to be drafted this weekend, b | Forum
miaowang123
Dec 15 '17
NEW YORK -- Mariano Rivera said goodbye to Yankee Stadium with hugs, tears and cheers. Martin St. Louis Jersey . Baseballs most acclaimed relief pitcher made an emotional exit in his final appearance in the Yankees home pinstripes, when captain Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte came to the mound to remove him with two outs in the ninth inning of a 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. "Its time to go," Jeter appeared to tell Rivera. During four minutes of thunderous chanting from the sellout crowd 48,675, an overcome Rivera sobbed as he buried his head on the right shoulder of Pettitte, who also is retiring when the season ends Sunday. Pettitte gave Rivera a 30-second bear hug, and Jeter followed with a 15-second embrace. Rivera, who turns 44 in November, said he had trouble controlling himself on the mound during the ninth inning for the first time since he left Panama and embarked on a professional baseball career in 1990. "I was bombarded with emotions and feeling that I couldnt describe," he said after the game, flanked by his wife and three sons. "Everything hit at that time. I knew that was the last time. Period. I never felt like that before." Yankees manager Joe Girardi, his voice cracking from emotion after the game, said he conceived the idea in the eighth inning. "Ive never seen a player pull another player, so I had to ask. And then one of them was on the DL," he said. Girardi asked plate umpire Laz Diaz before the ninth, and Diaz consulted with crew chief Mike Winters. "Then I said, Well, can I send two? and they said, Well, go ahead. And I really appreciate because I think it made the moment even more special for Mo." At first, Pettitte didnt think it was a good idea. Then he got to the mound and quickly decided "it was awfully cool." The three players have known each other since they were in the minors in 1990, and all three came up to the Yankees for the first time in 1995. "I didnt say anything at first, and I didnt expect for him to be quite so emotional," Pettitte said. "He broke down and just gave me a bear hug and I just bear-hugged him back. He was really crying. He was weeping, and I could feel him crying on me." Rivera had retired Delmon Young, Sam Fuld, Jose Lobaton and Yunel Escobar on 13 pitches -- the overall 465th perfect outing of his career. He had gone to the trainers room in the Yankees clubhouse after the top of the eighth instead of remaining in the dugout. "Everything started hitting from there. All the flashbacks from the minor leagues to the big leagues, all the way to this moment," he said. When he walked off the mound for the final time with two outs in the top of the ninth in the famous, final scene, he wiped his eyes with both arms and blew a kiss to the first row behind the Yankees dugout. He hugged a tearful Girardi in the dugout, grabbed a towel to dab his own tears, and came out again and doffed his cap to the crowd. All the while, the Rays remained in their dugout applauding. ""I thought it was pretty cool. Ive never taken a pitcher out before," Jeter said. "Weve all grown up together," he said. "Its too bad good things have to come to an end." Throughout the stands, fans blinked back their own tears. And after Rivera came off, Pettitte came out for his own curtain call as the Rays waited in their dugout, not wanting to interrupt the moment. Rays manager Joe Maddon is a longtime fan of Riveras consistency, durability and quiet humility. "Its got to be what it was like to watch (Joe) DiMaggios hitting streak, only longer," he said, impressed by both Riveras accomplishments and the ceremony. "They know how to do things here. Theyre great at pomp and circumstance in this place." After the last out, Rivera remained on the bench for a moment as Frank Sinatras recording of "New York, New York" played. He then took a last walk to the mound, a man alone, rubbing his feet on the rubber, kneeling and gathering a bit of his workplace as a keepsake. "I wanted to get some dirt, just stay there for the last time, knowing that I aint going to be there no more, especially pitching," he said. "Maybe throw a first pitch one year, one day. But competing -- wont be there no more. So that little that I was there was special for me." Rivera had entered with one out and two on in the eighth to a recorded introduction by Bob Sheppard, the longtime Yankees public address announcer who died three years ago. Fans stood, applauded and chanted his name as he jogged in from the bullpen to Metallicas "Enter Sandman" and continued for two minutes as he took his warmups. The entire Tampa Bay bench emptied and stood on the dirt warning track in front of the dugout and applauded. Fans remained on their feet, chanting his name as he got two quick outs on six pitches. It was his first appearance since the Yankees retired his No. 42 during a 50-minute ceremony Sunday. Eliminated from playoff contention, the Yankees finish the season with three games in Houston. The oldest player in the major leagues, Rivera posted 314 of his record 652 saves at home during a 19-year big league career, and 18 of his record 42 post-season saves were at the old and new Yankee Stadium. Rivera helped the Yankees to five World Series titles, getting the final out in four of them. Hell remember the home finale along with the titles. "It was amazing. A great, great night," he said and then paused. "We lost. I dont know how Id be saying that." NOTES: Matt Daley is sure to be the answer to a future trivia question -- he was the pitcher who relieved Rivera. ... Rivera had not entered a game with the Yankees trailing by four runs or more since May 20, 2008, against Baltimore, according to STATS. ... The Yankees drew an AL-high 3,279,589, their lowest in five seasons at new Yankee Stadium and down from 3.54 million last year. Their average of 40,488 was their lowest since 40,346 in 2000, according to STATS. The Yankees had just seven sellouts. ... New York hit 75 home runs at Yankee Stadium, its lowest home total since 75 in 1997. ... Girardi wouldnt comment on an ESPN report that Cano, who is eligible for free agency, is seeking a 10-year deal worth a record $305 million. ... Bothered by sore legs, 3B Alex Rodriguez didnt play. ... Tampa Bay won its seventh straight and lowered to two its magic number over Texas for clinching an AL wild-card berth. The Rays swept this three-game series, outscoring the Yankees 19-3. ... Alex Cobb (11-3) took a one-hit shutout into the eighth, retiring 15 in a row between walks to Curtis Granderson in the second and Robinson Cano in the seventh. He wound up allowing three hits in seven innings-plus. ... Evan Longoria hit an RBI single in the fourth against Ivan Nova (9-6) and a two-run single off Dellin Betances in the eighth. Young hit a long solo homer to left-centre in the sixth. ... New York has lost nine of 12, including four in a row, and at 82-77 will have its fewest wins in a non-shortened season since 1992. Jonathan Toews Jersey . Next up, the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns in the AFC North. Baltimore Ravens In 2014, the 8-8 season that the Baltimore Ravens experienced was to be expected. Patrick Marleau Team Canada Jersey . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie.NEW YORK -- Welcome to Day 2 of the NFL Draft. Plenty of running backs are still available. For the second straight year, no running backs were selected in the first round. Before last year, that had never happened in the common draft era, which started in 1967 with the merger of the NFL and AFL. Once one of the footballs glamour positions, running backs have now been relegated to role players in the NFL. Star college backs such as Carlos Hyde, Bishop Sankey, Tre Mason and KaDeem Carey should start coming off the boards Friday night, when Rounds 2 and 3 are held at Radio City Music Hall. Round 1 on Thursday night started with South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney going to the Houston Texans and ended with the Minnesota Vikings trading back into the first round to pick Teddy Bridgewater. The Louisville quarterback wasnt the only high-profile passer to have a long wait backstage. Texas A&Ms Johnny Manziel waited about 3 hours before the Browns pulled off a trade to take the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner with pick No. 22. Now Johnny Football is Johnny Cleveland and the Texans are back on the clock, maybe looking for quarterback. Houston has the first pick of the second round. The Washington Redskins will get their draft started on Friday, with the second pick of Round 2, No. 34 overall. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks also have yet to make it pick. Seattle traded out of the first round, giving the Vikings the 32nd pick they used to take Bridgewater and getting back Nos. 40 and 108. Barring a trade up, Indianapolis would be the last team to draft. The Colts first pick is the 27th of the second round, No. 59 overall. Here are five things to look for on Day 2 of the NFL Draft. RUNNING MEN: Who will be the first running back off the board, and which team will break the seal? Ohio States Hyde is a good bet to be the answer to the first question. Hes big (230 pounds) and quick and doesnt have many miles on those big legs compared to some of the other workhorse backs. Arizonas Carey had 652 carries in his last two college seasons. Washingtons Sankey had 616. Hyde had 523 in four seasons at Ohio State. Mason, a Heisman finalist from Auburn, was relatively lightly used -- until last season. Other top running backs: LSUs Jeremy Hilll; West Virginias Charles Sims; Towsons Terrance West; and Boston Colleges Andre Williams, another Heisman finalist. Carey Price Canada Jersey. Teams in need of a back include Jacksonville, Tennessee, Cleveland and Miami. With running-back-by-committee all the rage, teams like to stockpile at the position -- without using first-round picks. STILL IN THE GREEN ROOM: Thirty players attended the NFL draft, so its no surprise that more than a few will have to return to Radio City for Day 2. Unpicked after the first round were: Missouri defensive end Kony Ealy; Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo; Minnesota defensive tackle RaShede Hageman; Alabama offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio; Indiana receiver Cody Latimer; USC receiver Marqise Lee; USC centre Marcus Martin; Vanderbilt receiver Jordan Matthews; and Virginia tackle Morgan Moses. CATCHING ON: If your team still needs a receiver after five were taken in Round 1, no need to fret. There is plenty of talent left at what is considered the deepest position in the draft. Start with Lee, who was being talked about as a possible top-10 pick after he was an All-American as a sophomore. A spotty junior season dropped his stock, but he could be a Day 2 steal. Dont be surprised if there is a run on receivers Friday with Matthews and Latimer, along with Fresno States Davante Adams, Mississippis Donte Moncrief, Penn States Allen Robinson and LSUs Jarvis Landry among those picked. OBRIENS QB. New Texans coach Bill OBrien said the team would draft a quarterback at some point. At the top of the second round Fresno States Derek Carr is available, along with Garoppolo, Pittsburghs Tom Savage, LSUs Zach Mettenberger, Alabamas AJ McCarron and Georgias Aaron Murray. Houston might be willing to wait until Day 3 to address quarterback. On Thursday, there were published reports the team was working to trade for Patriots backup Ryan Mallett. WHAT ABOUT SAM? Missouri linebacker Michael Sam, who publicly came out as homosexual in February, is hoping to be drafted this weekend, but its probably overly optimistic to expect him to be selected Friday. Its more likely the focus on when, where and if Sam goes will occur Saturday during rounds four through seven. The NFL has never had an active, openly gay player. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
Share:
