MARIANO RIVERA TO HAVE MRI FOR INFLAMED ELBOW--NY Times

• (Notice to Mel, etc: Rivera leads the majors in IP among late inning relievers (70). In his 58 games in 2006, he's gotten more than 3 outs in 17 of them. Please check your facts in future). ed.

"Mariano Rivera and Jason Giambi played in yesterday’s doubleheader, so their health status is not alarming to the Yankees. But the team was concerned enough about them to schedule magnetic resonance imaging exams.

Rivera has experienced inflammation in his right elbow and will have a precautionary M.R.I. on the elbow soon, perhaps today. He earned the save in the first game yesterday but did not pitch in the second.

After working two innings for a save on Aug. 20, Rivera did not pitch for six days, until another two-inning outing on Sunday. There was only one save opportunity in that stretch, and Rivera said yesterday that he felt good and that he had enjoyed the rest.

Asked if the innings add up this time of year, Rivera smiled and said, “They do, they do.”

Rivera showed no signs of fatigue on the field yesterday, when he threw 12 strikes among his 14 pitches and threw as hard as 95 miles an hour. He had his elbow in ice after the game, a standard practice for many pitchers.

After the second game, Manager Joe Torre did not mention the M.R.I. but stressed the need to monitor Rivera’s workload.

“I have to look at the big picture,” Torre said. “This game isn’t an October game. That’s when you throw the rules out the window. We’ve got to take as good care of him as we can because he’s like one of our regular players.”

Giambi had an M.R.I. on his left wrist between games of the doubleheader, after he went 1 for 3 with a sacrifice fly as the designated hitter in the opener. He missed a start Sunday in Anaheim because of cramping in his hands, and he has had his wrist wrapped lately.

The results of Giambi’s M.R.I. were not immediately available, and he started the second game as the D.H." by Tyler Kepner, New York Times, August 31, 2006

• Why does Torre allow himself to be victimized into apologizing for not using Mariano for all 162 games? Those who hope and pray for Rivera's demise are leading this hunt. ed.

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