Crisco. Bardal. Vagisil

It seems even the great Mariano Rivera feels the need for some trickeration from time to time. 



As far as I'm concerned, this is just another reason to love Mo. 

(Via Halos Heaven)

UPDATE: I can't believe people are actually taking this video seriously. It's gone so far that Major League Baseball had to open and quickly close an investigation into the matter. Via Joel Sherman's Hardball:

The Major League Baseball Commissioners Office reviewed available video and still photography from Mariano Rivera spitting toward a baseball in ALCS Game 3 and “found no evidence that Rivera spit on the ball,” a spokesman for the commissioner told the Post.

The initial reaction by the league had been that the video plus still pictures they have of the incident were inconclusive if Rivera actually spit on or near the ball. But after further review of what it had, the Commissioners Office determined that Rivera was not spitting directly on the ball.

On still pictures in MLB's possession, it apparently looks as if Rivera is spitting near, but not on, the ball. Also, as even the league office is aware, Rivera is a player who spits constantly while in action.

Come on. This is Mariano Rivera we're talking about here. The guy's been dominating the league for years. If he had been throwing a spitter for the past 15 years, I'm pretty sure someone would have spotted him spitting on the ball at least once in his 900 + career appearances.

Los Angeles Dodgers coach and former Yankees coach Larry Bowa sums it up best:

I have never ever, ever heard anyone say anything about Mo doing something like that. That is totally bogus. If that was true I would have heard about it from somebody and I have never heard anything like that.

The Incomparable Mariano Rivera

Lat night, Mariano Rivera recorded his 500th career save--and his first RBI. Rivera, who insists he still has plenty of gas left in the tank, joins Trevor Hoffman on the exclusive list of closers to notch 500 saves. And to think the Yankees signed him for an astonishingly low $3,000 and, back in 1996, even considered trading him. Amazing. Actually, now that I think about it, everything about Mariano is amazing. Here he is talking to ESPN about his career. 

Can Mariano Rivera Delay the Inevitable?

It doesn't take a genius to figure out Mariano Rivera's performance has dipped a bit over the past couple of years. He's still effective, but he's hardly as dominant as he was during the Yankees' championship runs, even with an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio. So, what's wrong with Mo? More than a slight decrease in velocity, Rivera is simply having trouble putting hitters away, specifically getting that all-important swing-and-a-miss. Batters, it seems, are making contact with Mo's cutter and four-seamer with more regularity. To wit: last night, it took Mo 10 pitches to retire Elijah Dukes, who fouled off four consecutive pitches (three cutters and one four-seamer) before grounding out to Robinson Cano. Already, in 27.2 innings, Mo has yielded 27 hits, only 14 less than he gave up all last year. Are we watching the beginning of the end for Mo?

Fangraphs illuminates this disturbing, possibly irreversible, trend. 

Move forward to 2009 and how has Rivera done? Well, noticeably worse is easy to see, but there are some frightening numbers beneath the surface. Rivera's 7.5% swinging strike rate is the lowest on record for him. There has been a sizable dip in the number of pitches thrown within the strike zone and hitters are not chasing these extra balls out of the zone.

Rivera’s ground ball rate is also at its lowest point on record, though that is over a smaller sample than his individual pitch results. It is no surprise then that the home run rate has increased, though the rate by which is has increased is surprising and not likely to continue. Rivera has allowed five home runs already this season through 26.2 innings. The last time he allowed more than five home runs was 1995 when he was a starter.

Interestingly, Rivera’s strikeout and walk rates have not moved much despite the drastic change in his individual pitch outcomes. 32 strikeouts to just two unintentional walks, and no hit batters, gives Rivera an even better ratio than last year. Given his extreme drop in missed bats and overall strikes thrown however, I would not expect that to continue. It will be interesting to see which regression, the strikeout and walk rates or the home run rate, influences Rivera’s final line the most.

I still have faith in Mo. Hell, I'd take him over 99 percent of the league's other closers. Given his age, however, I also have to admit that even the mighty Mariano is going to have to call it quits sometime. Hopefully, he can make some adjustments and deliver a few more postseason runs before he heads off to Cooperstown. 

(UPDATE:) RAB counters. I'm not sure who's right, but it's interesting that the same data can lead to two different conclusions. Half-empty, Half-full, I guess. At least we can agree there's still a glass.