Mariano Rivera's Strange Season Continues

Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer in the history of baseball, and at 38 years old, he is having the best season of his career. His ERA is a miniscule 1.45; he's allowed only 30 hits in 48 1/3 innings, and he's walked just five batters all season. 

However, a closer look at the numbers reveals a strange dichotomy between save and non-save situations. In save situations, he has been untouchable, allowing just one run in 26 appearances for a 0.33 ERA. That one run came on July 5 against Boston, where he loaded the bases with nobody out in a 2-0 game. He still got the save. 

When he doesn't have the chance to get a save, his ERA jumps to 3.00. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with that ERA, but he is nowhere near as dominant.

Friday's appearance against the Los Angeles Angels was his fourth loss of the season, and the sixth time he's failed to get a hold in a tie game. The Yankees came back to win twice, but Rivera's relative struggles in tied games have been the only negatives in an otherwise unbelievable season. 

By the way, who thought we'd see a game where Sidney Ponson would allow the same amount of hits in seven innings as Mo would in one?

In that game, Francisco Rodriguez recorded his 45th save of the season. On pace to shatter Bobby Thigpen's single-season save record of 57, Rodriguez's season is overshadowing another great Rivera year. 

For Mo, the outing is the second time all season he's allowed a run in back to back games. On Tuesday, he allowed a run against Baltimore in a 6-3 game which came back to haunt the Yankees, who scored three in the ninth inning, but fell 7-6. 

Does he lose focus when he doesn't have the chance to finish a game? Possibly. A 3.00 ERA isn't a big enough deal to be too concerned, but it is nine times higher than his ERA in save situations.

His career numbers show that may be the case. 

In 624 2/3 innings in save situations, he's allowed 132 runs for a 1.90 ERA. That ERA jumps to 2.51 in other spots, a 32.1% increase. While still phenomenal, it shows that Rivera is more effective when he has the chance to get the saves.

Some guys can't handle the closer's role. Numerous pitchers have been chewed up and spit out by the role, but Rivera has been immune. 

Yankees fans just wish that their vaunted closer could equal his killer instinct in games like Friday night.