Oh boy, this might be fun.
For tonight it’ll be business as usual because the Yankees are playing the Rays and Tampa Bay is going after a playoff spot, but manager Joe Girardi just told reporters that he’s “absolutely” considering using Mariano Rivera in center field during the final series in Houston.
Rivera has always loved shagging fly balls in the outfield--that’s how he injured his knee last season--and has talked in the past about wanting to play center field, even for just an inning. And why not give him a shot? It’s not like the Astros will care, I’m sure the Yankees and their fans would get a huge kick out of it, and the possibility of Rivera chasing after a fly ball and having to contend with that crazy hill in Houston’s outfield sounds all kinds of fun.
I mean, if position players can pitch in blowouts on a relatively regular basis why can’t Rivera be a position player for 20 minutes? And then maybe he can pitch the next inning.
