Rivera retiring?

Yogi Berra laughs and laughs and laughs.

 

Oh come on now, we can't compare different eras. Mathewson didn't have to face all these tough players like Rivera did. /manky

 

Because back in the old days, men would gather around a hot stove at the local general store, play some checkers and discuss offseason baseball moves.

 

Stove is a 1930's euphemism for marijuana. In the off season, when 20% of the country was unemployed because of The Great Depression, those jobless men would sit around Hooverville's, smoke a big joint or Hot Stove and talk about baseball.

 

Bernie Williams joins in the chuckling

 

Mo's a free agent. It's called negotiation leverage.

 

Soriano can also use leverage, such as "I'm not coming back unless I'm the closer." I hope Cashman knows what he's doing here.

 

Rivera to the Red Sox in 2013

 

Let's say, for shits and giggles, that Rivera is 100 percent completely healthy for these playoffs.

How many innings does he get against Detroit?

The greatest players of all time PUT you in position to win by GIVING your team the lead or by keeping the other team off the scoreboard for 7-8 innings.

If your worth to a team and your October "dominance" is solely dependent on everyone else getting you a lead in the 9th inning, you cannot be an "all timer."

Just an "all-time" relief pitcher. And nothing more.

 

Yup. Certainly Mo and his advisers are aware of that and also the fact of Yankee declining season ticket renewals that could decline further if Rivera does not return.

It's a business. No reason why Mo should give the Yankess a hometown discount.

 

That's debatable. Arizona got incredibly lucky in 2001. He might have a point about 2004.

 

When he was at his peak, Rivera was more than just a great relief pitcher. He was a psychological weapon. Playing against him, you knew if you didn't have the lead by the end of the seventh inning you were probably going to lose. Yes, you occasionally got to him, but it was far and away the exception to the rule.
Turning a nine-inning game into a seven- or eight-inning game is something very few relievers in baseball history have been able to do. In fact, you can probably count that number on one hand. It's what makes Rivera a first-ballot hall of famer, rather than simply an all-time great reliever.