« On the Border, Off the Map | Main | Book Meme »

April 12, 2005

Three Cheers for Mo

Even if you took away all of the World Series that Joe Torre has led the Yankees to, he would still get my vote for the Hall of Fame for his success in making the Yankees into such a classy organization. Even a diehard Red Sox fan like yours truly has a hard time actually hating the Yankees players (except ARod) because they play the game right.

Today's exhibit: Mariano Rivera, who was greeted with mock cheers from the Fenwey faithful yesterday. Rivera has had a rough time with the Sox lately: he blew saves in games four and five of last year's ALCS as the Sox became the first team in baseball history to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven game series. Rivera since blew two more saves against the Sox last week in Yankee Stadium, although Derek Jeter rescued one of those games with a walkoff homerun. In the wake of this minor bad patch after proving himself the best closer in baseball over the last decade, suddenly people are asking if he's washed up, and Rivera even heard boos in the Bronx last week.

Despite all this, Rivera took the Fenway ribbing by doffing his cap to acknowledge the cheers. As is the standard for Torre's Yankees, Rivera took what could have been an uncomfortable moment and played it with pure class.

Fortunately the Sox beat the Yankees handily, obviating the need to face Rivera again. Because no matter how many times the Sox come back on him, you can be sure Rivera will never make it easy on them.