Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Figuring out Rivera Gives the Sox a Huge Edge

It’s only April, but this looks promising. The Red Sox are making Mo Rivera look like Byung-Hyun Kim out there. It all started with last year’s ALCS, when Rivera blew two in a row. And unlike BK, Mo didn’t have Luis Gonzalez out there to rescue him. So we all thought, okay, it’s unusual, but even Rivera blows a save every now and then. But for him to blow two in a row again, even in a meaningless April game, is a damn good sign for Sox fans. Rivera looked awful out there today. He had as much luck as Victor Zambrano finding the plate out there.

If the Sox really have figured out Rivera, and it sure looks like they have, then they have a definite edge in any series against the Junkees, especially a postseason series. Come October, especially with a healthy Schilling, these teams will be playing close games. And it will come to down to the relievers, and if the Yanks are on top, it will come down to Rivera. Rivera has often been called the MVP of the Yanks, and with good reason. As John Sterling has said about a million times, he makes it an 8-inning game. But against the Sox, that’s no longer true. And Foulke, though not perfect (as yesterday’s game showed), has been much more effective against the Yanks than Mo against the Sox.

Basically, if Mo can’t beat the Sox, neither can the Yankees.

1 comment:

Manny Ortiz said...

True, you gotta blame A-Schmuck for his error, but:

- a good closer works around a fielder's mistake and still gets out of it

- dating back to the ALCS, Mo's blown 4 saves in a row vs. the Sox! I think Eric Gagne's blown 4 saves in the last 2 seasons.

- leadoff walks kill. no closer can afford 'em

- the fact that it's mental doesn't make it any better. Ask Schmet fans about Armando Benitez.