End of the Road? Don't Count On It.

When I was a kid growing up in Monroe, I have fond memories of going to Yankee Stadium and watching “Rags”, Dave Righetti, nail down the save for the Bronx Bombers.  Fresh off of the Sparky Lyle/Goose Gossage era, Righetti was able to solidify the bullpen and attach a sense of closure to the end of close ballgames as well as anyone who ever donned the pinstripes.  Or so we thought.

After Steve Farr and John Wetteland came and went, the New York Yankees, and baseball itself, would bare witness to a player that would revolutionize the closer role forever and go on to make the cut fastball the most devastating pitch in the sport.  For the next 15 years, Mariano Rivera would jog out to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”, dominate the opposition, and cement his Hall of Fame status as the greatest closer of all time.  Over and over, in the regular season, in the playoffs, the All Star game, in the World Series…..the familiar scene of the Yankee players celebrating on the field around Mo would be classified as a broken record, if not for the fact that it was an absolute thing of beauty.

So when Rivera played his cards close to the vest this offseason, repeatedly being asked if 2012 would be his last season by the media and never giving a straight answer, Yankee fans for the first time in a decade and a half began contemplating what life would inevitably be like when the 9^th inning was no longer a certainty.  Any number of relief pitchers could assume the role of closer after Rivera’s retirement, but nobody could ever replace the man who was as integral a part of their last 5 championships as Derek Jeter.  An argument could certainly be made that he meant more. 

Before their May 3^rd game against the Royals in KC, Mo was shagging fly balls during batting practice, a ritual he’d been doing for the past 16 years.  As he leapt to grab a line drive to the warning track, he landed on his side immediately clutching his right knee.  As every fan held their breathe, an MRI would confirm the unthinkable…..Rivera had torn his ACL and partially tore his meniscus, thereby ending what many were speculating would be his final season.  More so than facing the monumental task of finding a new closer, Yankees Universe were shocked to think that Rivera’s final moment on a baseball field was of being carted away, attended to by the medical staff.  It couldn’t end like this…..could it?  Mo deserves better.  He deserves to be carried off by his teammates as 55,000 screaming fans stand and applaud, celebrating yet another big win. 

While this story is far from over, Rivera has promised to return and finish what he started in 2013.  Recovering from a torn ACL is a long and arduous rehabilitation, especially for a 42-year-old.  But as any baseball fan knows, Mariano has spent his career defying the odds and succeeding.  He was told that he was too small to pitch effectively in the big leagues, that he can’t possibly succeed with only one pitch, that his age would catch up to him eventually…..and each time he responded by putting up better numbers than the season before.

Let’s hope this truly isn’t the end of the road for Mariano Rivera.  As a Yankee fan, I’d give anything to hear “Enter Sandman” blaring from the Stadium speakers in October…..before his much-deserved enshrinement in Cooperstown.

Other Thoughts From Around the Local Sporting World

*The 2011-2012 New York Knicks were truly a team struggling with an identity crisis.  After defeating the Celtics in hard-fought fashion on opening night, they would go into a tailspin that seemed to never end.  Then, from literally out of nowhere, came Linsanity.  Jeremy Lin revitalized this team and Madison Square Garden, helping to reel off 8 straight wins including victories over the defending champion Dallas Mavericks and the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers.  But….enter Carmelo Anthony.   Anthony had been sidelined due to injury, but his return to the lineup would cost the team its will to fight and would cost head coach Mike D’Antoni his job.

Another losing streak ensued.  By the end of the regular season, the Knicks started to pull it together under interim coach Mike Woodson in time for the playoffs.  Unfortunately, the first-round series with the Miami Heat would witness yet another implosion.  Without Lin, and with rookie phenom Iman Shumpert suffering a torn ACL early on, Amar’e Stoudemire would take out his frustration on an innocent glass fire extinguisher door.  One badly cut hand later, and the Wade-James-Bosh show would finally cancel this MSG soap opera.  Here’s hoping that next season, a little consistency (and teamwork) will go a long way for the Knickerbockers.

*Is there anything more exciting than the NHL playoffs?  In my mind, the answer is no.  And as the entire tri-state area is buzzing over two locals, the Rangers and the Devils, battling it out for the Eastern Conference title, one other local product is being largely overlooked.  Milford’s own Jonathan Quick is currently ruling the crease for the LA Kings, and serving notice to the rest of the league that he is for real.

It’s always been said that a hot goaltender can lead a team to the Stanley Cup, and Quick is proving that saying true with the 8^th-seeded Kings.  Currently dominating their Western Conference finals series with the Phoenix Coyotes, Quick is averaging just 1.60 goals against (GAA) in the playoffs, an absolutely remarkable stat.  The product of Hamden High and Avon Old Farms, Quick is carrying the Kings farther than anyone imagined they would go this season.  And no matter who makes it out of the East, either the Rangers or the Devils, they may be running into a hockey juggernaut from the West Coast, led by a goalie from Milford.  Hockey doesn’t get any better than this.