WHY RIVERA'S 602 IS SWEET NO MATTER WHAT

I respect Joe Girardi. I swear. He didn’t break away from the Girardi binder because as much as it made sense to put Jorge Posada in to catch Mariano Rivera’s 602^nd save, the reality is, why break momentum? Why break stride? The Yankees just needed to do their thing today and get the win. After all, that’s what we’re really playing for, right?

I’m a baseball traditionalist and I love the history of the New York Yankees. Everything that happens in the Bronx happens for a reason. Big games, big records to be broken and big wins. Today was the sweetest moment next to Derek Jeter’s 3000^th hit and the Yankees winning the World Series back in 1996 after a drought going back to 1978. It was destiny and it was meant to happen this way. Yes, I wanted Jorge Posada to catch Mo's 602, but I'm happy no matter what. Today to friggin' special in Yankeeland.

A lot of people don’t realize that we can actually credit AJ Burnett for doing something right today. He continues to implode. Today, that was important believe it or not. Alright, it's a stretch, but humor me. Once again Burnett couldn't get out of the 5^th inning and our awesome bullpen took over and held the Twins to 4 runs. It was the perfect storm for Mariano today. So, as much as we want to gang up on AJ Burnett, you really have to smile and thank him today. After all, he’s probably pitched his way out of the starting rotation this time, right? While he started out very strong, he just fades so quickly.

But I’m not writing this to hammer AJ Burnett, we have the rest of the season for that. This moment is for Mariano Rivera... the best closer ever. Dante Bichette Jr. said it best today when he tweeted this:

This is a kid that will be the future of the Yankees and you know what? He’s right. The Yankees do everything big and while the hype for Mariano wasn’t big until 600, it’s huge right now and with good reason. Mariano is "the Sandman", the biggest, baddest and best closer in the history of baseball. If you look at the list, he's tops to greats like Lee Smith, Dennis Eckersley, Rich Gossage and Tom Henke. Unbelievable. You can tell me that Saves are stupid and they don’t matter and as a traditionalist of baseball, I understand the argument. But while this record doesn’t seem important to some, it does to Mariano Rivera who went out there 602 times to close out a game and secure a win for the New York Yankees. Believe me Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a big deal... it’s a huge deal. Plus, it’s another record in the history books that the New York Yankees own.

Congratulations Mariano Rivera. You derserve everything great that comes your way and you deserve this record. Amazing work and an amazing career. Thanks for keeping it going and it's been a privilege to watch you in your great career. You're simply the best...ever.

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