'Clutch Pitching- Exhibit A, Mariano Rivera,' WALL ST. JOURNAL , 10/5/07

The author sees clutch pitching more valuable than clutch hitting:

• "There's much more evidence to support the existence of clutch pitching. Exhibit A: New York Yankee reliever Mariano Rivera. His 2.35 career ERA in regular-season work plummets to 0.80 in the postseason. In a playoff series, Mr. Rivera may not throw harder in a clutch situation than he does in a routine August game, but he may have a more fully realized strategy for each hitter and may stick to it more stringently.

And if having a clutch pitcher like Mr. Rivera gives a team a leg up in the postseason, not having one makes a bigger difference. Many pitchers can be overwhelmed in the postseason and get wild or tentative, serving up a hanging slider or batting-practice fastball to a grateful hitter, who'll likely get credit for a clutch performance."

• ...."This postseason will be interesting because so many pitchers will experience postseason pressure for the first time. The new guys would do well to follow the example of two Red Sox starters. Through Wednesday night's playoff game, Josh Beckett has a 1.74 postseason ERA -- two runs better than his career mark of 3.74. His teammate Curt Schilling has an equally impressive postseason résumé: a 2.06 ERA and an 8-2 record. Jamie Moyer of the Philadelphia Phillies has also been very good in October (3-1, 2.66 ERA). Livan Hernandez of the Arizona Diamondbacks has a 6-2 postseason mark and a 3.99 ERA.

"...So as you watch the playoffs throughout the month, applaud the heroics of the hitters if you must, but know that it's the pitchers who really perform in the clutch. Or not."

From Wall St. Journal online article by Allen St. John, "By the Numbers-Clutch Pitching," 10/5/07

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