Same Old Mo?

After his blown save on September 28th against the Orioles, there was a surprising amount of criticism thrown in the direction of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. Rivera gave up 3 earned runs on 3 hits to blow his fourth save of the season in 34 chances. Most of the concern about Rivera stems from his age as at the age of 37 most players’ best days are behind them. In some ways, there may be some reason to be concerned as this is the first season since his rookie year in 1995 that Rivera will finish the season with an ERA over 3.00, but that really should be the end of the concerns. A 3.15 ERA is still nothing to sneeze at, nor are 4 blown saves. In addition, Rivera’s WHIP, a far better indicator of a pitcher’s performance then ERA, is still lower then his 1997 WHIP of 1.19 and comparable to his 2000 WHIP of 1.10 and no one was questioning Rivera based on his performance then. In comparison, the Cleveland Indians closer, Joe Borowski, has blown twice as many saves as Rivera and has an ERA nearly two runs higher then that of Rivera’s (5.07). October is Rivera’s time to shine as well, and while there may be a few notable blow ups in October for Rivera (Game 7 of 2001 WS and the 2004 ALCS), but Rivera is the best there has ever been in the post season when it comes to closer, featuring an all time line of 8-1 with a miniscule 0.80 ERA. No player can last forever, and Rivera will break down sooner or later, but the Yankees and their fans have no reason to worry about Rivera for this season and it begs the question of who would you rather have as your closer in a big spot? Joe “sure I led the leagues in saves but I suck anyways” Borowski? The Yankees would be wise to give Rivera at least a 2 year deal this off season while they groom their new closer and Rivera will likely deliver during those two more seasons.