Dein erstes Forum » his behaviour has been above reproach

TORONTO - There isnt much - in fact there may not be anything - that hasnt already been written or said about Mariano Rivera. About the man: a person of faith, humble, charitable and always willing to help others. About the pitch: the cut fastball which has baffled hitters, even though they know its coming, and broken more bats than anyone cares to count. About the player: Major League Baseballs all-time saves leader with 652, whos accomplished the feat with one team in an era of rampant player movement. The legendary Yankees closer is into the final weeks of his Hall of Fame career. Hes making his last stop in Toronto as a professional baseball player and, like anything else Rivera says, you believe him when he expresses his appreciation of visiting the city so many times over the years. “Its a great city to play in,” said Rivera. “We have had here tremendous games, tough games, big games but at the same time theyve all been wonderful. Its great to play here and play against the Toronto Blue Jays for all these years.” Rivera and his wife, Clara, have run The Mariano Rivera Foundation since its founding in July, 1998. The charity provides scholarships to further the educational needs of underprivileged students and sponsors churches and youth centres. It reaches across the United States and as far south as Riveras native Panama. “I always try to do it,” said Rivera. “Not only Panama but wherever we need to help and that is something that Im proud of. Not that I want to be recognized for that, but I do it because I was helped once and I always wanted to help others. That makes me feel good - knowing that I can touch one life and we can make that life better.” During his season-long farewell tour, Rivera has met with employees from each opposing ballclub. Twenty long-time Blue Jays employees had an opportunity to spend an hour with Rivera during New Yorks previous visit in late August. Rivera shook hands, answered questions and posed for photos. It was Riveras chance to thank the people who work hard behind the scenes. “I like how people appreciate the game and those are the ones you dont even see,” he said. “Theyre the ones you dont even know about, but at the same time they do something for the game, appreciate the game and appreciate what you do.” Rivera is also known to be giving of his time to his fellow ballplayers. Earlier this season, at Yankee Stadium, he held court with the Blue Jays large contingent of Spanish-speaking players. At the All-Star Game, in New York City, but hosted by the Mets, Jays relievers Steve Delabar and Brett Cecil approached him for baseball-related conversation. Sergio Santos did the same thing, two years ago, when Santos was with the White Sox. “I had a 30-minute conversation with him out in the outfield and he was so awesome and open to letting me ask him any question I had,” said Santos. “I had just become a closer so I had a bunch of questions and he sat there and spoke with me and answered every question I had. Hes just an amazing person and an amazing player.” Santos picked Riveras brain on thought process - How should he approach hitters on days he knows he doesnt have his best stuff? What about when hes feeling too good? If a runner gets aboard, a noted base stealer, how best do you divide your attention? “Just how adamant he was about going from pitch to pitch, not letting your mind wander to the next hitter or to what the situation is or letting any of that happen,” said Santos. “Just going, really simplifying it to the max, where its pitch by pitch. You get your pitch and then you try as best as you can to execute that pitch and once that pitch is over, whether it was executed or not, you forget it, its done with and you try to go on to the next pitch.” The cut fastball, Riveras go-to pitch, remains a mystery even to the pitcher himself. In the absence of a human to credit or, more likely because Rivera truly believes it, he looks skyward when asked to explain the success hes had against hitters who dont have to consider pitch selection. “Thats the Lord. Thats God, because no one taught it to me,” said Rivera. “I cant say to you that my pitching coach taught me that. I cannot say that. It happened for a reason and thats what I attribute it to, to the Lord.” “You know, still to this day, no hitters figured it out,” said Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes. “You know its only one pitch. Hes going to go with the hard cutter. Youre looking for the cutter and still youre not able to put a good swing on that baseball. Its unbelievable what hes been able to do.” “I mean, hes a little bit different now,” added Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. “Hes working both sides of the plate now. You know, really, in his prime it would be in to lefties and away to right-handers. It was that overpowering cutter. You knew it was coming, you could see it. You just cant do anything with it. As far as a left-hander, it starts in the middle of the plate and it keeps chasing you. You think you can get out in front of it and maybe catch it out front. You cant. With the right-handers, you see it there, it disappears and basically youre lucky if you get it off the end of the bat and it usually leads to a broken bat.” Rivera has thrived in New York. Like Derek Jeter, his long time teammate and fellow Yankees legend, his behaviour has been above reproach. He has created a Yankee Stadium tradition in which Metallicas metal anthem “Enter Sandman” is followed, three outs later, by Frank Sinatras classic “New York, New York.” Trusting Sinatras words, Riveras made it in New York, which means he could make it anywhere. With 652 saves, and likely more to come, hes backed up a legends words with his own legendary actions. Wholesale Air Max 1 . Radulov scored the lone goal in the shootout, and the Predators edged the Minnesota Wild 2-1 on Tuesday night to reach 100 points for the second time in three seasons and fourth in seven. Cheap Air Max 1 . Bibeau, Torontos sixth-round pick at No. 172 overall in last years draft, was named the outstanding goaltender of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup. http://www.cheapaustraliaairmax1.com/. - No matter the lineup or location, the San Antonio Spurs are rolling through the NBA again this spring, just the way they have for most of the last two decades. Cheap Air Max 1 Australia . Founding members of the Genie Army, a group of Eugenie Bouchard supporters who cheered for the rising tennis star during the Australian Open in January, will be in the city for the Rogers Cup, beginning this weekend. Air Max 1 Australia Sale .J. -- Rampage Jackson scowled, howled, then bellowed to the crowd: "Im back! Im back!" With rebuilt knees and a new promotion, Jackson might have one more act left in MMA.SAN DIEGO -- Andrew Cashner pitched into the eighth inning and Chris Denorfia drove in two runs to lift the San Diego Padres to a 4-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. Cashner (2-1) wasnt nearly as sharp as he was in his previous start when he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Detroit on Friday before settling for a one-hitter with a career-best 11 strikeouts. But the righty was resourceful as he consistently pitched his way out of trouble. He held the Rockies hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position. Cashner gave up nine hits overall and allowed two runs -- one earned -- with five strikeouts in 7 1-3 innings. It was the 10th consecutive start in which Cashner has allowed two runs or less. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his fifth save. Justin Morneau went 3 for 3 and drove in both Rockies runs with a solo homer and a sacrifice fly. Jorge De La Rosa (0-3) pitched a season-high six innings, allowing three runs -- two earned -- and seven hits. De La Rosa, demoted to the bullpen after his last start, was inserted back into the starting rotation after Brett Anderson suffered a fractured finger Saturday. De La Rosa, a 16-game winner last season, had surrendered 15 runs in his first three starts before Wednesday night. San Diego reachedd De La Rosa for a pair of runs in the fifth inning to take the lead.dddddddddddd. Alexi Amarista, who replaced the injured Chase Headley at third base, reached on an infield hit with one out. Cashner sacrificed him to second and Amarista went to third on Everth Cabreras infield single. Amarista then scored on Jordan Pachecos passed ball and Denorfia hit an RBI double for a 3-1 lead. Denorfia added a run-scoring single in the seventh. Cabrera, who sat out Tuesday night with a sore knee, extended his hitting streak to eight games. Rookie Tommy Medica tied the game at 1 with a solo homer in the second inning after Morneau put the Rockies ahead in the top of inning when he hit a solo shot into the beach beyond the centre-field fence. NOTES: De La Rosa came in with a 3-0 record in his last four starts at Petco Park. He hasnt lost to the Padres in any ballpark in nearly four years. ... Headley sat out with a strained right biceps, suffered in the batting cage before Tuesday nights game. He is listed as day to day. ... Anderson is scheduled to have surgery Thursday to repair his fractured left index finger. ... Rockies LHP Franklin Morales (0-1, 6.39) replaces Anderson in the starting rotation and will face San Diego RHP Ian Kennedy (1-2, 4.24) in the series finale Thursday. ' ' '