named MVP of the 2003 ALCS and the 1999 World Series. 'Experts' would say, "Rivera's good in the post season," as if it were a separate sport, not to be dwelt on. Move along. He pitched the equivalent of 2 additional years of relief work, 141 innings, sandwiched alongside his regular season work, but it's not allowed to be mentioned.
Two more citations about baseball awards voters and anti-Yankee bias:
11/11/2005, "Bias against Yankees shows in Cy Young Award," AzCentral.com, John Gambadoro
"On the West Coast we believe there is a thing called the East Coast bias. In New York, they believe there is a thing called the Yankees bias. How else to explain how Mariano Rivera didn't win the Cy Young Award? The best closer in the history of the game happened to have the best year of his career and he gets beat out by a guy who posted a fine-but-hardly-stellar ERA of 3.48. Bartolo Colon did win 21 games but his 157 strikeouts were far from phenomenal - you could even make the argument that Johan Santana had a better year as a starter.
So how does a guy whose numbers are good but not Bob Gibson-like win the award over a reliever who at one point in the season converted 37 straight save chances. Rivera had 43 saves. He had 80 strikeouts and just 18 walks, and he gave us just one run on the road all year. One voter didn't even put Rivera on his ballot.***The only logical explanation is that there is, indeed, a Yankee bias."...
***Ed. note: Actually 6 writers left Rivera's name off their ballots, per NY Times above:
11/9/2005, "Rivera, who finished third
in 1996, 1999 and 2004, was left off six ballots."... ------------------------------------------------------------------
9/22/2011, "Joe Girardi deserves a lot of credit," Rob Parker, ESPN New York
"New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi likely won't win American League Manager of the Year.
In fact, he'll be lucky to finish in the top three in the voting.
Sadly, most baseball writers/voters just can't look past the Yankees' $200 million payroll to actually see what he's done.
Plus, there's an anti-New York vote that swirls around Baseball America whether folks want to admit it or not."...
--------------------------------------
Reference: 7/28/06, "Papelbon Makes a Speedy Arrival," Washington Post, Dave Sheinin
Rivera speaks at Smithtown Acura with mentoring group
.
.
8/14/12, "New York Yankees Legend Mariano Rivera Visits Smithtown Acura," Smithtown Acura blog, WALK News
"Rivera and members of the Long Island Mentoring Partnership were greeted by an estimated 200 Islanders, from 9-months to nearly 90, who crowded into Smithtown Acura in Saint James to meet their hero Saturday morning....The Mentoring Partnership of Long Island serves approximately 10,000 young people, ages five through 18, according to Moldonado, and has ties to 200 organizations in Suffolk and Nassau, -not just to superstar athletes, but with teachers, civic leaders and business people, including Smithtown Acura President Robert Certilman....
.
8/14/12, "New York Yankees Legend Mariano Rivera Visits Smithtown Acura," Smithtown Acura blog, WALK News
"Rivera and members of the Long Island Mentoring Partnership were greeted by an estimated 200 Islanders, from 9-months to nearly 90, who crowded into Smithtown Acura in Saint James to meet their hero Saturday morning....The Mentoring Partnership of Long Island serves approximately 10,000 young people, ages five through 18, according to Moldonado, and has ties to 200 organizations in Suffolk and Nassau, -not just to superstar athletes, but with teachers, civic leaders and business people, including Smithtown Acura President Robert Certilman....
Rivera, 42, is facing another setback: a devastating, season-ending knee injury in May. He injured the knee while “playing” baseball during a pre-game warm-up, running in the outfield catching fly-balls with his friends, his teammates.
“Instead of asking, ‘why me,’ I said, ‘OK Lord, what must I do now?’” He’s rehabilitating the injury, and the great “closer” closed the discussion by saying, “God willing, I’ll be back for another year.” And running, and playing, and catching fly-balls. For the joy of it." photo from WALK Radio NewsThursday, August 16, 2012
Rivera at Saratoga Siro's
.
8/13/12, "Saratoga Siro’s event raises ‘six figures’ for foundation started by Yankees pitcher Rivera," BizJournals.com, Pam Allen
"Capital Region’s business leaders and philanthropists were largely responsible for donating the hundreds of thousands of dollars for New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera’s foundation." photo Howe, Business Review
8/13/12, "Saratoga Siro’s event raises ‘six figures’ for foundation started by Yankees pitcher Rivera," BizJournals.com, Pam Allen
"Capital Region’s business leaders and philanthropists were largely responsible for donating the hundreds of thousands of dollars for New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera’s foundation." photo Howe, Business Review
Mariano Rivera hinting again at retirement, says 'mind made up,' Len Berman
.
8/16/12, "Mariano Rivera Hints at Retirement," WTLV TV, First News, Jacksonville, Florida
"Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is hinting at retirement. Major League Baseball's all time saves leader says his mind's made up. Len Berman says the first-ballot Hall of Famer will leave a legacy that will never be duplicated. "
8/16/12, "Mariano Rivera Hints at Retirement," WTLV TV, First News, Jacksonville, Florida
"Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is hinting at retirement. Major League Baseball's all time saves leader says his mind's made up. Len Berman says the first-ballot Hall of Famer will leave a legacy that will never be duplicated. "
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Mariano Rivera's day at Saratoga
.
More from Saratoga via NYRA
8/12/12, "Mariano Rivera enjoys a day at Saratoga," brisnet.com
"New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera visited Saratoga on Friday, and the New York Racing Association (NYRA) rolled out the red carpet for the all-time great reliever.
More from Saratoga via NYRA
8/12/12, "Mariano Rivera enjoys a day at Saratoga," brisnet.com
"New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera visited Saratoga on Friday, and the New York Racing Association (NYRA) rolled out the red carpet for the all-time great reliever.
Rivera's Spa experience began Friday morning with a tour of the backstretch. Escorted by new Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, the 12-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion visited with trainers Todd Pletcher and Kiaran P. McLaughlin. Rivera stopped by Darley Stables and met with Jimmy Bell, president of Darley's American operations.
"I did enjoy that," Rivera said of the tour. "Johnny was tremendous with me this morning...it was wonderful. I had a tremendous morning.
"I didn't know the nursing and care they do with these horses. It's amazing. Today was like a school for me. I learned a lot. Next time I will know a little bit more about horses."
Rivera complimented Velazquez upon his induction into the Hall of Fame, which took place following the backstretch tour Friday morning.
"It takes special players and special people to do that. And he is one of them," Rivera said.
"He is a great human being and a great jockey. It was well deserved he got into the Hall of Fame. He's one of the greatest.
"So thank God for Johnny and God bless him."
Several children of backstretch workers also got the chance to meet Rivera, who autographed baseballs for them. The children are attending the New York Race Track Chaplaincy Summer Enrichment Program at Saratoga.
NYRA has posted video of Rivera on the backstretch here.
Friday was declared Mariano Rivera Day in his honor, and later at the track, Rivera received the proclamation from Saratoga Springs Mayor Scott T. Johnson."...
Above, "Mariano Rivera hung out with Johnny V (NYRA Photo)"
"Rivera made the presentation to winning rider Ramon Dominguez after the 3RD race (NYRA Photo)"
----------------------------------------------
8/15/12, "Mariano Rivera fundraiser raises six figures for foundation," TimesUnion.com, S. Fromma
Thursday, August 09, 2012
Rivera flips the coin before soccer match between AC Milan and Real Madrid at Yankee Stadium, 8/8/12
.
"Mariano Rivera (C) flips the coin in front of A.C. Milan's Massimo Ambrosini (L) and Real Madrid's goalkeeper Iker Casillas (R) before their team's friendly soccer match at Yankee Stadium," 8/8/12, reuters
---------------------------Earlier
Rivera flips coin for 7/22/12 soccer match at Yankee Stadium
"Mariano Rivera (C) flips the coin in front of A.C. Milan's Massimo Ambrosini (L) and Real Madrid's goalkeeper Iker Casillas (R) before their team's friendly soccer match at Yankee Stadium," 8/8/12, reuters
---------------------------Earlier
Rivera flips coin for 7/22/12 soccer match at Yankee Stadium
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Mariano Rivera greets soccer players from AC Milan and Real Madrid at Yankee Stadium
.
"Mariano Rivera greets Massimo Ambrosini #23 of A.C. Milan and Iker Casillas #1 of Real Madrid after the coin toss before their match at Yankee Stadium on August 8, 2012," getty
"Mariano Rivera greets Massimo Ambrosini #23 of A.C. Milan and Iker Casillas #1 of Real Madrid after the coin toss before their match at Yankee Stadium on August 8, 2012," getty - Rivera said he always thought soccer was his number 1 game, baseball #2:
11/22/11, "Rivera was in town on Monday evening to speak at the Ridgefield Friends of Best Buddies fundraising event....
The highlight of the evening was the light-hearted question-and-answer period between Rivera and the kids in the audience....Here are a few of the questions and Rivera's responses:
What is your second-best sport?
"Baseball," Rivera said with a laugh. "My best? Soccer. I always thought soccer was my main sport, and baseball came second.""
11/22/11, "Yankees' Rivera a big hit at Ridgefield charity event," NewsTimes.com, Richard Gregory, photos GreenwichTime.com
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Mariano's last entrance at the Stadium before his 2012 accident in Kansas City
.
"Mariano Rivera makes his final entrance at home on 4/30/12 before his season ending injury on the road in Kansas City. Mo comes in to shut the door for a Yankee win against the Baltimore Orioles." final 2-1, Yankees. Video courtesy of www.yankeeZblog.com
"Mariano Rivera makes his final entrance at home on 4/30/12 before his season ending injury on the road in Kansas City. Mo comes in to shut the door for a Yankee win against the Baltimore Orioles." final 2-1, Yankees. Video courtesy of www.yankeeZblog.com
Friday, August 03, 2012
Could Dodger Kenley Jansen be the next Mariano Rivera? Raif
.
7/31/12, "The Second Coming of Mariano Rivera?" blog.fantasyfeud.com, Mike Raif
Kenley Jansen, Mariano Rivera
"Based on the sheer number of statistical and subjective categories in baseball there is seldom a consensus best player in any one category. Take third base for example. Among third basemen a very strong argument could be made for a number of different players. I could personally write a dissertation focusing only on a comparison between Miguel Cabrera and Evan Longoria, and I would thoroughly enjoy doing so. Yet in one position there can be no debate. Baseball insiders and statisticians alike must agree that Mariano Rivera is not only the greatest active closer, but is likely the most successful closer we are likely to see in our lifetime. To say any other player comes close is hardball blasphemy. Yet I will take my chances with the powers that be in Major League Baseball and say that Kenley Jansen may very well be the best candidate to surpass Mariano Rivera.
7/31/12, "The Second Coming of Mariano Rivera?" blog.fantasyfeud.com, Mike Raif
Kenley Jansen, Mariano Rivera
"Based on the sheer number of statistical and subjective categories in baseball there is seldom a consensus best player in any one category. Take third base for example. Among third basemen a very strong argument could be made for a number of different players. I could personally write a dissertation focusing only on a comparison between Miguel Cabrera and Evan Longoria, and I would thoroughly enjoy doing so. Yet in one position there can be no debate. Baseball insiders and statisticians alike must agree that Mariano Rivera is not only the greatest active closer, but is likely the most successful closer we are likely to see in our lifetime. To say any other player comes close is hardball blasphemy. Yet I will take my chances with the powers that be in Major League Baseball and say that Kenley Jansen may very well be the best candidate to surpass Mariano Rivera.
Although there are a number of young relievers with tremendous promise (Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman, and Chris Perez), the comparisons between Jansen and Rivera avail the former as the perfect candidate to one day unseat the king. Perhaps the best place to start the comparison is with the cut fastball. Anyone who has played high level baseball will tell you that in order to hit a mid-90s fastball hitters must pick up and commit to the pitch almost immediately after it leaves the pitchers hand.
- The difficulty of hitting such a pitch is compounded by movement.
- Jansen entered the scene at 23 already a converted catcher.
