Playoff Comebacks, Closer Failures, and the Growing Mariano Rivera Fan Club

Let me first say that the Mariano Rivera Fan Club should be growing exponentially. After watching some of the best closers in the games blow up this postseason, it makes you appreciate Mariano Rivera more and more. Here is a series-by-series breakdown of the 9th inning comebacks vs. All-Star closers in this division series.

Yankees vs. Twins, Game 2 - Joe Nathan is one of the best closers in the game (47/52 on save opportunities) and has been for a few years. The Yankees were down by two runs entering the 9th inning. Mark Teixeira led off with a single and Alex Rodriguez followed up by despositing a 3-1 pitch into the Yankees bullpen. Mark Teixeira would win it with a walk-off in the bottom of the 11th. Nathan would also allow two inherited runners to score in Game 3, helping the Yankees seal the series. Let's look at Nathan's regular season stats:



Dodgers vs. Cardinals, Game 2 - Ryan Franklin has had a very good year (38/43 on save opportunities) although he struggled a bit down the stretch. Franklin game on with a 2-1 lead in the 9th and one out and got Manny Ramirez to fly out to CF. James Loney hit a line drive to left that should have been caught by Matt Holliday for the 3rd out, but even with his drop, there was only a runner on second and two outs. But that error let the floodgates open. Casey Blake walked, Ronnie Belliard singled, Franklin threw a passed ball, Russell Martin walked, and then pinch hitter Mark Loretta got the game-winning single. Even after Holliday's drop, the Dodgers only had a 14% chance of winning, so Franklin deserves some of the blame here. The Cards would never recover en route to being swept by the Dodgers. Here are Franklin's stats for the regular season:



Angels vs. Red Sox, Game 3 - Jonathan Papelbon has been one of the best regular season and postseason pitchers in recent years and this year was no exception (he was 38 out of 41 on save opportunities). His 26 scoreless innings to start his career were the most since Christy Mathewson from 1905-1911. So when Papelbon entered a 5-2 game with four outs to go, it looked over. He allowed two inherited runners to score in the top of the 8th, but got out of it with a one-run lead. It looked over after the Red Sox added an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th to make it 6-4. It looked even more over when Papelbon got two quick outs and had an 0-2 count on Erick Aybar. The Angels had a 1% chance of winning that game. But then Aybar singled, Chone Figgins walked, Bobby Abreu doubled, Torii Hunter was intentionally walked (a boneheaded move in my opinion), and then Vladamir Guerrero made the Red Sox pay by knocking in two runs to make it a 7-6 game. The Red Sox would not be able to rally in the bottom of the 9th ending the series in front of a stunned Fenway crowd. Papelbon was booed off the field. Here was his statline for the regular season:



Phillies vs. Rockies, Game 4 - I detailed this one earlier today. Huston Street came in as one of the best closers in the game, enjoying one of his finest seasons. (35 out of 37 on save opportunities). Street had already suffered a loss in Game 3 so it wasn't like he was guaranteed to be lights out. But Street looked like he may be able to send this one back to Philly for a 5th game. He came on to get 3 outs with a 4-2 lead. He struck out pinch hitter Greg Dobbs swinging, and after Jimmy Rollins reached on an infield single, he got Shane Victorino to ground into a fielders choice. There were two outs, a two-run lead, and only a runner at first. The Phillies only had a 4% chance of winning the game. But then Chase Utley drew a huge walk and Ryan Howard followed with a booming double off the right field wall. He then had a 2-2 count on Jayson Werth before Werth #fisted one to CF for the game winner. Here's what Huston Street did in the regular season:



So my friends, this should make you appreciate Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Broxton, Brian Fuentes, and, yes, even Brad Lidge a little more today. Sam Borden, Ken Davidoff, Joel Sherman, and Ken Rosenthal opine on the same subject.

Pretty remarkable stat from Davidoff (via the Elias Sports Bureau), in the 2009 division series, relievers converted on only a 53.8% success rate. In the 2009 regular season, relievers converted only a 67.2% success rate (this includes set-up men as well). Mariano Rivera has a 89.5% career mark and is 35-40 (87.5%) in the playoffs. I feel like that Mariano Rivera Fan Club should be growing even more.