NEW YORK (AP) -The opening question at the All-Star news conference was about the closer.
Why wouldn’t American League manager Terry Francona honor Mariano Rivera by letting him start the All-Star game?
“Mariano may be the greatest reliever of all time, but he’s not a starter,” Francona said. “Thought it would be unfair to the starting pitchers.”
That out of the way, Francona was asked whether he’d hand the ball to Jonathan Papelbon, his brilliant reliever on the Boston Red Sox, or give it to Rivera if the AL enters the ninth inning with a lead Tuesday night. Francona, of course, sidestepped the query.
“I definitely would love to,” Rivera said. “Knowing Francona, I have a feeling that he will put me there if we have the opportunity to close the game.”
Not so fast, said Papelbon.
n Yankee Stadium.”
Papelbon expected to “talk shop” with Rivera during his two days in the Yankees clubhouse. They got to know each other a little bit when they were teammates on the AL All-Stars in Pittsburgh two years ago.
“I’ve always referred to him as the Godfather, you know, no pun intended being in New York,” Papelbon said. “That’s what he is, man. You know, he’s kind of the Godfather. He’s been a main contributor of making this role what it is today. A lot of the younger closers in this room like myself do owe a sense of respect to him.”
Other relievers talk about Rivera the way today’s politicians refer to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.
“I’ve always said he’s the guy that we need to look up to. He’s been doing it forever,” Minnesota’s Joe Nathan said. “You could put some seasons together and be a good closer, but to do it as long as he has and to be as dominant as he’s been for so long is what we all strive to be.”
NL manager Clint Hurdle didn’t hesitate to guess on Francona’s closer choice. He’s expecting Rivera.
“I’m going to stick my neck out there and say we’ll prepare for him a little bit, watch a little video,” the Colorado manager said to laughter. “We get to see the Yankees and the Red Sox on TV a lot. So we’ve done a lot of advanced scouting in our clubhouse.”
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