Sunday, May 04, 2014
Mo's new book, 'The Closer,' from Little, Brown
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5/4/14, "The Closer by Mariano Rivera (Little, Brown, non-fiction, on sale May 6)
What it's about: Memoir by the retired New York Yankees pitcher often called "the greatest closer of all time."
The buzz: If Rivera's memoir gets anywhere near the love he received on his farewell tour last year, he'll be in the literary Hall of Fame."...
"Books: New and noteworthy," USA Today, J. McClurg
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5/8/14, "Review Mariano Rivera sticks mostly to softball in his memoir, 'The Closer'," LA Times, Colin Fleming
I hope this is Rivera's last book. On top of his ridiculous comments about Cano now it turns out he made a stupid remark about Jeter:
""The Closer" offers a fair amount of behind-the-scenes tidbits. We find out that Alex Rodriguez drove Rivera crazy, whereas Derek Jeter could well be a fairy tale prince (despite Rivera's grousing that the shortstop's early return from injury cost the Yanks a postseason run in '13).
"I think he wants to be in the lineup so bad that it might be clouding his judgment," Rivera suggests of Jeter, a thought he never would have shared pre-retirement."...
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5/8/14, "Mariano Rivera bad mouths former Yankees teammate Robinson Cano," UK Guardian, David Lengel in NY
"Say it ain't Mo"
"Mariano Rivera is the best modern closer in baseball history, has made close to $170m with the Yankees, has five World Series rings, and is a darling to legions of fans, in and out of New York. It's hard to imagine why on earth he would write a book that includes negative statements about a former teammate, but it happened.
In The Closer: My Story, released on Tuesday, Mo said about Robinson Cano, the now ex-Yankee:
Does a player who has already established himself as elite, one good enough to sign a 10-year $240m deal with the Mariners, need to be motivated by a former teammate? I'm just trying to understand why he would feel the need to disclose such thoughts publicly, and what he gets out of it. We know he doesn't need the book money.
I'm not sure what the definition of "drive" is, but whatever you need to get to the hall of fame, Cano has put it on display for several seasons. The website baseball-reference.com compares his stats through the age of 30 with four players that have been enshrined in Cooperstown, including Ryne Sandberg and George Brett. Over the past seven seasons, the second baseman has never failed to play less than 159 of 162 regular season baseball games – itself an achievement in an injury plagued era. Sounds like drive to me.
Cano replied to Mo's criticism on Tuesday, saying:
Rivera certainly has a right to think and say anything he likes. Regardless, the completely unnecessary statements can only serve to tarnish his unblemished image and are nowhere near his own lofty standards."
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Comment: As to the book's cover, this isn't Rivera's normal expression, even in the toughest moments. He rarely frowned. On Cano, it's fine if Rivera had some issue with Cano. The literary device with which he chose to bash him was sleazy. It sounded like something the Yankee front office would plant in the media during contract negotiations to embarrass a popular player. It also reminded me of the way Joe Torre bashed favorite players in his tell-all book, mixing syrup with hate.
.
5/4/14, "The Closer by Mariano Rivera (Little, Brown, non-fiction, on sale May 6)
What it's about: Memoir by the retired New York Yankees pitcher often called "the greatest closer of all time."
The buzz: If Rivera's memoir gets anywhere near the love he received on his farewell tour last year, he'll be in the literary Hall of Fame."...
"Books: New and noteworthy," USA Today, J. McClurg
============================
5/8/14, "Review Mariano Rivera sticks mostly to softball in his memoir, 'The Closer'," LA Times, Colin Fleming
I hope this is Rivera's last book. On top of his ridiculous comments about Cano now it turns out he made a stupid remark about Jeter:
""The Closer" offers a fair amount of behind-the-scenes tidbits. We find out that Alex Rodriguez drove Rivera crazy, whereas Derek Jeter could well be a fairy tale prince (despite Rivera's grousing that the shortstop's early return from injury cost the Yanks a postseason run in '13).
"I think he wants to be in the lineup so bad that it might be clouding his judgment," Rivera suggests of Jeter, a thought he never would have shared pre-retirement."...
=============================
5/8/14, "Mariano Rivera bad mouths former Yankees teammate Robinson Cano," UK Guardian, David Lengel in NY
"Say it ain't Mo"
"Mariano Rivera is the best modern closer in baseball history, has made close to $170m with the Yankees, has five World Series rings, and is a darling to legions of fans, in and out of New York. It's hard to imagine why on earth he would write a book that includes negative statements about a former teammate, but it happened.
In The Closer: My Story, released on Tuesday, Mo said about Robinson Cano, the now ex-Yankee:
This guy has so much talent I don’t know where to start … There is no doubt that he is a hall-of-fame caliber (player). It’s just a question of whether he finds the drive you need to get there. I don’t think Robby burns to be the best … You don’t see that red-hot passion in him that you see in most elite players.Rivera was the epitome of class during his 19 years in the big leagues, proving to be anything but ordinary. This is ordinary. This is distinctly un-Rivera. Is Rivera trying to light a fire under Cano?
Does a player who has already established himself as elite, one good enough to sign a 10-year $240m deal with the Mariners, need to be motivated by a former teammate? I'm just trying to understand why he would feel the need to disclose such thoughts publicly, and what he gets out of it. We know he doesn't need the book money.
I'm not sure what the definition of "drive" is, but whatever you need to get to the hall of fame, Cano has put it on display for several seasons. The website baseball-reference.com compares his stats through the age of 30 with four players that have been enshrined in Cooperstown, including Ryne Sandberg and George Brett. Over the past seven seasons, the second baseman has never failed to play less than 159 of 162 regular season baseball games – itself an achievement in an injury plagued era. Sounds like drive to me.
Cano replied to Mo's criticism on Tuesday, saying:
Everybody has a different opinion. That's his opinion and I have to respect his opinion. I'm not going to go too far into this. That's the only thing that I can say. My focus right now is this team ... I respect that and I'm always going to have respect for him, a guy that I spent nine years with and for me is always going to be the best closer. That's how I feel.Credit Cano for taking the high road, which couldn't have been easy, especially after Rivera also indicated he would take Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia over his former teammate.
Rivera certainly has a right to think and say anything he likes. Regardless, the completely unnecessary statements can only serve to tarnish his unblemished image and are nowhere near his own lofty standards."
=====================
Comment: As to the book's cover, this isn't Rivera's normal expression, even in the toughest moments. He rarely frowned. On Cano, it's fine if Rivera had some issue with Cano. The literary device with which he chose to bash him was sleazy. It sounded like something the Yankee front office would plant in the media during contract negotiations to embarrass a popular player. It also reminded me of the way Joe Torre bashed favorite players in his tell-all book, mixing syrup with hate.
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