Say it ain't so, Mo: Is Mariano Rivera on the Decline?

How does a guy have a 17+ year Hall of Fame career by throwing only one pitch? Easy. That pitch has to be really, really, really good.

New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has been terrifying hitters throughout his whole career with his magnificent cut fastball. Mariano consistently throws the pitch in the low 90 mph range, usually 89-92 mph.

Now there are many big leaguers who throw in the mid to high 90's, who have had no where near the success that Mo has had (see Kyle Farnsworth). But it's not the velocity that makes Mo's cutter so special, it's that late movement and the consistent pin point accuracy that he has shown throughout his career. Wherever the catcher puts the target, that's where his pitch goes.

Mariano's lack of consistent accuracy is what has had him struggling in recent outings. Now every time he has a couple of bad outings, critics want to announce that he is on the decline (rightfully so, considering he is 41 years old and has to come back down to earth at some time).   He'll usually bounce back and have some crazy scoreless inning streak or a long stretch where he doesn't blow a save. The streaks usually shut everyone up for a little while, until he blows a save against the rival Red Sox in a late season situation.

Rivera has struggled in his last two outings, in which he blew a save against the Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball, and gave up a two run home  run (his second of the year) to former Yankee Bobby Abreu in the top of the 9th inning in a tie game against the Angels. When interviewed after the Angels game, Rivera said the pitch he threw to Abreu "just didn't cut."

Rivera's cutter hasn't been as sharp as it has been in previous seasons. Just look at the batting average for left handed batters in the past 4 seasons. In 2008, LHB were hitting .147. In 2009, they were hitting .182. In 2010, the number increased again to .214. This season, left handed batters are hitting .267 including last night (2-3).

Rivera also has been struggling putting away batters with 2 strikes on them. He already has given up almost double the amount of hits in favorable two-strike counts (0-2, 1-2, 2-2) this season, 16 hits, as he did last season,  9 hits.

Mariano, at 41 years of age, is still considered one of the best closers in baseball, but his numbers have slowly declined in recent years, showing his human side. It will be a sad sight in New York when Mariano has to step down. The Yankees are going to have some HUGE shoes to fill when that day comes.  Of course no one expects him to pitch forever, but lets hope he can find his accuracy and finish his career with the precision and perfection that he has shown throughout his storied career. Until that day, enjoy watching one of the greatest pitchers of all time.