Posts tagged MarianoRivera at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria has been fantastic so far. I mean, ridiculously good. He's 8-for-8 in save situations, and has been damn near untouchable so far. In 13 innings of work, he's struck out 15 while allowing only one walk and three hits, all of which gives him an unbelievably low WHIP of 0.31.

He's even been garnering comparisons to a young Mariano Rivera already. Still, it's also gotten a lot of people in Kansas City wondering: what if the team moved Soria to the starting rotation? From Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star.

Soria is so good, so quick - and with seemingly no strain - that teammates and Royals officials can't help but wonder about someday moving him to the rotation. His use has become one of the perpetual talking points among Royals fans.

Royals manager Trey Hillman, not one who lacks confidence in his decisions, has even second-guessed himself when he hasn't used Soria.

The only problem the Royals have had with Soria is providing him with save chances - only eight in the first 33 games.

"I don't know if we've seen what he's capable of doing," says catcher John Buck. "Personally, I think he could be a really good starter. He has a lot of good other pitches that the league hasn't even seen. I've caught him in the bullpen. There's about three other pitches that nobody's ever seen, because he doesn't need 'em."

Mob justice has won, and common sense has lost. LaTroy Hawkins has been hassled by fans since spring training about his decision to wear No. 21. He was attempting to honor Roberto Clemente, but Yankees fans were offended that someone would trounce on Paul O'Neill's memory. But while it's one thing to deal with fans chanting O'Neill's name whenever Hawkins took the mound, it's another fending off Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. From Scott Miller of CBS Sports:

Hawkins, in the midst of a fan-induced uproar because nobody had worn the still-revered Paul O'Neill's old No. 21 since O'Neill's retirement in 2001, said Tuesday he will switch to No. 22.

Hawkins made the decision after discussions with shortstop Derek Jeter, closer Mariano Rivera and a couple of other Yankees veterans. Their message: It's simply not worth the headache it's causing.

"I figure if it's important enough for Jeter and Mariano and some other veterans to ask me about it, it's not worth it to keep wearing the number," Hawkins said.

The most annoying part of all this? O'Neill doesn't deserve to have his number retired! The front office recognizes this, which is why No. 21 keeps getting assigned to people -- Morgan Ensberg had it earlier in spring before giving it up after seeing the fan's reaction. The Yankees already have 15 numbers retired, but they'd triple that amount if they retired everybody's jersey who had a similar career. Hawkins' decision to switch numbers doesn't solve the problem, it merely compounds it for the next guy who tries wearing it.

(Also, Rivera barely has room to say anything -- he's the only guy still wearing No. 42 after it was retired by the rest of Major League Baseball in honor Jackie Robinson. Yes, I know he wore it before MLB honored Robinson, but he more than anyone should understand someone's decision to wear a number when it goes against the majority's opinion.)

I'm not entirely sure exactly when it happened, but at some point over the last few years, closers have become baseball's version of professional wrestlers. It seems that they all have to enter the game in the late innings to theme music. Trevor Hoffman runs in from the bullpen to the tune of AC/DC's "Hell's Bells." Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner go with Metallica's "Enter Sandman", and Detroit's Todd Jones enters games at Comerica Park to the sound of 30,000 Tigers fans muttering "Oh [expletive]."

So when Kerry Wood was named the Cubs closer earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune's ChicagoSports.com immediately ran a poll asking fans what song Kerry should enter the game to. Problem was, nobody asked Kerry Wood if he wanted an entrance theme.

He doesn't.

"I don't think Wrigley is that type of ballpark," Wood said. "That's more of a generational thing for closers- Trevor Hoffman started it with 'Hells Bells,' and [Mariano] Rivera and Billy Wagner and so on and so on.

"Fans are so loud at Wrigley Field in the ninth inning I don't think you'd be able to hear any noise on that sound system anyway. I've never really thought about what song I'd use."

Well that's all well and good, Kerry, but it doesn't quite serve my purpose with this post. I also spent some time figuring out what songs would be best suited for you as you enter the game, and here's some of what I've come up with so far.

"Knock on Wood" by Wilson Pickett, "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley, "Break It Off" by Rihanna, or "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd (You gotta figure he'll be spending a lot of time with the trainer before appearances).

As always, feel free to leave your own suggestions in the comments.

Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan has wanted a contract extension with the Twins for a while now. He's wanted it even though he saw Johan Santana traded to New York, and Torii Hunter sign a huge contract with the Angels out west. It's apparent that Nathan loves his situation in Minnesota, and no matter what the expectations for the team are, he wants to stay.

He will be staying, too, and he'll probably be doing so in a very large house. Last week I told you that it appeared a contract extension was imminent, and minutes ago it became reality.

The [Twins] announced on Monday that it has agreed to terms with closer Joe Nathan on a contract extension through 2011. The deal also includes a club option for '12.

The financial terms of the deal were not immediately released, although it is believed to be worth between $11-$12 million per year.

The contract is very much in line with the deal Francisco Cordero got from the Reds, but it's not quite as much as the $15 million that Mariano Rivera will be making with the Yankees. Which is just another reason why I don't understand why Nathan did this.

A few weeks ago Joe Nathan made it clear to the Twins that if they wanted to sign him to an extension, they had better do it before the start of the season, or else it would be a lot more difficult to keep him from testing free agency in the offseason. Why Nathan wants to stay in Minnesota so badly, I don't know. It's not realistic to think the Twins will compete for the division title considering what they lost this offseason, but who knows? Maybe he just loves Minneapolis.

He may also be a lot closer to getting his wish than I ever thought he would be. According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Star-Tribune, Nathan could have his extension by the end of this week.

The Twins spent Thursday locked in negotiations with Dave Pepe, the agent for Twins closer Joe Nathan, about a contract extension.

And for the first time in several weeks, there are strong signals that a deal may be close.

Nathan moments ago expressed renewed optimism that a deal could get done soon. He wouldn't divulge contract details but indicated that the ice has been broken in a stalemate that could have led to him being traded during the regular season.

I'm guessing that if Nathan is going to stay in Minnesota, he's going to want a deal that pays him somewhere from $12-$15 million a year, and if that's the case, I don't get why the Twins would do it. Why pay Mariano Rivera type money to Nathan if your team doesn't need a top end closer? Nathan has been fantastic for the Twins, but at this point I think the organization would be better off moving him at the deadline and bringing in more young talent as the team tries to put together a contender in time for their new stadium in 2010.

Whether or not you believe Roger Clemens -- and it's pretty hard to believe the guy nowadays -- there's got to be at least small part of you somewhere that feels for the guy. No matter what he did or didn't do, this whole situation has to be incredibly taxing on him, his family, his friends.

So let the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center add insult to injury. It dropped a Roger Clemens jersey from a Yankee renaissance exhibit that began in the mid-1990s last week.

"We're trying to project the positive virtues of baseball," said David Kaplan, the director of the museum, which has an educational mission. "And we have a lot of kids coming through here who are asking questions we're not prepared to answer."

He added that Clemens's "jersey was raising too many issues" because of his "notoriety."

[ ... ]

Without Clemens's jersey, Kaplan said, "it's more accurate, to be honest." He added, "We felt we just wanted to celebrate the guys who were there from the beginning."

Those guys "there from the beginning?" Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Proving once again that True Yankees always prosper.

Mariano Rivera was shocked (shocked!) to learn that players in baseball were using performance enhancing drugs, but now that he's been enlightened by the Mitchell Report, he's hoping players will follow Andy Pettitte's lead and offer (pseudo-)apologies. From the New York Daily News:

"I will not lose respect for my teammates or whoever did it," Rivera said. "I don't know the reasons why they did it - or if they did it. I just saw Andy come out and say that he did it, and if you did it, the best thing to do is bring it out and start new. Put an end to this thing."
[...]
"It was a surprise for me. I had no idea that these things were going on," Rivera said. "I'm naive when it comes to these things. I prepare myself the way I prepare myself, and I thought that everybody prepared themselves the same way that I do. I was surprised when I heard the list and it had a few of my teammates. It was a shock for me."

There were nine Yankees from the 2000 World Series team named in the report, including five pitchers, so I find it a little convenient for Rivera to say he never had a clue this was going on. I mean, we're talking about one out of three players in the clubhouse -- it must have been hard to turn around without running into a needle. But hey, even if he's lying, he still gives excellent advice: it's the best thing for everyone involved to face the cameras, admit guilt and move on.

Last week, Mariano Rivera didn't seem very interested in inking the three-year, $45 million deal the Yankees had offered him. Mind you, this was despite the fact he'd be the highest paid reliever in the game, was coming off a less than stellar year and that he'll be 38 at the end of the month. He wanted a four-year deal because that's what fellow veteran Jorge Posada got.

Well, it looks like Rivera has had a coming of senses and has agreed to said deal.

"We've got everybody back," Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said Monday. "It's good to have both Jorgie and him back."

Rivera was coming off a three-year contract that paid him $31.5 million. He had hoped for an extension before the start of this season, but the Yankees decided not to discuss contract extensions with any of their players until after the 2007 season was over.

"Mariano is obviously someone that we can't live without because he's one of a kind and he's so unique in what he does for us," Rodriguez said. "He's such an unbelievable force in our clubhouse. In many ways he's kind of the voice for a lot of people in there."

Considering Rivera is on the back nine -- or really, about hole 16 -- of his career, I don't know if this is the soundest investment. But if nothing else, he's proven incredibly loyal to the Yankees and they seem to be rewarding him as such.

Yankees fans seemed to be all aghast with excitement with the news that New York had offered free agent Mike Lowell a four-year deal to play first base. (Rodriguez, Canoe, Jeter and Lowell in the infield, oh my!) But as more information trickles out from Yankee camp it looks like the interest previously reported for Lowell really isn't there at all.

ESPN's Peter Gammons reported that while Lowell's agents, brothers Seth and Sam Levinson have remained in touch with the Yankees, several sources indicated that they are now inclined to use Shelley Duncan and Jason Giambi at first rather than lure Lowell from the Red Sox and move him across the diamond.

The New York Daily News also reported that according to sources, a Boston-area TV report the Yankees had offered Lowell a four-year deal worth between $50 million and $55 million to play first was "pure fantasy" -- and that the Yankees were not interested in a major investment in another first baseman.

See everyone? The Yankees aren't always the totalitarian ruler, poaching all the best MLB talent from your squad's clutches. And with all the old guys the Yankees have locked up (Jorge Posada) and are trying to lock up (Mariano Rivera) it's probably a good idea to try and stick it out and see what the youngster Shelley Duncan can produce.

Well, if you can call a 28-year-old a youngster, that is.

The Yankees have offered Mariano Rivera a three-year, $45 million deal. That would make him the highest paid reliever in the game by about $4 million. But, Mariano wants a four-year deal like the current veteran Yankee catcher Jorge Posada got.

Well, it looks like the Yankees are telling Rivera "too bad."

The 38-year closer hasn't accepted a $45 million, three-year offer from New York, and the Yankees say Rivera's agent, Fernando Cuza, wants general manager Brian Cashman to offer a fourth season.

"Brian has been talking to him off and on a couple times. We're just waiting to see what happens," senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said.

The Yankees have no plans to increase their proposal, which is over $4 million more than any closer currently makes.

"It's a tremendous offer, and it's worth staying for," Steinbrenner said. "If I didn't want him back, I wouldn't have made that offer."

I could not agree more with Hank Steinbrenner. Rivera, who sported some of his worst numbers ever last season, is going to be 38 at the end of the month. And he's going to be getting the most money for any reliever out there. If he's trying to play off the four years Posada got -- that's poor logic. Posada is not only younger, but put up career highs in some offensive categories last season.

Come on, Mariano. Suck it up. Take the deal. It's a great deal. How bout it, huh?

After welcoming Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada back into the fold, all that's left is inking Mariano Rivera. Somewhat surprisingly, though, this may be the one that proves most difficult. It seems the 38-year-old closer is looking for a fourth year to be tacked onto the three-year, $45 million contract offered by the club earlier this week, and he may be doing it to spite the ownership as much as anything else. From Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

But Rivera, who turns 38 on Nov. 29, has instructed his agents to shop him, in part because he was angered by Hank Steinbrenner referring to his age in recent comments about the Yankees' offer, a source says.

Rivera has specifically mentioned following Joe Torre to the Dodgers, and his agents also are contacting other clubs about his availability.

Rivera, sources say, believes he deserves the same length of contract as Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, who is on the verge of re-signing for $52.4 million over four years, and Mets closer Billy Wagner, who received $43 million over four years after the 2005 season.

Except, as Rosenthal notes, Posada is two years younger than Rivera, and Wagner was only 34 when he signed his contract two years ago. I'm a fan of Rivera's and I think he'd be productive throughout the life of a three-year deal, but I'd be more than a little nervous to tack on a fourth year at the drop of a hat, especially considering the Yankees would almost certainly be bidding against themselves at that point. (And why would the Dodgers be interested? They already own the rights to the dominating Takashi Saito for the next few years, not to mention future closer Jonathan Broxton. There are ways to improve your team, and pouring $50 million plus into a position of strength is not one of them.)

OK, maybe not immortality. But that would be a bargaining chip.

The Yankees have already nailed down veteran catcher Jorge Posada for four more years; now they're one step closer to sealing their other potential returnee, Mariano Rivera. Rivera received a three-year, $45 million offer that would make him the highest paid reliever in all of baseball:

"He'd be by $4 million a year the highest-paid relief pitcher," Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said Tuesday. "To say that's a strong offer would be an understatement."

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was more guarded in his comments about Rivera than Steinbrenner was.

"He's a free agent and he's fielding offers from other clubs. He's certainly received offers from us," Cashman said.

The Yankees' offer is a good one, but Cashman's tact (as usual) is probably the more appropriate one: The chances that Rivera receives a higher offer in the free agent market are good, and his decision might come down to whether he wants to remain a Yankee or not. As they made clear in their dealings with Alex Rodriguez, the Steinbrenners consider being a Yankee a "privilege,"; whether Rivera feels the same way is debatable.

Yesterday we found out how interested the Yankees were in keeping veterans Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, and how imminent relatively large deals were for both players. The answers, respectively: very interested, and very imminent.

Now it looks like the process is one step closer to completion: Jorge Posada is on the doorstep of accepting something close to the Yankees' offer of three years and $40 million:

"My first priority is the Yankees," the five-time All-Star catcher told reporters Sunday at halftime of the New York Knicks' game against the Miami Heat. "I would like to stay with the Yankees. My heart is with the Yankees, so hopefully we can get something done."

"We're working with the Yankees," Posada said. "Right now it's up in the air, but the chances are good."

The funny thing about the first quote is how dependent on context it is. Imagine, for instance, that Alex Rodriguez said that. It would come off as nothing more than player-speak, with the requisite undertones being: "Sure, I'd like to be a Yankee, so if the deal doesn't get done you know who to blame." You can totally picture Terrell Owens saying something similar with a smirk on his face about the Cowboys.

Since it's Posada behind the microphone, it seems more genuine. And a deal to keep the Yankees still laden with veteran leaders seems ever more likely.

One of the primary questions this offseason has been how, in the wake of an Alex Rodriguez opt-out and the sudden freedom of aging stalwarts, the Yankees would proceed as a franchise. Would they choose the Brian Cashman-preferred youth movement, or would the Steinbrenner spawn demand constant contention like their father?

If the New York Post's latest is true, it's looking like the Yankees are opting for the latter:

The Yankees' exclusivity period with both Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera ends after tomorrow, and yesterday Hank Steinbrenner reiterated that new proposals to Posada and Rivera will be submitted before the period expires.

The players' current offers are comparable. Rivera will be offered a three-year pact for $39 million, while Posada's offer will be for approximately three years and $40 million.

It's easy to criticize the Yankees' front office for constantly demanding championship-level baseball, because that's not the most cost-effective way to run a franchise. But these are still the Yankees: Their incredible revenue is still their insurance policy against bad deals for aging players, and they have to think about the legions of fans that would riot in the streets if True Yankees like Posada and Rivera weren't retained. They don't have to rebuild, because they have eff-you money.

All in all, there are worse deals to be made. There are better ones too ... but as the Yankees go, things could always be more egregious.

"Boom, Bust, or Bobby Bonilla" takes a look at MLB's Free Agents and the teams who need them in 2008.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the Milwaukee Brewers improved play this season stands to be their closer Francisco Cordero. After spending the majority of his career as a Texas Ranger, Cordero finished his first full season in Milwaukee with 44 saves.

Now he's hit the free agent market, and without a lot of proven closers on the market, Cordero is lined up to receive a large payday. There are plenty of teams that have already expressed an interest in the All-Star, including the Astros, Phillies, and Tigers to name a few. The fact is that once Mariano Rivera re-signs with the Yankees, Cordero will be the most coveted closer on the market.

That could end up netting him somewhere around $40 million. So where is Cordero going to end up?

The Astros are reportedly looking to deal Brad Lidge this winter, and if they do, that would leave them in need of a closer. If that's the case, Cordero will be their first option. The problem there is that the Astros seem more intent on finding starting pitching than adding to their bullpen. So depending on whether they sign any starters, or make a trade (The Astros were talking to the White Sox yesterday, and I'm guessing Jon Garland's name came up.) for starting pitching, there may not be enough money left to land Cordero.