No Mo?

Mo Rivera is out for at least a few days with forearm difficulties. I was about to type "this could not come at a worse time," but in fact the opposite is true. With the Yankees lead at 8, the Red Sox' two leaders (Varitek and Papi) both out, with the hitters hitting, with even A-Rod coming out of his near-catatonic slump, Mo's injury--if it had to happen--could not come at a better time.

Having written that, know this: there will be no World Series without a healthy Rivera. He is the franchise, and he has the record to prove it. When MLB.com introduced its online survey, whereby people could vote for one of five players on each team as that team's franchise player, four nominees from the Yankees were a foregone conclusion: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, baseball's Mount Rushmore. I've no problem with Yogi Berra as number five, but I would have picked Rivera, for no other reason than on the all-time varsity (eight position players, right-hander, left-hander, reliever), he is the only no-doubter besides Ruth in right field.

Get well, Mo.