Notes from today

Derek Jeter tied Lou Gehrig's record

• for hits at Yankee Stadium. ap photo.

While the post game media came up with Mariano Rivera tying Lee Smith's regular season total save stat of 478 today, Mariano himself was not impressed, did not search eagerly for tv cameras while on the mound, scream at the top of his lungs, twirl around, point to the sky and drop to the ground. Nor is there any word he's planning on accepting a plaque and photo op after his next regular season total save stat. Actually, Rivera recorded his 512th save today including his 34 post season saves. After mentioning Rivera's regular season stat, the New York Times totally ignores any mention of Rivera's post season record- which took 13 years and included 34 'saves'.

• Certain baseball owners and their partners in the media have devoted millions of dollars in publicity to sway the public to ignore post season stats, especially that they not be mentioned along with regular season stats. It's one of the ways baseball awards can be manipulated either for someone or against someone. That's important to certain owners, but the whole reason for being for some BBWAA members.

To misinform the public--ie to leave out any mention--of a substantial part of a player's career, much of it the hardest part--shows how solid national and local media are behind their real bosses. The argument that someone was 'luckier' to have post season opportunities as a reason for pointedly ignoring them opens all other stats for question,

• eg, why give a regular season total save stat record any publicity--since it's mainly the result of luck and more opportunities?

• (The MLB.com article on the subject did their usual--mentioned the post season stat as a separate item at the end of the article so as to diffuse it).

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