Mo Wins AL Comeback Player Of The Year

In one of the least surprising awards decisions in the history of professional sports, Mariano Rivera was announced as the American League Comeback Player of the Year yesterday.  In his final season, coming off a major knee injury at age 43, Mo pitched to a 2.11 ERA with 44 saves in 64.0 innings pitched.  The cutter was still cutting, the command was still insanely good (3.5% BB rate), and if you didn't already know that Mo had suffered the knee injury in 2012 you would have never guessed.  His comeback was so seamless and his performance was so stereotypically Mo-like that it was almost as if he never left.

With Mo now retired, this was a fitting award for his final season.  He came back from a major injury, played incredibly well, and got to go out on his terms.  Nobody else in the AL stood a chance.  Congratulations, Mo.  And if this award stirs up anything inside you that makes you want to play next seasons, well that'd be just dandy.

2013 Storylines Review: End Of An Era

(Courtesy of Howard Simmons/NY Daily News)

The Giants have won a few championships recently, and the Cardinals are trying to get another one of their own this postseason.  But the last true baseball dynasty was the 1996-2001 New York Yankees.  Those Yankee teams, driven by an up-the-middle core of homegrown players and a ton of smart acquisitions that fit the team's yearly needs and clubhouse environment, played in 5 of 6 World Series in that span and won 4 of them.  Were it not for that fateful Luis Gonzalez bloop single, it could have been a clean 5-for-5.  Those days are long gone, and while the 2009 championship was fantastic, it's a footnote to the extended era of success the Yankees have had up until 2013, an era defined by those '96-'01 years and the key players involved.

The Core Four lost its first member when Jorge Posada retired after the 2011 season, and it stood to lose at least 1 more after 2013 when Mariano Rivera announced that this season would be his last.  Another connection to that era of dominance was leaving, and the Yankees were drawing closer and closer to the official end of that era.  Between the year-long celebration of Mo, Andy Pettitte's retirement announcement, and the health-related struggles of Derek Jeter, 2013 did indeed end up being the final chapter of the last great Yankee dynasty.

No Mo This Weekend Was The Right Thing To Do

(Courtesy of the AP)

Along with Andy making his final career start in front of his second home fans, the only other source of buzz to this weekend's season-concluding series in Houston was what else Mariano Rivera had in store for a goodbye.  Would he pitch?  Would he play the outfield?  How much would Joe let him pitch if he was going to play the outfield?  Turns out the answer to all those questions was either "no" or "none".  After Joe said he was letting Mo call his own shots for the series, Mo ended up not pitching or playing at all in the final 3 games, citing arm soreness and general fatigue and a desire to respect the game and not play when he wasn't at his best.

What A Moment

Awesome.  Undeniably awesome and hands down the most memorable moment of the season.

No, thank you, Mo.  Thank you.

Mo's Final (Home)Stand

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Tonight marks the start of the final homestand of the 2013 season for the Yankees, and with it the all but certain final 6 home games of Mariano Rivera's career.  After 573 regular season games, 653.1 innings pitched, and over 2600 batters faced inside the hallowed walls of the old Yankee Stadium and fancy schmancy walls of the new Yankee Stadium, the finish line on Mo's long and illustrious career is in sight and the first big milestone is a mere 6 days away.

It was a surreal feeling watching him run out of the bullpen a few weekends ago, and I imagine that feeling will be 10 times greater this weekend.  Mo has pitched what comes out to over 72.5 full 9-inning games at Yankee Stadium, and now he's down to his final few innings.  All the cutters, all the strikeouts, all the broken bats.  Not many more of them left to see and it still doesn't feel quite real.

There is a ton of stuff planned to celebrate Mo's career and retirement this weekend and all of it should be spectacular.  But nothing will ever equal the awesomeness of just watching Mo work.  I know I'll be parked on my couch on Sunday afternoon, hoping to get one more chance to watch him jog out to "Enter Sandman" and close out a game.  There isn't much left for the Yankees to play for this season.  Making this weekend count with some wins and sending Mo out on the highest note possible should be the top priority.

Joe Speaks For Us All With His Comments About Mo's Retirement

“It’s just a man who has retired talking to another man who’s thinking about retiring, and just telling him my feelings on it. It’s not me lobbying him to come back, because as I've said along, I would never want a player to come back if he didn't want to come back.  I’ll just talk to him, because I want to make sure that his heart is right when he decides it’s time.”

Those were some of Joe's very candid words to the media after last night's game about his feelings on Mariano Rivera's retirement.  Joe, you sly devil.  I see what you're doing there.  Of course you aren't lobbying Mo to come back.  Why would you want to lobby the greatest relief pitcher of all time, greatest athlete at doing 1 thing in the history of organized sports, the most beloved Yankee since Mickey Mantle, and arguably the all-around best teammate and person in sports to come back for another year when he's clearly still got it?  Nobody would want that.

In all seriousness, I like that Joe was that open and honest about the situation with Mo last night.  He said what he felt and even though he didn't come out and admit it, Joe obviously doesn't want Mo to retire and wants Mo around next year.  It's a feeling that everybody else in that clubhouse surely shares and a feeling that we all as Yankee fans share, and good on Joe for expressing it.

Careful Not To Over-Rest Mo

(Courtesy of the AP)

Mariano Rivera made his return to the mound last night after a week off from action.  He hadn't pitched since blowing his third consecutive save last Sunday against the Tigers, and no, nothing was physically wrong with him.  After experiencing his first rough patch of the season, Joe elected to give Mo some extra time off after a somewhat heavy workload the week prior.  Overworking a 43-year-old baseball icon and risking injury to him would not be a fun way to finish Mo's final season, but to go a full week between appearances seemed like a bit of overkill.  After all, the only way a pitcher gets over command problems is by continuing to pitch and working through them.  Mo's recent struggles being command-based, it would have been helpful to get him some work prior to last night.

Mo's Recent Home Struggles

(Say it ain't Mo.  Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

In a scene that seemed unfathomable even as it was happening, Mariano Rivera blew a 9th inning lead again yesterday, giving up 2 solo home runs to Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez to tie the game the Yankees won soon after.  The blown save was Mo's third in a row, the first time he's ever done that in his career and the first time it's happened in Yankee history since Kyle Farnsworth did it in 2006.  A pitcher of Farnsworth's caliber blowing 3 saves in a row is hardly news, but to watch Mo do it, even in short highlight form, was unnerving and unfamiliar.  He's allowed his 1 or 2 bad weeks a year and it just so happens that this past week was one of those weeks.  For as long as he's been around, intelligent Yankee fans know that it's no cause for concern  Still, it's always weird watching Mo when he doesn't have it and yesterday was one of those days.  It continued a strange trend of Mo having his worst moments at home this season.

Mo Had 'Em Right Where He Wanted 'Em

You really have to just stand back and marvel at what Mariano Rivera did out there today.  After legitimately blowing the save on Friday night even though he reduced Miguel Cabrera to basically hitting on one leg, Mo had another chance to lock down a game win and a series win in the process this afternoon.  Instead of being the typical closer and just getting the job done, Mo graciously decided to pass the torch to his teammate Brett Gardner in the bottom of the 9th.

Gardner came through with the game-winning hit Friday night to bail Mo out and get him the W to replace the save.  In the selfless, giving fashion that has become so typical for him, Rivera decided that repaying the favor was more important than adding another save to his record-setting total.  He also gave Gardner the chance to prove that Friday night was no fluke instance of BABIP luck.  Mo grooved a couple pitches to Miggy and Victor Martinez that he knew they would hit for homers to tie the game, then shut down the rest of the inning to set things up for Gardner in the 9th.  Gardy made the most of the opportunity, yard jobbing one for another walk-off win.  Mo sets 'em up, Brett knocks 'em down.

Mo ended up with another win today, so I guess we'll have to see how he plans on repaying Gardner the next time he comes in to close a game, but once again you just tip your cap and shake your head at how painfully professional Mariano Rivera is.  Hard to find a teammate this great.

The King And His Court

That's respect right there.  And it was a perfect moment of universal respect for maybe the only professional athlete walking the planet who deserves it.  8th inning or 9th, Mo's entrance and the standing ovation he got from everybody in the park was a great ASG moment and one of what should be a few more very fitting cherries on top of his career sundae.

P.S.- It still should have been in the 9th.

(Photos courtesy of the AP)

Mo Going Out With A Bang

Mariano Rivera picked up his 30th save of the season last night, an accomplishment that has to be looked at as impressive no matter how you feel about the legitimacy of the statistic.  To do what he's done this season at his age, coming off major knee surgery, is astounding and a testament to both Mo's other-worldly greatness.  The sheer number of saves he's racked up is a testament to the continued overachievement of the team this season.  Lotta close games, not a lot of runs being scored, little margin for error.  In typical Mo fashion, he's done the job time and time again.

To put his final season in perspective, Mo is on pace for 52 saves this season.  That would be his highest total since 2004 when he had 53 and would be only the third time in his career he's notched 50+.  He's also on pace for 66 appearances this year, his most since 2009.  He's striking out as many guys as he always has and he's walking a couple fewer.  Very few get to do it, but Mo certainly looks like he's going to go out on top.

Just Mo Being Mo

Mariano Rivera will return to the scene of last year's shocking season-ending injury tonight when the Yankees play their series opener in Kansas City.  After some initial uncertainty about his future, Mo declared he would be back this season and six weeks into this season it's like he was never injured.  It's pretty much a broken record at this point talking about how great Mo is, but once again this season he has silenced the critics and gone right on doing his thing.

Rivera has appeared in 15 games this season and has pitched 14.1 innings in those games.  He's allowed 15 total baserunners and 3 earned runs, good for a 1.88/2.83 ERA/FIP split.  He's saved 13 of the team's 20 wins in the 13 chances he's had for a save, and the numbers indicate that he hasn't lost anything off his cutter.

Mo is 43 years old, coming off a surgery that would have probably forced most players his age to retire, and he hasn't missed a beat.  The guy is simply incredible and he's been just as big a contributing factor to the team's early success as anybody else, even if he hasn't gotten mentioned nearly as much as others.  It almost makes you want to bring up the question of whether he really should retire again...

2013 Storylines: End Of An Era

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

While the main focal point of this season will and rightfully should be Robinson Cano, and as the front office decides how much they want to pay to usher in the Robinson Cano Era of the Yankees, there is another era that will be ending after this season.  It started with the retirement of Jorge Posada, but the un-retirement of Andy Pettitte kept the Core Four flame burning.  Now with Mo set to retire after this year, Andy following him out the door, and Derek Jeter entering the twilight of his career, the final chapters of the Core Four Era will be written and the book will be closed.

Mariano Rivera To Retire After The 2013 Season

As expected, Mariano Rivera announced at this morning's press conference in Tampa that he will retire after this season.  And as we've come to expect, Mo handled it in the honest, thankful, and humble way that only he can.  In a testament just to what type of player, teammate, and person he's been in his 19 years as a Yankee, the entire Yankee team attended the press conference along with all the high-ups in the Yankee front office.  One thing that never gets old is how Mo comes across when talking to the media.  It's not a stretch to say he's the most professional professional athlete of all time.  Here are a few examples from things he said during the press conference:

"I would love to say that it has been a privilege and an honor to wear the pinstripes."

"I have to give everything and the tank is almost empty. The little gas that I have left is everything for this year. After this year I am empty."

"I'm a team player, if it wasn't for my teammates I wouldn't have had the opportunity. I want to be remembered for being a good teammates and helping others. That's the legacy I want to leave."

On playing with Pettitte and Jeter: "Again, I always mention the word 'blessed' because it's a blessing more to be able to play with men like Andy and Derek and many others."

So now we know, from the mouth of the man himself.  2013 will be Mo's final season and there will be many more times throughout the season that we'll get to revisit that fact and look back on all the great moments he's had in his career.

Mariano Rivera To Announce His Retirement After The 2013 Season

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

It hardly comes as a surprise.  I've been implying that this announcement was coming for a while now.  But it's still newsworthy when Mariano Rivera is planning to announce his retirement and it certainly appears as though that's what's happening again.

Joel Sherman first reported the story a few hours ago, tweeting that a press conference has been scheduled for 10AM on Saturday at Steinbrenner Field at which Mo is expected to announce that he will retire after this season.  Mo himself wouldn't confirm the report when asked at camp today, but it sounds like this is the real deal.

Of course, the original plan was for Mo to retire after last season, but that plan got derailed when he suffered  his season-ending ACL injury.  Now he's recovered and appears to be on track to start the season so it's as good a time as any to get the formalities of announcing this out of the way.  As I said last week, it's never fun to think about Mo retiring, but if it gives us another shot at having a true "Season of Mo" then I guess I can live with that.

Mo Ahead Of Schedule Again This Spring, Could Indicate Retirement Plans

When Mariano Rivera showed up early to camp (by his standards) last season and started throwing earlier than he usually did, it was a pretty strong indicator that 2012 was going to be his last season.  Those plans got derailed by his ACL injury, but it appears Mo is taking a similar approach this spring as he puts the finishing touches on his comeback from surgery.

Now it could just be a coincidence that he's on almost the same schedule he was last year- arrive the day after pitchers and catchers report, starting throwing bullpens and side sessions weeks earlier than he used to- and the timing of Mo's ST activities could be dictated more by his knee rehab schedule than personal preference, but it's still worth nothing that he's ahead of where he usually is at this point in ST.  He faced live hitters for the second time this morning and said the knee felt good.  The next step is still pitching in full game situation settings and seeing how he moves when he has to field a grounder or cover first base, but Mo himself talks like he's not worried about that.

Mo said a few weeks ago he had made a decision on his future after this season but that he wasn't going to announce that decision yet.  I saw his accelerated schedule last ST as a sign that he was going to hang 'em up after the season, and even if that similar schedule this spring is being driven by the knee rehab and not Mo's own plans I still feel it's that same  sign.  On the one hand, it's great to see that Mo is progressing nicely and not suffering any setbacks on his road to recovery.  On the other, it's never good to have to think about Mo retiring again.

Nothing To See Here, Folks...

Nope, nothing at all.  No big deal.  Just the 2 best pitchers in the last 30+ years of Yankee history doing their thing in the bullpen.  That's a pretty everyday occurrence right there.  Probably discussing the finer points of the cutter and counting their World Series rings.  Moving on...

(Photo courtesy of Erik Boland)

Mo Reportedly At 95% Physically, To Start Throwing In A Week

Bryan Hoch has all the details, but the big news is that Mariano Rivera is continuing to progress positively in his comeback from ACL surgery.  According to Mo he is at about 95% right now and should be ready to  start his preseason throwing program in "about a week."  Speaking from a pitching clinic in my hometown of Danbury, CT, Mo sounded very confident he'd be ready for the 2013 season:

“By the time Spring Training starts, it’ll feel 100 percent … It needs more strengthening. The five percent will come quick.”

Mo also said he expected to have a "normal" Spring Training, which for him means showing up a little later, working at his own pace, and pitching just a few in-game innings over the course of the ST game schedule.  For a normal 43-year-old pitcher coming off ACL surgery, this might not sound like the best plan of action.  But Mo didn't get to where he is in his career by not being in great shape and not knowing his own body, and said, "“I’ll make sure when I get there, I’ll be ready,” so that's enough for me to trust he knows his own body in this case.

The bottom line is that the G.O.A.T. is stepping back into his office soon, and getting back to work.  Now somebody cue the cologne ad!

Mo Says He'll Be Ready For Opening Day

It's pretty much a top 5 sports cliche for an injured athlete to say he's going to make it back in time for insert important sport milestone here.  And most of the time I'm inclined to call bullshit.  Derek Jeter has been saying it since his surgery, and I can't get on board with it because the expected recovery time and the calendar don't 100% support his claims.  I had aboslutely ZERO faith in Adrian Peterson's ability to come back in time for the start of the NFL season, which is why I passed on the chance to take him with the 10th pick in my fantasy draft and now my team full of crummy running backs is 5-8 and all but finished for the year.

But when Mariano Rivera says he's coming back, wait, scratch that.  When Mariano Rivera says anything, I take it as the word of God and accept it as fact.  That's why it was awesome to see this quote from him in the Daily News yesterday when asked about his chances of being ready for Opening Day 2013:

“Oh, yeah, I don’t see why not.  We have at least three months, four months until that point. I’ll be ready.”

He still hasn't started throwing a ball this offseason, so it will be worth watching how his velocity and cutter command look when he does start pitching in game situations again, but based on that comment I'm taking it to the bank that Mo will be jogging out to "Enter Sandman" if there's a save situation on Opening Day.  Now somebody hit the music!

BREAKING NEWS: Yankees Re-Sign Mariano Rivera

(The G.O.A.T.)

And Operation Old Guys is complete.  A day after the Yankees re-signed Andy Pettitte to a 1-year deal, they followed that up by officially re-signing Mariano Rivera.

Jon Heyman first reported the deal, which will be for a base salary of $10 million, $2 million less than Pettitte got.  Dan Barbarisi reported that the deal does include award bonuses, with rumors of them being near $5 million.  Mo will get another chance to retire on his terms.

For the Yankees, this all but completes their 2012 bullpen.  They'll need a long man, but will have plenty of options for that spot.  There's no guarantee that he'll be as dominant as he's always been, but based just on the numbers, you have to somewhat expect Mo will at least be good.

For the fans, this is another opportunity to watch the greatest closer in the history of baseball one more time. I promised myself if he came back I was going to make sure to go to a game next season to watch him one more time and now I have my chance.  Time to start scouting the schedule...