MO'S "FAREWELL TOUR" IS A TEAM EFFORT

Before the season started, Mariano Rivera announced that this would be his last season in pinstripes. And thus began his farewell to baseball tour. Honestly, I am as excited by it as I am saddened. Regardless of how baseball fans might feel about the Yankees, I think most of them can agree that Mo is a class act and a legend in his own right. I’m excited to see how fans from other ballparks receive him. Everyone knows when Mo takes the mound, it’s pure magic. But he can’t make it happen on his own. It is a team effort.

The fact is that Joe Girardi, like any other smart manager, will only use his closer in a save situation. When there is a close lead by either team, throw Mo in and let him do his thing. In order to get there, though, we have to put faith on our line-up and our pitching.

The Yankees have had this problem with leaving runners stranded. Now would be an excellent time to figure it out. I don’t mean I want to see homers all the time. A single or double would do. Just get guys on and move them around. Leaving runners in scoring position has often put us in a losing position. It makes the deficit in games sometimes insurmountable, making the possibility of seeing Mo less likely.

Our pitching has to be on their A-game. Both our starters and relief pitchers have to keep runs from scoring. You cannot give up ten earned runs and think that the logical options for the ninth inning would be Mo. You have to keep it close.

Arguably, this is true for any season. It is gripes we list nearly every day. But this season just feels different. And it have everything to do with Mo leaving. I want the Yankees to win. I want Mo to leave with another championship. I want it the same way I wanted it in 2011 for Jorge Posada. We need for Mo to have a great run this season, so we need the team to do well.  

Every time I think about it, I get that choked up feeling. I could hear Jimmy Dugan yelling "There's no crying in baseball" at me. Mo's impending retirement is an exception. I don't need to see Mo every game. I know that is illogical. But I'd like to see him as often as possible on the mound. I want the last time that Metallica's "Enter the Sandman" is played at Yankee stadium to be in the World Series. This means I need this team to wake up and make it happen. For themselves. For the fans. But more importantly, for Mo. He has given so much to this team, I need them to give back.

--Erica Morales, BYB Writer
Twitter: @e_morales1804

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