Sunday Morning Links

A few links for your Sunday morning.

Ronald Monestime takes a look at Andy Pettite and says that he deserves to be considered this generations Mr. October as much as Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera do.  I love Pettitte and what he has done for the Yankees all of these years, but he’s the same pitcher in the regular season as he is in the playoffs.  Jeter is the same player in the regular season as he is in the playoffs.  If you’re going to label someone Mr. October simply for stepping it up in the playoffs, it has to be Rivera.  As great as he has been in the regular season, his postseason numbers are even further off the charts.

Speaking of Rivera, heres a pretty cool piece in which Kerry Wood compares Rivera to Greg Maddux.  It’s probably not a comparison made often as one is a starter, one a closer, but it makes sense and it’s pretty cool to hear it from someone with Wood’s perspective.  Rivera and a PED accusation free Maddux could end up going down as the greatest starter and closer of their generation (and obviously in Mo’s case G.O.A.T.).  It’s just too bad we never got to see Rivera close out a game for Maddux, despite the Boss’ best efforts.  Speaking of which, here’s a link to when the Yankees struck out with Maddux (and Bonds) and signed Jimmy Key.  The last line is classic Steinbrenner, and would soon ring true.

Sam Borden took a look at A-Rod and how he heads into October without the pressure he’s had in the past after his heroics last season.  The best part for me is that Borden made sure to point out that A-Rod had plenty of good playoff moments with the Mariners and wasn’t really the choker we had all been led to believe.  Many of the glowing A-Rod articles after last season neglected to mention this, and I’m glad Borden pointed it out.

Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune briefly talks about his history with George Steinbrenner and how it feels different in the postseason without him around.  The further away we get from his death I think the more we’ll appreciate that the 2009 team was able to win the World Series in his last full year alive.