"Mariano Rivera was warming up for his attempt at the all-time saves record Monday when a bizarre cheer caught his ear. When Rivera realized what had caused the applause - Nick Swisher hitting into a double play that ended the eighth inning and ensured he would get a save opportunity - he thought two things:

"These fans are crazy," he recalled, smiling. And, he added, "Oh, my God, these fans are into it."

Truth be told, so was Rivera. He has never loved the spotlight and, he admitted, was tiring of the attention to his personal pursuit of both Trevor Hoffman and history. He wasn't exactly rooting for a teammate to fail, but, he said, "I'll be honest, I was happy, too. I wanted to pitch.""