Closer

Baseball's closers -- at least the good ones -- do not think like us. No one is more unlike "us" than the most dominant closer in the history of the game, Mariano Rivera.

Mr. Rivera has been sawing off bats at the hands of batters since he became the Yankees' "Sandman" in 1997. He's been practically automatic. Except not lately, at least not against the Boston Red Sox. Yesterday he made his first appearance of the season and left one over the plate to Jason Varitek. It looked to me, watching on TV, that the Red Sox are getting wise to Rivera, and have begun to watch for the cutter in on lefties. But does Mariano plan to adjust? Nope.

"The pitch was over the plate and I didn't want it over the plate," Rivera said. "I wanted it to be inside and up, but it didn't get there."

The Red Sox have made life difficult for Rivera in the past year. In nine save situations against them, Rivera gave up the lead four times, twice during the season, twice in the league championship series, including Game 4, when the Yankees were three outs from a sweep.

Now he starts the next season by squandering another save.

"I can't explain it," he said. "It's a matter of a bad pitch, bad selection."

The Red Sox have not penetrated his psyche, he said emphatically. "I wouldn't be here if they got in my head," he said. But they have made adjustments, Rivera said. Has he adjusted to the Red Sox? "I don't have to adjust to nobody," he said. With 17 games left against Boston, his tone was again emphatic.

It is said that to be effective, a closer has to have a short memory and absolute confidence in his ability to get the guy at the plate out. It will be interesting to see if that holds or if Mariano will have to acquiesce to the Sox and adjust to their adjustments. And if he does adjust, will that somehow affect his closer's psyche.

UPDATE (4:16 PM): With the Yanks leading 3-2 this afternoon at the Stadium, Mariano has just proceeded to blow his second save in as many days. He's actually being taken out by Joe Torre after Rivera gives up an unheard of three walks and three singles (an Alex Rodriguez error didn't help). Apparently there were some boos as he was leaving the field -- boobs.

The Yankee universe collectively shudders.

I personally refuse to be made afraid by this development, and chalk it up to lack of control at the start of the season. Nothing to worry about, folks. Move along. But if Rivera is not the same pitcher he was, the Yankees are in a bad way because he is the single greatest reason for their success of the last nine years.