Can Yankees Set Up Orioles for Big Loss?

He is 6 feet 2, 168 pounds. A two-iron in pinstripes.

He’s not exactly the physical reincarnation of such heat-dispensing relief pitchers as Dick Radatz, Goose Gossage or Lee Smith, but if a fall breeze doesn’t blow Mariano Rivera away during the American League championship series, he is likely to continue blowing away opposing batters.

He struck out 130 in 107 2/3 innings this year.

He walked only 34.

He gave up only 73 hits, holding hitters to a .189 average.

“He’s easily our most indispensable pitcher,” New York Yankee Manager Joe Torre said Monday, the eve of tonight’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

“Everything we do is based around Mo. He makes it possible for John Wetteland to do what he does. He’s the bridge to the closer. He pitches the most important innings.”

Rivera generally pitches the seventh and eighth innings, setting the stage for Wetteland, who converted 43 of 47 save opportunities.

In the division series with the Texas Rangers, the Yankee bullpen was almost flawless.

The combination of Wetteland, Rivera, Jeff Nelson and David Weathers was 2-0 with two saves, working 17 1/3 shutout innings and giving up five hits and striking out 15.

Right-hander Rivera faced 15 batters and retired 14, yielding one walk.

Said Cal Ripken Jr., the Oriole shortstop, “We’re well aware of how strong the Yankee bullpen is. In some ways it almost forces you to change your offensive approach. You want to be sure to go in the late innings with a lead.”

The Yankees were 87-1 in games they led after eight innings and 25-16 in games decided by one run.

Rivera warms up the speed guns for Wetteland.

Both throw in the mid to high 90s, but Rivera, a 26-year-old Panamanian, often throws nothing but fastballs from a delivery smooth as whipped mantequilla.

“The great thing to watch is how his fastball sort of explodes from this methodical windup of his,” Wetteland said of Rivera. “Everything looks nice and calm, then comes the explosion.”

Said David Cone, “There’s that old saying that you can’t throw all fastballs in the majors. I’ve seen Mo do it for two weeks at a time. It’s really amazing. I mean, most guys who can throw 96 or 97 mph throw it right down the middle. Mo locates so well that he’s doubly dangerous. Plus, he’s fearless.”

Yankee coach Jose Cardenal put it another way, calling Rivera emotionless.

“It’s like he’s been here 15 years,” Cardenal said. “He’s the reason that we’re where we are.”

Rivera is a long way from his Panamanian roots. He played as a youth with a glove made of cardboard. He used plastic bats and a tennis ball, sometimes rocks. He figured that he would grow up to work with his father on the family fishing boat.

“You see most kids trying to be Nolan Ryan or Don Mattingly,” Rivera said. “I never thought about trying to be a pro.”

He changed his mind at 19, tempted by a $3,500 offer after a Yankee tryout camp from Herb Raybourn, then the club’s Latin America scout. It was actually a package deal. Raybourn also gave $3,500 to Rivera’s cousin, Ruben Rivera, an outfielder on the Yankees’ playoff roster.

Said Raybourn, now with Toronto, “I’m not surprised by either of their success, particularly Mariano’s. Nothing scares him. You can throw that kid into any situation and he’ll kill you.”

Rivera struck out 380 in 430 1/3 minor league innings, but his progress was delayed almost two years by a 1992 elbow injury. He made his major league debut last year, as a starter and reliever, but his lack of a consistent breaking pitch, his resiliency and his cool demeanor made him more suitable for relief, the Yankees decided.

He appeared in 61 games this year, holding the bullpen together when Wetteland was out for a month because of a groin injury. He had five saves and an 8-3 record.

“Sometimes you see Latin kids come up and they’re pretty wild and crazy,” said Cardenal, who was born in Cuba.

“Mariano is very mellow and low key, but he reminds me of a young [Nolan] Ryan, the way his ball explodes.”

Said Rivera, “Maybe I’ll be a starter, or maybe a closer some day, but I feel good where I am. I know I’m helping the team in this role. It’s exciting to come in and get out of a bases-loaded situation. I don’t think hitters expect me to throw that hard.”

They should by now, suggested Deacon Jones, an Oriole scout.

“I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve never seen anything like his hits per inning and walk-strikeout ratios,” Jones said. “They’re staggering, and he keeps gaining more confidence.”

So does Torre, who smiled and said, “The best compliment I can give Mo is to say the hardest thing for me to do is pick up the bullpen phone and not say his name.

“I can’t pitch him every day, but I would if I could.”

And, of course, he just might against the Orioles.