Joe Castiglione Takes Goose Gossage to School

Overheard on Red Sox radio during 2007 ALDS, Boston was playing the Angels. The Yankee-Indian game was in extra innings (the "Bugs" game, Game 2):

• Joe Castiglione: "Is Rivera coming back?" (asking his booth-mates what was happening in the bottom of the 11 th inning).

No answer, muffled sounds in the background, perhaps persons in the process of finding out the answer to Castiglione's question.

• Castigione: Not immediately having that answer, he suggests, "How many pitches has Rivera thrown?"

Crew still trying to find out, no answer.

• Castiglione: "Is Rivera coming out?"

Finally someone gives him the answer, and Joe says:

• Castiglione: "Rivera's out." OK.

Mariano Rivera had already pitched 2 scoreless innings in the TIE GAME.

• Castiglione was asking if he was COMING OUT FOR A THIRD INNING.

• It was not a 'SAVE OPPORTUNITY' either.

• Joe Castiglione is quite familiar with how Mariano Rivera has been used for the past 12 regular seasons and 13 consecutive post seasons.

• He's seen Mo pitch 3 consecutive scoreless innings in a tie game, extra innings, the season on the line and got a Win--not a "save", so sorry--in Game 7, 2003 ALCS. Something Gossage has never done in a post season elimination game.

• The other team always knows there's a chance Rivera will come out for a third inning.

According to multi millions in media publicity any time Gossage's name is mentioned, Mariano Rivera is bashed as a delicate flower compared to tough-guy Gossage.

• Stats are fervently shown by ESPN types which never include often more difficult post season innings, and usually exclude the entire year 1996--regular and post--which was Rivera's most remarkable of all. Showing Rivera's actual lifetime work v Gossage--not just selected years "as the official closer" and cherry picking "save" stats, which supposedly everyone thinks are crap any other day-- and leaving out 13 consecutive years of post season work plus any all star stats--would make Gossage look bad.

Gossage whines that Mo is just a 9th inning guy at most, never enters games in desperate situations, not the tough tie games for more than one inning. Joe Castiglione knows otherwise.

• (Gossage himself was too delicate to make it through many post seasons or all star games).

His media partners in selecting only certain stats in a Hall of Fame discussion that's supposed to include all of a player's work--not just what Gossage would like: ESPN platform people (with the exception of Mike Lupica), MLB.com people, most members of the BBWAA (again excepting Lupica), and most of the myriad of internet sites who've written about Gossage, even including so-called Yankee blogs. There are reasons for this, which I've discussed before, none of which have to do with the actual rules for comparing lifetime or HOF stats.

• So far, Mo hasn't given up 2 homeruns in 1 game in the post season like the delicate Gossage did in 1984. Also, Rivera's overall ERA, K/BB, WHIP are better and has a lower HR given up rate/IP.

(If you don't like this post, don't worry, enjoy your career with ESPN). sm

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