Mattingly Celebrates His 50th Birthday; Selig Sends a Gift

April was usually a frustrating time for Mattingly.

Don Mattingly turned 50 today, which for any Yankee fan growing up in the 1980s is a little startling. Although the team suffered through one of its longest championship droughts during Mattingly’s tenure, Donnie Baseball was still able to capture the hearts of an entire generation, so it’s hard to think of him as being a relic from an another era.

During his playing career, Mattingly’s birthday was always easy to remember because it seemed as if he never quite got going until after it passed. Long before Mark Teixeira became famous for his early season struggles, Mattingly turned slow starts into an art form. Whether he was in his prime or toward the end of his career, April was usually a frustrating time for Mattingly.

If it seems as if the Yankees have been through this before with Mattingly, it’s because they have. Everyone knows what to expect now, a plodding start followed by a fast summer. If it’s cold, so is Mattingly. Even in his magic years, Mattingly was no better than an ordinary April hitter.” – John Heyman, Newsday, April 19, 1994

Mattingly, Month by Month

Split	PA	R	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
April/March	1001	124	11	122	0.266	0.338	0.381	0.719
May	1248	172	41	185	0.325	0.380	0.502	0.882
June	1290	163	34	173	0.307	0.351	0.449	0.800
July	1349	189	42	195	0.324	0.367	0.508	0.875
August	1341	176	45	199	0.309	0.358	0.487	0.845
Sept/Oct	1492	183	49	225	0.305	0.352	0.477	0.829

Source:  Baseball-reference.com

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Game 16 Batter/Pitcher Matchups: Blue Jays vs. Yankees

vs. Brett Cecil	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI
Derek Jeter SS	23	0.316	0.435	0.316	0	0
Nick Swisher RF	15	0.250	0.400	0.250	0	1
Mark Teixeira 1B	22	0.200	0.455	0.467	1	1
Alex Rodriguez 3B	15	0.286	0.267	0.571	1	2
Robinson Cano 2B	19	0.294	0.368	0.529	1	1
Andruw Jones LF	3	0.000	0.000	0.000	0	0
Jorge Posada DH	18	0.294	0.333	0.353	0	3
Russell Martin C	0	0.000	0.000	0.000	0	0
Curtis Granderson CF	13	0.083	0.154	0.083	0	0
Total	128	0.248	0.357	0.367	3	8
vs. Bartolo Colon	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI
Yunel Escobar SS	0	0.000	0.000	0.000	0	0
Corey Patterson CF	12	0.273	0.333	0.273	0	2
Jose Bautista RF	2	0.500	0.500	0.500	0	0
Adam Lind 1B	5	0.400	0.400	0.400	0	0
Edwin Encarnacion DH	3	0.000	0.000	0.000	0	0
J.P. Arencibia C	0	0.000	0.000	0.000	0	0
Travis Snider LF	4	0.000	0.250	0.000	0	1
Jayson Nix 2B	0	0.000	0.000	0.000	0	0
John McDonald 3B	5	0.400	0.400	0.400	0	0
Total	31	0.276	0.323	0.276	0	3

 

Yankees vs. Blue Jays
Season: 2011	Season: 2010	Season: 2009	All-Time
TOR: 1-0	TOR: 10-8	NYY: 12-6	NYY: 267-216
	Last 10	Away	vs. LHP
Yankees	6-4	1-3	2-2
	Last 10	Home	vs. RHP
Blue Jays	3-7	5-2	5-8

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Imperfect Perfection: A Closer Look at Mariano Rivera’s Failures

(In addition to appearing at The Captain’s Blog, this post is also being syndicated at TheYankeeAnalysts.)

Mariano Rivera’s accomplishments can’t be overstated. But, what can we say about his failures?

Mariano Rivera has seldom had reason to hang his head during his illustrious career.

Over 17 seasons, the reliever has consistently dominated the opposition, compiling an astounding ERA+ of 205, which is the highest total by any pitcher throwing over 1,000 innings. Incredibly, he has been even better in the post season, where his 0.71 ERA in 139 2/3 innings is without compare. In other words, Rivera’s superhuman reputation is certainly well deserved.

Because there are so many ways to trumpet Rivera’s successes, it’s easy to take him for granted.  That’s why it’s still a shock when the Yankees’ closer blows a save. Even at the age of 41, Rivera still portrays an air of perfection, so those startling glimpses of his mortality can often be unsettling.

Despite the considerable amount of evidence suggesting otherwise, Rivera is a human being. After all, he has blown 68 regular season saves in his career. However, even in his failures, the future Hall of Famer has managed to stand out.

Picking Up the Pieces: Top Closers Performance In Blown Saves

Player	W	L	W-L%	ERA	IP	WHIP
Mariano Rivera	17	22	0.436	11.01	85	2.44
John Franco	23	37	0.383	9.99	121.2	2.67
Dennis Eckersley	15	25	0.375	12.01	81.2	2.28
Rollie Fingers	26	45	0.366	7.45	206.2	1.97
Jeff Reardon	18	33	0.353	11.96	122.2	2.5
Billy Wagner	11	21	0.344	12.68	71	2.61
Lee Smith	20	39	0.339	11.89	125.2	2.75
Randy Myers	11	26	0.297	12.34	73.2	2.84
Trevor Hoffman	12	31	0.279	17.29	76	2.92
Troy Percival	9	25	0.265	19.97	48.2	3.49

Source: Baseball-reference.com

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Jays Rally Late Against Rivera As Bullpen Innings Continue to Mount

The Yankees’ have sorely needed more innings from their starters, but having Ivan Nova come out of the bullpen to pitch the 10th inning probably wasn’t the best way to go about it.

After a rough day, Travis Snider exults in his game winning hit (Photo: AP).

The late inning cameo by Nova was necessitated by Mariano Rivera’s rare inability to polish off a save. From the very pitch to Yunel Escobar, the Yankees’ closer, who was pitching in his league leading 10th game, seemed to be without his usual command. As a result, Rivera left several cutters over the plate, allowing the Blue Jays to string together four hits during a game tying tally. The most uncharacteristic part of the inning, however, was a rare four pitch walk to Jose Bautista, who came to the plate with one out and a runner on third. Despite only representing the tying run, Rivera seemed to pitch around the Blue Jays’ slugger, an approach that wouldn’t be advisable for a mediocre reliever, let alone the best to every play the game. Sure enough, Bautista eventually came around to score the tying run on Jason McDonald’s safety squeeze.

Before the climatic late innings, A.J. Burnett and Kyle Drabek pitched into and out of trouble, stranding several base runners along the way. Both pitchers wound up retiring after only 5 1/3 innings, meaning the outcome would be decided by the bullpens. Before Rivera’s misstep, which snapped a string of seven consecutive converted saves to start the season, it looked as if the Yankees were going to get the best of that battle, but the immortal closer proved to be the weak link in what has been, for the most part, Joe Girardi’s winning late game formula.

Most Consecutive Saves by a Yankee to Start a Season

Pitcher	Start	End	SV	IP	ERA
Mariano Rivera	4/1/2008	8/7/2008	28	29.1	0.31
Lee Guetterman	4/12/1989	9/30/1989	13	23	0.00
Mariano Rivera	4/7/2004	5/9/2004	12	12.1	0.73
Marshall Bridges	4/27/1962	7/7/1962	11	13	0.69
Steve Hamilton	4/28/1968	8/27/1968	10	11.1	0.79

Source: Baseball-reference.com

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