The eighth inning is the new ninth. Rafael Soriano is learning that the hard way.
Mariano Rivera is keeping close tabs on the situation. His locker is right next door to Soriano. Rivera talks to Soriano often and insisted Soriano is going to be fine.
Mariano said there are adjustments to be made. The first thing Soriano has to do is to not classify his work as eighth-inning work, Rivera told The Post.
There are several lessons from Mo that Soriano needs to take to heart.
“You can’t be thinking anything except getting outs,” Rivera said before picking up his eighth save of the season in the Yankees’ 3-1 win over the White Sox last night at Yankee Stadium, working a perfect ninth after eight strong innings from the amazing Bartolo Colon. “Outs, that’s it. You can’t think too far ahead. You can’t get ahead of the inning.”
Rivera has singular focus, something Soriano needs to grasp. This isn’t the Trop with 15,000 fans at the ballpark. This is Yankee Stadium.
Going from the ninth inning to the eighth, Rivera said, “is not a hard adjustment to make, but there are definitely adjustments.”
Rivera offered: “I don’t worry about him. He’s fine. This is a team. This is not about him alone in the bullpen, this is about the team. We need to pick him up now and when we need him; he’s going to pick us up.
“He understands what this is all about.”
New York is different than anywhere else. If you fail, the fans and the media are all over you.
“Here we only try to do one thing, do our best and win games,” Rivera said. “That’s all that matters.”
Rivera had blown two straight saves. Last night’s victory was Joe Girardi’s 300th as Yankees manager, and Rivera saved the ball and said he will give it to Girardi today.
Soriano was the loser Tuesday and admitted afterward he was upset because the umpire missed some pitches. Rivera said you can’t show emotion. Your focus has to be on the job at hand.
“That’s his personality,” Rivera said of the passion Soriano shows.
“Once that umpire calls ball or strike, there’s nothing you can do about it,” Rivera said. “If you get upset, it’s only going to get worse, so you need to let it go. If you have a chance to talk to the ump later you say something like, ‘I thought that was a strike. What did you think?’
“That’s how you handle it.”
Rivera picks his spots — on the mound, in the clubhouse and in the bullpen. He has talked to Soriano on a regular basis. “We always talk,” Rivera said.
What’s the biggest piece of advice Rivera has offered?
“New York is going to be different,” Rivera said. “There are a lot of expectations, and you just have to learn how to deal with it. You have to learn to enjoy it.”
Soriano is not enjoying much these days. He already has given up nine earned runs. Last year, when he saved an AL-leading 45 games, he surrendered 12 earned runs all year. Soriano’s ERA is an embarrassing 7.84.
Girardi said that when he came to New York as a catcher, he tried too hard, and it took him a month and a half to adjust. Perhaps Soriano has bottomed out and will get better. Or perhaps he is the bullpen’s version of Ed Whitson, unable to handle the expectations of the Big Apple. Perhaps Joba Chamberlain will wind up with the eighth inning.
Girardi said he is sticking with Soriano, though. The Yankees are paying Soriano $35 million over three years. He will get his chances.
“He’s had a bad month,” Girardi said. “He’s given up nine runs this month and gave up 12 all of last year, so I look at it, the law of averages say he’s going to be a lot better in the next five months. This guy cares.”
Soriano can start helping himself by learning his lessons from Mo.