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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Fake Hoffman 'record' promoted by NY Times, says Yankee fans should feel joy, Mariano Rivera post game media event exploited for fake Hoffman 'stat'

  • The entire Hoffman campaign consists of ungraciously and pathetically trying to link him to Rivera and the Yankees with whom he has nothing in common.
The NY Times in an 8/11/11 article about the Yankees opened by praising a fake "record" about a retired, non-Yankee player and expressed that Mariano Rivera and Yankee fans should have felt "joy" at equaling a regular season total save stat "record." NY Times, "The Struggles of Rivera Cast a Pall Over a Win." The Times claims Trevor Hoffman had "14 consecutive seasons of at least 30 regular season saves" which is not true. The most consecutive seasons of 30+ saves Hoffman had was eight, 1995-2002. Rivera stats.
  • would leave Yankees fans with feelings of joy and satisfaction....
Rivera did get the final two outs for his 30th save of the year, Reading the Times article it seems media members brought up the 'record' in a post game interview with Rivera and sought his comment on the "joyous" occasion. If this is the case, it means Yankee management did not object to the exploitation of Mariano Rivera's name and time in a formal setting to promote a fake record. His words were sought to raise the profile of a fake stat and that of a retired pitcher who never even achieved the record being discussed.
  • The Times itself listened closely to Rivera's reaction:
Context of this quote from the NY Times: "Rivera did get the final two outs for his 30th save of the year, tying Trevor Hoffman with 14 consecutive seasons of at least 30 saves,
  • but the record and even the save
  • felt hollow to him....
“I can’t care less about that stuff,” he said. “As long as I do my job, that’s what I want, and lately I haven’t done it. So, it won’t make me or break me. But games like this get me upset.”"...
  • -------------
Hoffman missed most of 2003 due to surgeries and did not have any 'saves' that year. Going by the Times' thesis, Rivera and Yankee fans must be waiting around for Rivera to measure up to Frankie Rodriguez since he got a record in 2008 for the most 'saves' (62) in a single regular season. Rodriguez also had the most 'opportunities' (69) on record and none of his appearances were more than 1 inning.
  • By framing of the article as the Times did, it encourages readers to believe the 'regular season total save stat' is what defines 'closers,' or is their great equalizer.
Regarding the comparison to Hoffman, from SI.com, 1/12/11, From Howard Bryant, 10/23/09, From Jerry Crasnick, ESPN, 10/29/09, -----------------------------
  • Reference:
1/12/11, "Where Hoffman ranks among baseball's best closers ever," "Trevor Hoffman was no Mariano Rivera but he was a great closer", SI.com, Cliff Corcoran
  • This article analyzes regular season only.
  • --------------------------
9/9/08, "Baseball's Closer-Minded Problem," SI.com, Tom Verducci
  • ---------------------------------
1/4/2009, "Are today's closers Hall-worthy? Rivera, Hoffman two active pitchers who are leading candidates," MLB.com, Bryan Hoch
  • Another article attempting to link 2 pitchers whose only real similarity is that they were contemporaries. Everyone knows Hoffman will get into the Hall, but I guess Bud wants to make sure. Article highlights a quote from Bud Selig: "Trevor Hoffman is a Hall of Famer in my opinion. So is Mariano Rivera....So where in my mind do you think Trevor Hoffman figures? Relief pitchers are critical."
  • -------------------
10/23/09, Howard Bryant, "Moves Making ALCS More Interesting," 10/23/09, ESPN.com
  • there is no greater gap than the best closer of all time
  • to the second-best.
  • He is that good....
The difference-maker, of course, is Rivera. And regardless of what the Yankees do for the remainder of the series,
  • ---------------------------------
"Rivera...a world removed from the 3-outs-and-hit-the-food-spread fraternity" ...
  • --------------------------------
11/3/2008, "A 'Closer' Look," FoxSports.com Community, Tyler Hissey, on Francisco Rodriguez' season of 62 saves in 69 chances, breaking Bobby Thigpen's previous single-season mark of 57. Lost in the media hype, though, he also set the benchmark for save chances, a function of opportunity."...
  • --------------------------------------

Sunday, July 24, 2011. "Mariano Rivera saves Yankees' 7-5 win over Athletics and sets record along the way," The Star-Ledger, Conor Orr

“Well, definitely, it means you gotta be first of all able to pitch for that many seasons,” Rivera said of his milestone streak, taking long pauses between each sentence. “I’m a guy that I play for the team. All I care about is try to do my job … and all those other things will come up.”...

  • -----------------------------

To date, Rivera has pitched more than 3 outs in 57 of his 96 post season appearances. Jeff Passan noted the 53 game mark after ALDS game 3 in 2009.

  • Outings 54 through 57 were as follows: 2.1, 2.0, 2.0, 1.2.
-------------------------------
  • A durability stat not often published, 2 saves in one day
As of 5/26/10, Rivera pitched 2 saves in one day 6 times in the regular season. The 5/25/10 game was shortened due to rain. It's final 3 innings were played on 5/26. Rivera pitched in the regular 5/26/10 game as well, both saves in 1-run games. ( 2 saves in one day 5 x was noted in a 5/3/07 AP article by Elias). I mention this because it doesn't usually show up on stat sheets assessing durability.
  • ----------------------------
Joel Sherman finds the Commissioner's office to be the source of anti-Yankee negativity. (Defining player images up or down has been very important to Bud Selig. ed.)
  • From Sherman's 2006 book, "Birth of a Dynasty" about the 1996 Yankees:
"Unfortunately for the legacy of this group, the success of these Yankees (1996 team) coincided with
  • a powerful push by central baseball
  • to convince fans
  • that the disparity between the financial "haves" and "have-nots" was destroying the competitive balance of the sport. The Yankees came to embody the big-market superpowers. They were demonized for buying championships.
  • They were cast as villains by a Commissioner's Office that
  • saw the advantages of
  • portraying them as
  • a prop in a strategy
  • to win salary concessions from the players in collective bargaining,
  • Thus the Yankees of this era do not receive near the amount of credit they deserve for what they accomplished."...
Page 311 from Joel Sherman in his 2006 book, "Birth of a Dynasty," about the 1996 Yankees.
  • ---------------------------------
  • Also from Joel Sherman's book about the 1996 Yankees, a note about Rivera's regular season:
In 1996, "Rivera went 8-3 with a 2.09 ERA (regular season), held opponents to a .193 batting average, Most amazingly, of the record 4,962 homers spanked in 1996, Rivera allowed just one, to Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro on June 28."
  • page 208 from Joel Sherman's book, "Birth of a Dynasty," published in 2006 by Rodale---------
  • ------------------------
YES Network studio programs have regularly promoted Hoffman's name and the 'regular season total save stat' for years. If one assumes Yankee media is a junior version of ESPN, this makes sense. Rivera of course celebrates actual 'save' milestones as he reaches them along with other important occasions and no doubt will continue to do so. Media outlets will continue doing what they do. The heart and soul of the YES Network belong to Bud Selig and ESPN. So I stopped watching it years ago. It should be re-named, "Bud Selig's YES Network." The "Yankees" continue to promote Hoffman on the back of Mariano Rivera. A "Yankee" network and website runs an article asking fans to VOTE on who is the "better closer, Hoffman or Rivera." Articles and 'votes' like this by an alleged 'Yankee' outlet are demeaning to Rivera but the YES Network is happy to oblige. No one cares about Hoffman except Bud Selig who wants him in the Hall on the first ballot. To help out and create buzz for Hoffman, the YES Network exploits Rivera's name and even has a 'vote' to see if Hoffman is 'better' than Rivera. It is unlikely any Yankee related blogs will complain about this because most of them aspire to make money via MLB, already do so, and/or are affiliated with the YES Network or Yankees.

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posted by susan at 8/24/2011 12:18:00 AM

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