Thank Goodness Mariano Rivera Closes For My Team

The past 24 hours have been chock full of TGMRCFMT (or Thank Goodness Mariano Rivera Closes For My Team). To really appreciate him, you have to look at what other teams are dealing with:

TGMRCFMT (USA Today)

Mariano Rivera: We talked about this earlier today. Last night Rivera came on with a one-run lead and promptly gave up a triple. 3 players coming up with a chance to tie on an out. Tie game, right? Wrong. The Great Mariano played Houdini and got three quick outs. Mariano Rivera's opponents (in his career) have had 14 ABs w/ just a runner on 3rd representing the tying run--those batters are 0-14 with 0 RBI. When leading after 8 innings, the Yankees are 60-0. He may not win them all, but with a 1.06 ERA, a WHIP of 0.709 and 5.14 SO/BB he's having one of the best seasons of his career at 40. Not bad.

Neftali Feliz: The guy the Yankees completed their comeback against last night? Neftali Feliz, the All-Star closer who is 3rd in the American League in saves and hadn't blown one since May 11th. The Yankees may face Feliz (and his set-up man Frank Francisco who they tattooed this week) in the playoffs but now with the confidence they can come back against them.

Francisco Rodriguez: K-Rod made headlines off the field--though not that far from it--allegedly knocking out his father-in-law in the Mets family room after the game and getting himself arrested, according to the Wall Street Journal. Deadspin shows that he's been a ticking timebomb for some time and K-Rod is infamous for yelling or blowing off the media at times as well. Bob Klapisch tweeted last night: "Telling that M. Rivera never liked K-Rod. Asked that K-Rod not be given a nearby locker in AL (Yankee) clubhouse for 2008 All-Star Game." Amazingly, Jay sent me this ESPN article with a new Mets logo last night--which he points out was made before the incident in the clubhouse last night.

Jonathan Papelbon: HardballTalk's Craig Calcaterra has the details on this latest choke. The Red Sox closer took over a 5-3 game in the 9th against the Blue Jays, a team who he was 24 for 24 in save opportunities with a 0.82 ERA. After the Blue Jays rallied to tie the game and loaded the bases, they actually pulled Papelbon (after only getting one out) for Daniel Bard who in an impossible situation gave up a sac fly to lose the game in a walk-off. According to Baseball-Reference's Play Index, Mariano Rivera has only 7 games like Papelbon did today with 3+ earned runs, a blown save, and his team lost (and Rivera has had none since 2007). According to B-R's PI, this is the third time Papelbon has done that very same thing this year (and one was against the Yankees). That doesn't even mention his meltdown in the American League Division Series vs. the Angels last season. And even when he does save one, it seems like Papelbon is always walking the tightrope. Red Sox fans are starting to get loud about being excited about a change in guard at closer for 2011

He may not be the same pitcher he was when he was younger and he may not be perfect, but Rivera is about as close as we'll ever see to a perfect closer. He's cool on the mound, he's level-headed win or lose, and he won't embarrass the team (ever). I am certainly in the TGMRCFMT fan club and I will be very sad one day when he hangs up the spikes and retires. There will never be anyone else quite like him.