You can no longer call it a fluke, Boston's success against the great Rivera. It was the fourth consecutive save opportunity (including postseason) Rivera has blown against the Sox, and the sixth in the last 11. Rivera also blew a save on Tuesday, giving up a game-tying homer to Jason Varitek, but the Yankees rescued him in that one with Derek Jeter hitting a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth.

"Our history is that we've been able to swing the bats well against him, and I think the guys feel that they can do that," said Mills. "I think that's big, and that's key, to have that confidence against anybody, not just Mariano." [mlb.com]

Thanks to Rivera (with a little help from our old friend A-Rod) the Sox were able to leave the Bronx with a 1-2 record on the season. As much as I like to crack on Rivera, it's incredible what the Red Sox have managed to do with him. In spite of it all, he still maintains his composure and goes out every day, fully expecting to get the job done. What can I say, I actually have some respect for the guy, unlike an already-been-named former shortstop who I will stop short of mentioning again).