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Rivera be damned Yankees closer opens flood gates to D'backs' title
Updated: Monday November 05, 2001 6:25 AM
PHOENIX (AP) -- Mariano Rivera on the mound in the ninth inning, protecting a one-run lead in Game 7 of the World Series. There couldn't be a better situation for the New York Yankees. "If you're going to ask one thing when the evening starts, it's to have Rivera in the game," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We had it, and they beat our best." Rivera, the surest thing in baseball the past four years, committed a key error and allowed two runs in the ninth, losing 3-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. "I did everything I could and they beat me," a calm Rivera said in a subdued Yankees' clubhouse. "I feel good. I didn't pitch as well I wanted to. That's baseball." The sudden turn of events left the Yankees stunned in their dugout.
New York ended the season without a World Series title for the first time since 1997 -- which just happened to be the last time Rivera blew a save in the postseason. "There's nobody in the history of baseball I'd rather have out there," reliever Mike Stanton said. "Regardless of what happened tonight that hasn't changed. He's the best." Perhaps the only Yankee not supremely confident was owner George Steinbrenner, who kicked out people setting up the New York clubhouse for a celebration because it was too premature. But the demanding Steinbrenner only had praise for his closer. "I will not say a bad word about Mariano," The Boss said. "How many times has he won it for me? He's the best." Rivera converted 23 consecutive saves since Sandy Alomar's game-tying homer for Cleveland in Game 4 of the 1997 division series, making the ninth inning the Yankees' domain. Never had that been more evident than in Game 4 and 5 when New York hit game-tying homers off Arizona closer Byung-Hyun Kim that carried the Yankees to extra-inning wins. Those are mistakes Rivera never makes. Not until now, that is. Rivera entered in the eighth inning after Alfonso Soriano's homer gave New York a 2-1 lead. Six-out saves are the norm for Rivera at this time of year and for the Yankees every year. "We put Mo in the game, and that's all we really wanted," Torre said. New York hadn't lost a game it led after eight innings in the postseason since dropping Game 4 of the 1947 Series to the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees came back to win two of the next three games and the Series -- an opportunity they won't get this time. "I'm proud of my team," Steinbrenner said. "That's all I will say. We played our hearts out. It was a very tough loss. I will be a gracious loser." Rivera breezed through his first inning, striking out the side around a harmless single by Steve Finley. That lowered his ERA in the postseason to a major league-best 0.70. But things fell apart quickly in the ninth. Mark Grace led off with a single, and Rivera made an errant throw on Damian Miller's bunt attempt, putting runners on first and second. "If I get the out at second base things are different," Rivera said. "But that's if. Things happen." Rivera appeared to regain control when he hopped off the mound to field Jay Bell's bunt and threw out pinch-runner David Dellucci at third base. But then Tony Womack hit a line drive down the right-field line that tied the score. After Rivera hit Craig Counsell with a 1-1 pitch, Luis Gonzalez hit a soft single to center that ended New York's bid for a fourth consecutive title. "I just didn't have a good rhythm tonight," he said. "I didn't have it." Rivera, who successfully closed out 10 of New York's last 11 postseason series, walked off the mound quietly. The Yankees sat still in the dugout -- Paul O'Neill slumped over the railing after his final major league game -- as the Diamondbacks staged a wild celebration on the field at Bank One Ballpark.
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