Friday, October 02, 2009
Rivera’s sequencing
Posted by Dan NovickI always wanted to be a fly on the mask of Jorge Posada's catching gear, just so I could see and hear his interactions with Mariano Rivera. This is how I imagined his trips to the mound going:
Jorge: So how do you want to approach this guy?
Mo: Shut up and put your glove where you want it.
And that's it.
Well it seems there's more to it than that, according to Dave Allen. Rivera apparently gets bored throwing the cutter high and tight on literally every single pitch, so he decides to mix it up on occasion by throwing the cutter to **gasp** a different location. What will he think of next, a different pitch?!
In all seriousness though, it's a good piece in an under-researched area of the game. Go give it a read.
Dan Novick is a lifelong Yankees fan, and still gets the chills every time Enter Sandman plays from the Yankee Stadium speakers. He welcomes comments and questions via e-mail.
First of all Mariano would not say shut up. I can’t imagine him being anything but the perfect gentleman. He would probably offer him video of the last 14 years and politely tell him to watch and if he had trouble figuring it out to let him know!