I almost cried tears of joy.

Joe Girardi uses Mariano Rivera in the 8th inning of a regular season game:

"The bullpen made things interesting in the eighth, as the tying run came to the plate after ineffective outings by LaTroy Hawkins and Billy Traber, but Mariano Rivera cleaned up the mess, recording the final five outs to save Mussina's victory.

'The game was on the line,' manager Joe Girardi said after Rivera was used for five outs for the first time since last July. 'To me, that's where we had to shut the door and close the game.' "

Seems too sensible to me. Mariano Rivera and Kyle Farnsworth may get too confused about their "roles." Then, they'll feel uncomfortable. Then, they won't be able to relax.

It reminds me of a player named Johnny Truck. I don't know his real name, but we always called him "Johnny Truck," or "Johnny the Truck."

Now, Johnny never made it to the big leagues -- he went into construction, I think --but, on the playground, Johnny would never relax. My brother Frank and I used to always say, "Johnny, you've got to relax."

That is how I learned that the most important thing is to relax.

That is why Farnsy had to pitch the 8th inning. We are saving Mo for games against the Mets or the Red Sox.