Mariano Rivera torn ACL

That was pretty low.

 

No need to go there. Try and keep it classy.

 

I don't know about this.

Yeah, players come back from blown ACLs all the time but this is a little different situation.

One, the older you are the harder it is to rebound from a serious injury as a professional athlete. Rivera will be 43 in November.

Two, every indication was that this was going to be his last season. If you're already of the mindset that this is your last season, it's tough to change that thinking.

Three, I believe his contract is up after this season. Are the Yankees really going to shell out the money he would want for a 43-year-old closer coming off of knee surgery? I know he's Mariano Rivera, but this is still a business.

I really don't think he'll pitch again.

 

Dan Patrick had a decent line this morning, figuring that you would always figure Mariano would leave the field the last time getting carried off by teammates, just not like this. He'll be back. Don't get the critics complaining about him shagging BP - it's not like he was practicing sliding into second base or something.
Nice to see the shootouts from other players offering support. Like the response to the Suggs injury, it's kind of nice to see opposing players respect each other enough to recognize everyone's loss when a top player is lost for an extended period.

 

Interesting bit of history on Big Ed.

Ed's body was found down river at Niagara Falls but the point where he fell, jumped or was pushed ( not intentional) by a train conductor was 20 miles from Niagara Falls.

This took place on the International Bridge from Buffalo NY to Fort Erie Canada. Not a very long railroad bridge 500-800 feet.

Ed was acting up on the train and was removed near the Fort Erie side. To this day it is not known if he was in a confrontation with some on the train, or he jumped or he accidently fell.

Some real history on that bridge, as we know Ed was a superstar in those days. I actually got a sense of history, standing right on the spot in Fort Erie where he was removed from the train. His body made it down the Niagara River to Niagara Falls.

 

If you're going to look at it in practical terms like that, it may have a lot to do with how Robertson or Soriano does in his place. If one of them does a good job closing, maybe they decide it's time to look for some middle relief help, which would be much cheaper.

 

OOP, if there's one thing the Yanks will do, it's spend a few bucks to accomodate Rivera. Hell, what's a $10 million one year deal if you know the player will probably retire in May if he's not able to perform as he wants?

 

That's a good point. The Yankees make a lot of noise about being fiscally responsible, but in cases like that, I can see them doing the opposite.

 

I'm a lifelong Yankees fan and it's sad to see Mo's season and possibly career end this way. It will be interesting to see who they make the closer and how they do the rest of the season.

Last time I can remember the Yankees losing a closer early in the season was '79 when Gossage injured his hand in a lockerroom fight with Cliff Johnson. If I recall correctly Guidry went to the pen as a spot reliever to take Gossage's place.


A Red Sox fan I know cracked a one-liner to me this morning about this I have to share -- "Austin Powers never injured himself while shagging"

 

If George was alive and still owned the club, I could see them doing that easily. Not so sure if Hank is that willing to be loose with the purse strings in the name of loyalty as his dad was.

 

There's an excellent book by Mike Sowell on Delahanty and the incident called July 2, 1903.

A couple of the interesting things surrouding that incident was that Delahanty had money problems (from gambling and too much spending), and was also a pretty heavy drinker. The AL and NL had just agreed to stop raiding other players, but Ed wasn't too happy with his contract. If I remember the book right, the train he had jumped the Senators, and was heading to New York, where John McGraw still was interested in him despite the peace agreement.

Not to mention, imagine if A-Rod or Pujols got drunk a bunch of times, was told to sit out until they sobered up, left the team, got kicked off the train (or plane), and ended up missing for two weeks before their body was found. The media would be all over it 24-7.

 

As for Mo, I think he comes back. One of the reasons why he was considering retiring was because he wanted to spend more time with his family. With his rehab, he'll be able to do so now, and then he'll have his batteries recharged in time for next season.