CLOSING TIME

I've seen a lot of good guys leave. When Darth Vader struck down Obi Wan, he said "This will be a day long remembered." It happens. Sometimes, the good guys cannot win the battle they are fighting. Whether it's a misunderstood villain with a light saber, or Father Time himself, eventually good guys fall.

This season has been tough to watch.  I've watched a lot of players come and go. 2011 was heart breaking to watch. Jorge Posada's press conference can still move me to tears, just by thinking about it. I've settled into that same sadness I had then. Every time "Enter Sandman" plays, it's there. The knowledge that this will be Mariano Rivera's last season.

I know a lot of Yankees fans have decided to ignore what this season really is, and just enjoy it. But the truth is, this is Mo's Farewell Tour. You cannot deny what is right in your face. The greatest closer in baseball history, is saying goodbye. Not just to the Yankees, and Yankees fans, but to the game he loved, and everyone associated with it. There is a sad beauty to it.

I don't know what life will be like after Mo. But, as crazy as it may seem, the Yankees, and life will continue to go on. The Yankees will cope. David Robertson, or Joba Chamberlain, or any number of guys in the bullpen will take the reigns. The organization will continue to play around with pitchers until they find one that can be closer. The game will continue, and in 20 years, Mo will be in conversations, only in the past tense. Here's the thing though, there will never be another Mo. Yes, closers will come and go, but none can be Mo. He is irreplaceable. Maybe, one day there will be a closer that comes in, and breaks his records, and that person will be incredible in their own right. 

The Semisonic's had a song in the 90's called "Closing Time." The lyrics go "Closing time/ Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end/ I know who I want to take me home." This is Mo's closing time. It's bitter sweet. Mo has given this organization a lot, and we are grateful. There is no other closer I would have ever traded Mariano Rivera for. None. But, man does it hurt to see him go.

Erica Morales
BYB Senior Writer
@e_morales1804

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