Archive for Mariano Rivera
Mariano hits annual snag
Posted by: | CommentsIt seems like every year in August Mariano Rivera is unavailable for a few games due to some ailment or another. In the past it’s been little things, like a tight forearm or back spasms — one year, I remember, Mo hurt his back while sneezing. It sounds strange for a guy who keeps himself in such impeccable physical shape, but those seem to be the only bumps Mo hits for the season. Considering the injury rates of other closers, the Yanks should consider it a blessing.
We learned yesterday that Mo was unavailable due to a sore shoulder. “He was feeling a little cranky today,” said Girardi, though there was no indication of whether this related to Mo’s shoulder or his mood. We did see Mo snap at someone while warming up in the bullpen on Saturday, after Jeter’s home run, so who knows. Maybe Mo is actually cranky. Still, the more important part is the shoulder soreness.
This year’s malady is understandable. Not only did Mo not really have one last year, but he underwent off-season shoulder surgery. While he’s bounced back nicely this season, it’s natural for the shoulder to weaken a bit. It’s like pitchers who undergo Tommy John surgery having a dead arm period the year they come back. Combine the effects of off-season surgery with Mo’s propensity for minor spats later in the season, and it’s inevitable that he misses some time.
Even so, Girardi thinks Mo will be set to go if the Yanks have a lead to protect in Seattle tomorrow. All considered, perhaps the Yanks offense should rally behind their closer and give Mo a few more games off via a couple of blowouts. He saves them, so maybe it’s time for them to save him.
Sunday morning Mariano musings
Posted by: | CommentsOn Saturday night, Jesus was the story. On Sunday morning, let’s look at Mariano.
The August 13 game in 2007 against the Orioles was, on its surface, nothing remarkable. The Yankees beat the Orioles 7-6 on a walk-off fielder’s choice in the bottom of the 9th. Earlier in the game, neither Jeremy Guthrie nor Chien-Ming Wang had their best stuff, and the game was left to the bullpens.
What is remarkable about the game, though, was the top of the 9th. In that inning, Mariano Rivera allowed three hits and a run as the Orioles overcame a one-run deficit to tie the game. It would be Mariano Rivera’s only blown save at Yankee Stadium that season, and in fact, it was his last blown save at Yankee Stadium. It is also his only blown save at home since August 13, 2005 when he let one go against the Rangers in a game the Yanks would win in 11 innings.
Think about that for a second. Mariano Rivera has blown just one save at home since August 13, 2005. That’s a remarkable achievement. Nearly four years at home, one blown save.
Since his disastrous appearance while sick against Tampa in a non-save situation in June, Mariano has been as good as any pitcher could be. He has saved 13 games since then, throwing 15.2 innings and allowing five hits, one run and one walk while striking out 16. That’s a 0.57 ERA.
One day, Mo will blow a save. One day, Mo will lose a game. One day, Mo may even decide to call it a career. Right now, though, he’s showing no signs of slowing down, and he’s still the guy anyone wants out there in the ninth inning of a close game. That, my friends, is Mariano Rivera.
First Half Review: Relief Pitchers
Posted by: | CommentsAt 51-37, with the third best record in baseball, leading the Wild Card and just three games back in the AL East, the Yankees had a fine first half. Yet it was a tumultuous three months, wrought with streaks and injuries and strange trends, causing mass panic at times among Yankees fans. Over the extended All-Star Break, we’ll go over each position to see what went right, what went wrong, and how things look for the second half. First up we looked at the starting pitching, now it’s time to take a look at the relievers.
The expectations
The 2008 bullpen was one of the best in the business – ranking second in baseball in both FIP (3.82) and K/9 (8.66) – and the relief corps was expected to approximate that performance in 2009. The cast of characters was essentially unchanged, save a contract extension to southpaw Damaso Marte. Brian Bruney was set to join him as the primary bridge to Mariano Rivera, while rookie Phil Coke was primed to assume a key role. The rest of the pen was going to be filled out by a series of interchangeable parts, including Edwar Ramirez, Jose Veras, Jon Albaladejo, and David Robertson.
The results
The results so far have been a mixed bag. The bullpen was dreadful in April, better in May, and flat out dominant in June. They currently rank second in the majors with a 1.26 WHIP (just one baserunner every 100 IP out of the league lead), yet their ERA (4.19) is just 22nd best in the game. The relievers have thrown the fourth-most innings in the American League, a number that has to come down to avoid a second half burnout. That burden falls on the starting rotation, however.
The bullpen’s revival is the result of the the massive turnover in personnel from April to June. Let’s touch on the major pieces.
Mariano Rivera
Coming off a fairly major shoulder surgery, Mariano has been as fantastic as ever in 2009. Of course he did experience a rough go of it early after giving up some homers, but since May 21st he’s posted a 1.86 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. Mo’s 14.33 K/BB is far and away the best in the game (next best is Scott Downs’ 8.06 mark) and the best of his Hall of Fame career. It took a little longer than usual, but Mo’s in midseason form and is as good as ever. He’s the least of the team’s concerns right now.
Brian Bruney & Damaso Marte
Bruney came out of the gate pitching like a man on a mission, out to prove all the B-Jobbers wrong about the lack of a solid 8th inning option. He struck out 12 and allowed just three hits over his first nine appearances, but went down with an elbow injury in late April. After being out for four weeks, Bruney lied about being healthy and came back too soon, ultimately landing himself back on the disabled list for another four weeks. He’s been nothing short of terrible since returning, allowing opponents to tattoo him for a .930 OPS. Right now, he’s a part of the problem and not the solution.
Marte’s season is just 5.1 ugly innings long, as a shoulder injury has shelved him since late April. When he was on the mound he was terrible, but how much of that is because of the injury we’ll never know. Currently rehabbing in Tampa, there’s still no timetable for his return.
Phil Coke & Phil Hughes
After a dynamite showing last September, Coke looked like he was poised to become the shutdown lefty reliever the Yanks have lacked for years. Coke’s overall numbers are rock solid, as are his splits against lefties, but his season has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. He was very good in April, pretty terrible in May, but fantastic since June rolled around. The only member of the bullpen to stick on the 25-man active roster all season besides Mariano Rivera, it’s no stretch to call Coke the Yanks’ second most reliable reliever of 2009.
The other half of Michael Kay’s stupid little Philthys Club, Hughes moved into the bullpen after Chien-Ming Wang appeared ready to become an effective starter once again, and has done nothing but dominate. His numbers out of the bullpen (18.1 IP, 0.65 WHIP, .379 OPS against) are better than Joba Chamberlain’s first 18.1 innings of relief in 2007 (0.82 WHIP, .467 OPS against), more evidence that if you put a good starter in the bullpen he’d be a damn good reliever. There’s not much to say here, Phil Hughes the Reliever has been tremendous.
Al Aceves & David Robertson
The dramatic turnaround of the bullpen coincides with Aceves’ recall from the minor leagues. His 40 innings of stellar relief work have been just what the doctor ordered, as he’s pitched in every role and succeeded in every situation. Robertson has had his moments, mostly in low leverage spots, but he’s been an effective super-high strikeout arm that can go multiple innings if need be. He’s been pretty much everything you could want your fifth best reliever to be.
Jon Albaladejo, Edwar Ramirez, Brett Tomko & Jose Veras
Edwar and Veras were two stalwarts in last year’s pen, providing rock-solid middle relief all summer. This year was a different story, as the two combined to allow 28 runs and 70 baserunners in 43 IP. Edwar soon found himself back in Triple-A while Veras found himself with the Indians after being designated for assignment. Albaladejo has been up and down while Tomko was mostly down, but both guys have mostly acted as the last man out of the pen. Neither has been great nor horrible, they’re just kind of there.
The Up and Down Crew
Anthony Claggett was terrible in his one outing and doesn’t figure to be back up anytime soon. Stephen Jackson didn’t even manage to get into the game in his eight days on the big league roster before ending up in Pittsburgh. Mark Melancon has been meh in his limited showings. Zach Kroenke, Romulo Sanchez, Amaury Sanit and others are stashed away in the minors awaiting their turn.
Expectations for the second half
With the success the bullpen has experienced over the last month or so, it’s tough not to be optimistic about the second half. However, a key piece in Hughes or Aceves (or both if it comes to it) could be lost if their services are needed in the rotation. Don’t be surprised if the team seeks out another relief arm at this year’s trade deadline. Regardless, the Yankees will need the bullpen to do the job consistently in the second half if they plan on making the postseason.
News roundup: Jim Leyritz, Mark Teixeira, Mo, sports media
Posted by: | CommentsA few news items of note on an afternoon before a long weekend:
- Another sad story comes our way concerning Jim Leyritz. The former Yankee and former MLB.com personality has been arrested on charges of domestic abuse. Leyritz’s ex-wife Karrie called the police after Jim, according to the Sun-Sentinel report, “dragged her out of bed, struck her twice and pushed her on the floor.” The Miami Herald has a different take on the situation. Leyritz’s lawyer denies the assault, and police say the former Mrs. Leyritz changed her story a few hours after initially reporting it to the police. Leyritz goes on trial Sept. 14 for his 2007 DUI arrest following an accident that left another driver dead.
- At 11:59 p.m. this evening All Star Game balloting ends, and as of earlier this week, Mark Teixeira found himself just 40,000 votes behind Kevin Youkilis for the AL’s first base slot. Head on over to MLB.com to vote. Yankee fans can vote for Teixeira 25 times per e-mail address, and while you’re at it, vote for Ian Kinsler too. He’s holding onto a very slim lead over Dustin Pedroia.
- Joe Posnanski has profiled Mariano Rivera. Do you need to know anything more about it? Just read the article.
- From around the Yankee Blogosphere: Rebecca looks at some top MLBers who had success at AA. The Jesus Montero buzz is building. Fack Youk revisits Dave Righetti’s Independence Day no hitter and wonders what could have been if the Yanks hadn’t moved Righetti to the pen. Sound familiar?
- Finally, for the sports journalism junkies among us, Harvard’ Nieman Journalism Lab just wrapped up a four-part series on the shifting media power in sports. With more teams forming regional sports networks, more leagues creating their own TV networks complete with allegedly unbiased news coverage and more blogs gaining readers every day as newspapers see their circulation numbers decline, the world of sports journalism is undergoing something of a paradigm shift. In the series at NJL, Justin Rice focuses mostly on baseball to explore how sports coverage has responded to and embraced the Internet and where sports media is going.
Revisiting an almost-trade of Mariano Rivera
Posted by: | CommentsI can’t imagine the New York Yankees without Mariano Rivera for the last 15 seasons. Since he came up as a 25-year-old and wowed the crowd during the 1995 ALCS, he has always been there. In 1996, he helped shorten the games, and in 1997, he closed them. Five hundred saves later, he’s still going strong.
But what if? What if the Yankees had traded Mariano in 1995? Don’t laugh; it almost happened.
Today, as part of the Week of Rivera coverage in the New York papers, John Harper of the Daily News checked in with current Yankee adviser and one-time GM Gene Michael. The Stick was heading up the Yankee Front Office when Rivera first made his Bronx debut, and Michael reminisced about the time he almost traded Mo. Harper writes:
Michael had his own ‘What if?’ moment a few years later, in 1995, when he considered trading Rivera to the Tigers for David Wells. At the time Rivera was still trying to make it as a starter, still throwing in the low 90s, and when Michael asked the Tigers what they would want in a deal for Wells, Rivera was one of the names they put on a list.
“I never said yes,” Michael said with a chuckle Monday. “And right about that time, Mariano’s velocity in the minors jumped to 95-96. I didn’t believe it when I saw our report, but I checked it out with scouts from other teams who were there, and it was true. At that point there was no way I was trading him.”
As Gene says, after Rivera’s velocity jumped, there was no way he would trade him, but that would not be the end of the Mariano Rivera trade rumors. In the hunt for some confirmation from 1995, I stumbled across a Hot Stove article from December of that season. The Yanks had wanted to acquire Wells for the 1996 season, and while he landed in Baltimore following a stint in Cincinnati, the Bombers came close. Murray Chass reported then:
The Yankees, who last Thursday beat Baltimore to David Cone, wanted Wells for their rotation, but a weekend bid by George Steinbrenner fell short. Given this latest turn of events, the Yankees may feel compelled to become serious about signing one of two free-agent left-handers, Kenny Rogers or Chuck Finley.
[GM Bob] Watson acknowledged that he and Gene Michael, his predecessor, who remains active in personnel matters, had spoken with the Reds, most recently the middle of last week. “The asking price was too high,” he said. “They wanted two of our top minor leaguers. That’s why we backed off. We couldn’t do that.”
Jim Bowden, the Reds’ general manager, declined to discuss the Yankees’ involvement, but an official familiar with the Wells talks said Steinbrenner called Bowden Saturday night and offered pitcher Mariano Rivera and catcher Jorge Posada.
Bowden, looking to cut his payroll, obviously decided he preferred [Curtis] Goodwin, a 23-year-old left-handed hitter, who in 87 games with the Orioles last season batted .263 and had 22 stolen bases in 26 attempts.
Curtis Goodwin would go on to become a very forgettable baseball player with a career OPS of .609. The story, meanwhile, begs a question: Do we believe Watson on the record or Chass’ anonymous sources? The Yankees’ baseball people didn’t want to trade Jorge and Mo while George was reportedly willing to offer them up for David Wells, a player he had long coveted. Considering the year, I wouldn’t be surprised if Steinbrenner was a hair’s breadth away from sending Posada and Rivera to Cincinnati.
As we reflect on the Hall of Fame career of Rivera, we should appreciate it for happening in the Bronx. Imagine how different life would have been with Rivera in a Reds or Tigers uniform for the last 14 seasons.
Mo earns Player of the Week honors for RBI walk
Posted by: | CommentsFresh off of his first-ever career RBI, Mariano Rivera took home Player of the Week honors this week. He will share the award with Jermaine Dye who went 12 for 24 on the week but had just five more RBI than Mo. Rivera is being recognized by MLB for his courageous at-bat against Francisco Rodriguez last night. Just the third regular season plate appearance of Mo’s long and illustrious career, it ended on the seventh pitch as Rivera drew a walk with the bases loaded. A few minutes later, Rivera became just the second pitcher to record 500 career saves.
In other Rivera-related news, Rebecca Glass reports that current Sirius XM host and one-time Red Sox manager knew Mo was special as early as 1996. The Statistician Magician, also a Red Sox fan, salutes Rivera as well. When Mo is eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame, I plan on going to the ceremony. I’ve seen two other induction ceremonies, but his will be truly special.
ESPN’s Sunday Conversation with Mariano Rivera
Posted by: | CommentsMo talks about the all-time saves record, which closers he thinks are better than he is, when he’ll retire, and lots more. Check it out in case you missed it last night.
Quick Hits: Bruney, Chipper, Mo
Posted by: | CommentsGot a few tabs open that don’t really warrant a post of their own, so let’s stick them all here:
- Marc Carig reports that Brian Bruney is using a portable hyperbaric chamber for his elbow. Apparently it’s worked for him in the past. They make portable versions of those things now?
- PeteAbe says that Joba Chamberlain asked Chipper Jones for an autographed jersey. The Braves were really the first team with national exposure because of TBS, so there are tons and tons of people out there who grew up Braves fans.
- Tyler Kepner has a slew of odds and ends from Atlanta. Although he didn’t reveal the exact amount, Brian Cashman did say that the team received more than the $20,000 waiver fee from the Indians for Jose Veras. Sounds like no one was interested in a player-for-player deal, so Cash took the best offer he could get.
- T-Kep also notes that the Yanks paid just $1 when they acquired Chris Stewart from the White Sox before the season, and that Phil Hughes‘ birthday present to himself was a tattoo from Nick Swisher’s tattoo guy.
- Joel Sherman writes about the amazing Mariano Rivera and the pursuit of his 500th career save. Mo is sitting at 498 after last night. We all know that wins and saves are highly overrated and essentially meaningless stats, but the 500 save & 300 win plateaus are amazing accomplishments just because of the longevity they represent. This was probably worth a mention in Ben’s Mariano Rivera Appreciate Thread, but whatever.
- In case you missed the late update to DotF last night, Casey Fossum used an out in his contract and elected to become a free agent. It hasn’t been confirmed, but it looks like Ivan Nova might get bumped up from Double-A Trenton to take his rotation spot.
- Finally, for posterity’s sake, the Yanks DFA’d Angel Berroa yesterday when they activated Cody Ransom. While everyone and their mothers already knows this news, we neglected to mention it yesterday. Berroa will be fondly remembered for making outs in 21 of his 24 Yankee plate appearances and for somehow lasting nearly two months on the team.
A wild and not-so-wild night for Mariano
Posted by: | CommentsI think it’s time for a Mariano Rivera Appreciation Thread.
In a way, it’s been a rough month for Mo. In Boston, he didn’t pitch because Joe Girardi opted for lesser relievers late in a close game. In New York a few days earlier, he gave up the game while battling what sounded like a very bad stomach flu. Then against the Mets, he almost drew a loss but walked away with a win when Luis Castillo forgot how to use two hands. After that, he threw an inning against the Nationals on the 16th and well, sat for eight days.
So last night, the Yankees called upon Mariano in the 8th. Tony Peña, taking a page from my playback but no the accepted MLB Managerial Handbook of Relief Pitching, called upon Rivera with the Yanks up by just two runs in the 8th. Rivera recorded the third out of the inning via the K, and then a funny thing happened on the way to the 9th: Rivera actually had to come to the plate.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Mariano Rivera was due for just his second plate appearance of his career. His last time up was June 20, 2006 against the Phillies. It had been a while, to say the least.
Rivera was, of course, unprepared. According to Bryan Hoch, he had to use Cody Ransom’s bat and Alfredo Aceves’ helmet. Melky offered Mo the use of his batting gloves, and his coaches told him not to swing.
Rivera ignored those instructions. He swung at a fastball and lined it to Nate McClouth in center. It could have been a two-run single. After the game, Rivera was apologetic. “I’ve got to take a swing,” Rivera said. “I apologized to my pitching coach and manager, but I had to do it.”
The players were laughing about it, and Joe Girardi was fairly amused. “It’s not what you really want to see, but he had quite a swing,” Girardi said. “When he hit it, I thought we were going to get a few more runs on the board.” If only.
Meanwhile, Rivera went back out for the 9th and promptly ended the game. He threw 15 pitches in the 9th, and just four of them were out of the strike zone. No one managed to put the ball in play against the Braves, and Matt Diaz, Nate McLouth and Yunel Escobar all struck out. For Rivera, it was just another night in the park: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 4 K, 15 of 19 pitches for strikes. Game over. Order restored. Yanks win. And that is Mariano for you. What we will do without him in a few years, I do not know.
