Mariano Rivera and the Tale of the Wandering Remote Control

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has been deservedly credited with being the greatest relief pitcher of his generation.

On Tuesday night, I believe he also became the first pitcher to ever throw out the ceremonial first pitch and throw the final pitch of a game. The honor of course stemmed from the achievement of Rivera’s 500th career save.

During last night’s contest against the Seattle Mariners, however, I was reminded of yet another luxury of employing Rivera for ninth inning duties.

It is a phenomenon that cannot be utilized when following the New York Giants, New York Knicks, Michigan Wolverines, or any other of my beloved sports franchises.

Normally a man whose day is constructed around the three-to-four hours of baseball sanctuary that the Yankees provide, it is not uncommon that I will watch every single pitch or batted ball.

As Alex Rodriguez’s “Ruthian” blast held up until the end of the eighth inning, I found myself flipping channels with a normally quarantined remote control. It seemed like a good time to catch up on other entertainment I might have been neglecting on weeknights from 7-10 PM.

My mind was calm, secure, and untroubled, as “Enter Sandman” was inevitably blasting through the stadium’s many speakers.

Rivera had arrived to perform the task he’d completed 535 times before (including postseason) to that point, and the night’s victory had become as certain as the sun rising the next morning.

Distracted by the nonsensical conflicts of The Real World and a few cheap laughs courtesy of Family Guy, I had actually forgotten about my YES Network obsession.

By the time I had retrieved the remote to return from my digital excursion, the inning and game had already ended. Fifteen pitches of effortlessness, and the Yankee win streak had stretched to seven.

Dissenters annually claim that Rivera has “lost it” after a few poor performances—crying out for an immediate replacement. One such “solution” included Rivera sliding into the seventh inning role while Brian Bruney and Joba Chamberlain manned the eighth and ninth respectively.

Rivera has not “lost” much of anything, and in fact continues to gain more as years go on. He adds milestones, accolades, saves, victories, and birthday candles—all while continuing to dominate the rest of the league at age 39.

In the last season and a half, Rivera has 103.1 IP while giving up just 69 hits. His ERA over this period stands at 1.83, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is a laughable 117:9—video games cannot produce numbers like this.

When taking into account a 97 percent save conversion percentage over this span (59-for-61), it is difficult to argue that Rivera has suddenly disappeared into the shadows of closer royalty.

Armed with just one major league pitch, and one that has decreased in velocity over the years, Rivera continues to allow channel surfing during most ninth innings.

It has been proven rather simple to embarrass professional hitters so long as your control is as pristine as Whitney Houston’s vocal tones—before being introduced to the lovely world of cocaine addiction.

Rivera admittedly does not have many years of automatic success left in his career, but all discussions of a deterioration need to be rapidly dissolved.

The Yankees already have their “closer of the future,” because as we all know, the future is now in the Bronx.

He may be nearing the end of the road, but I am not looking forward to a time when I will be consuming as many nitrates for chest pain as chips and salsa during ninth innings of Yankee games.

Joba Chamberlain Needs to Drop Anchor on Mariners’ Weak Offensive Fleet

Joba Chamberlain has sparked a debate more perplexing than determining “who framed Roger Rabbit,” “what happened to Amelia Earhart,” or “how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop.”

Fans, scouts, and analysts will continue to argue whether Chamberlain is best suited as a reliever or starter, with nothing short of unequaled dominance and stardom likely to quiet it.

Chamberlain has become the personification of a Rubik’s Cube—evolving into an even more confusing puzzle as you seemingly get closer to finding a solution.

In 14 starts thus far in 2009, the former phenom has struck out more than six batters just one time. He surrendered four first inning runs in that start, and the Yankees were never able to recover.

Though pitching better in the month of June, Chamberlain has been far from dominating his opponents.

He was rescued in a putrid performance against the Mets in which he walked five and threw 100 pitches in just four innings. He then followed that start by allowing 11 baserunners against the Washington Nationals—the worst team in all of MLB.

Luckily for Chamberlain, his next opponents are the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners are performing admirably in an improved American League West, but are doing much of it with smoke and mirrors—especially on the offensive end.

Seattle currently sits at 29th in MLB in runs scored, 26th in OBP at just .315, and 25th in OPS. They also rank just 19th in home runs with 72, which would be much worse if one player (Russell Branyan) did not have virtually 30-percent of them.

Ichiro Suzuki leads all of MLB in batting average at .372—managing to lift an otherwise poor team batting average up to 13th in the league at .261.

It is time for Chamberlain to show the kind of put-away fastball and slider he utilized in 2008, as well as show better location early in the count.

He needs to deliver a steady diet of 93-95 MPH fastballs and unhittable sliders—ensuring that the Mariners are left “sleeping with the fishes.”

The Mariners are a very difficult team to strike out, and a high total in tonight’s game would go a long way in showing Chamberlain’s overpowering nature has not gone the way of the dinosaur.

Similar to the Atlanta Braves lineup that Chamberlain defeated in his last start, the Mariners have just three truly dangerous hitters.

Nate McLouth, Brian McCann, and Chipper Jones have been replaced by Jose Lopez, Branyan, and Ichiro—with the rest of the batting order leaving much to be desired.

Chamberlain cannot knock the opposing pitcher out of the game with another line drive tonight, so he might actually have to out-pitch Mariners starter Brandon Morrow.

Ironically, Morrow is another stud reliever-turned-starter prospect with an electric arm, and it will be exciting to see the two face off in Yankee Stadium.

All eyes will be on Chamberlain (what a surprise) as he toes the rubber at home—a place where he is pitching to a 0-2 record, 1.55 WHIP, and 5.18 ERA in 2009. He has also walked 21 batters in just 33 IP at Yankee Stadium.

Chamberlain—as well as Wang—will need strong showings over the next few weeks in order to continue to hold off the suddenly electrifying Phil Hughes.

The quest for reacquiring respect and fear begins tonight for Chamberlain—against a team and a lineup he should do nothing but toy with.

Tino Martinez Reincarnate: Mark Teixeira Has Bright Future in Pinstripes

Mainstream media and Yankees dissenters have made much ado about nothing with regards to Mark Teixeira’s slow start in Baltimore.

Some question his ability to embrace the spotlight of New York City after he seemed to be shaken by a boisterous Orioles fan base.

Others worry that his idolization of Yankees immortal Don Mattingly will create unfair comparisons between the two players; ones he will not live up to.

Does this story sound at all familiar to fans in New York and across baseball?

It should cause fans to recall a story about a special season in 1996 involving this same Yankees franchise and their newly acquired first baseman.

During a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Seattle Mariners in the league’s first ever ALDS, New York noticed a slick-fielding 1B in the opposing dugout.

The Yankees knew that Mattingly’s days in the Bronx were numbered, even after a heroic playoff performance.

How could they replace their captain and undeniable face of the franchise?

In December of 1995, the Yankees traded highly touted prospects Sterling Hitchcock and Russ Davis for Martinez, Jim Mecir, and quirky reliever Jeff Nelson.

Martinez experienced a wave of negative publicity in the midst of a horrendous start to the season. He was constantly compared to a Yankee hero, and the daily pressure was getting to him.

Through the first nine games of the 1996 season, Martinez was hitting .088 with 0 HR 0 RBI and a .118 slugging percentage.

We all know what happened next, as Martinez dove, scooped, and mashed his way into Yankees lore.

Perhaps his greatest moment in pinstripes occurred during the 1998 World Series. Martinez launched a grand slam into Yankee Stadium’s upper deck off Padres pitcher Mark Langston.

There can be many parallels constructed between the “rookie” seasons of Martinez and Teixeira in pinstripes.

Both were gold-glove caliber first basemen coming to New York at the age of 28. Each has an inescapable connection to legend Don Mattingly, who ultimately played their position.

Media personnel are scrambling to write stories about Teixeira’s 1-for-9 start, but he has a long way to go in order to amass Martinez’s 3-for-34 debut.

Teixeira and Martinez were also arriving after successful appearances in their first ever postseasons the year before.

Martinez posted 1 HR 5 RBI and a .360 OBP in 1995, while Teixeira had 7 hits 4 runs and a .550 OBP in his first series.

Teixeira is unquestionably the more highly skilled of the two players, but they posted similar statistics in the season prior to becoming a Yankee.

Martinez hit .293 with 31 HR and 111 RBI, and “Big Tex” produced .308 with 33 HR and 121 RBI.

While Teixeira has had a slightly disappointing start to his Yankee career, it is by no means time to compare him to chokers of the past.

He can handle the spotlight, and he will produce monster numbers by season’s end.

The absence of Alex Rodriguez may help to fuel the fire of his annually dreadful Aprils, but his bat will begin to smolder along with the “dog days of summer.”

Teixeira may be wearing No. 25, but do not confuse him with the 2007 version of Jason Giambi.