Hi Doug,
I can relate to both of your posts.
Although not an everyday player as you mentioned, IMHO Mariano Rivera was the most efficient example of modern specialized pitching.
The two things that stand out in my mind as far as what made him special are:
1) How much he appeared in the postseason (your point) and how effective he really was at slamming the door on opposing hitters & ending the chance for a late inning rally.
2) The fact that he had essentially one pitch, that every hitter knew was coming, & yet they couldn't hit it, much to their frustration...
One interesting factoid that perhaps some of you don't know about is that Mariano Rivera was actually drafted by the Yankees as a shortstop, not a pitcher.
At one of his early stops in the minors a coach noticed the natural cut in his throws across the diamond and suggested the switch to pitching.
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