Mariano Rivera Was Shit and Robots are Coming: Goose Gossage Has Some More Takes

It's spring training and Goose Gossage is back to warm your frozen butts with some more fiery takes. In what appears to be a yearly tradition, the Yankees reliever and Hall of Famer was at New York's spring training complex to screw himself up into a knot about how things were so much better back in his day. Whereas last year he reserved his ire for Jose Bautista–"a fucking disgrace"—and the nerds running the game—"a bunch of fucking nerds running the game"—Gossage took aim at someone a little closer to home: Mariano Rivera.

Rivera is considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, relievers in baseball and holds the records for most career saves. This chaps Gossage's ass to an insane degree. He spoke with New Jersey Advance Media today about a wide range of topics, including what a bunch of bullshit it is that he is compared to guys who pitch one inning, when he often pitched three. He does say he's not trying to take way from what Rivera did, but he also actually did say it was insulting to compare his career to Rivera's.

NJAM: You mention Mo, but I think he was the one guy who at least was used in the eighth at times by Joe Torre

Gossage: "Bullshit! … That's postseason. He never did it … Very seldom in the (bleeping) regular season."

NJAM: Did you ever talk to Mo about it?

Gossage: "I told him. Yeah, we did it on (the) Michael Kay (TV show). Don't compare me to Mo or what they do today. They're one-inning guys. I take exception to that. Don't even (bleeping) put me … closer wasn't even a coined phrase."

NJAM: So when people say Mo is the great reliever ….

Gossage. "(Bleep). That's bullshit. Do what I did and we'll compare apples to apples. Or Sutter or Rollie Fingers, the guys that set the bar. I'll tell you what, setup guys have a harder role today than closers today."

Never mind that pitchers today face batters who are stronger, smarter, and more prepared for the pitchers that they face than Gossage's contemporaries, and just enjoy what an inconsolable grouch Gossage is.

Other highlights from the interview include:

On where they can shove instant replay: "Replay … they can take replay and shove it up their ass."

On Barry Bonds, Bud Selig, and steroids: "And Bonds had the greatest years of his career the last four or five years. That doesn't happen. That doesn't (bleeping) happen. So I think Bud Selig should have reinstated that damn record. Make a (bleeping) statement! … Just be realistic and don't poo-poo it."

On sabermetrics and…robots, somehow: "It's going to get worse. The horse is out of the barn. It's gone. And who knows where this game is going to go. They're going to do away with umpires. We're not even going to have umpires on the field. Why would we need umpires? Robots. That's what it's become. Players are becoming robots. They're turning them into it."

If you want these Goose Gossage takes in their natural habitat, go to NJ.com and read the whole thing.