As a Yankee fan, I've had the priviledge of watching Mariano Rivera more than most people.  I remember him struggling as a young starter in 1995.  While setting up John Wetteland, he anchored a bullpen that allowed me to experience my first Yankee championship as a freshman in college in 1996.  Since becoming the closer in 1997, he's been on the mound in both my most charished and painful Yankee memories.  He's given up big hits to people like Sandy Alomar Jr., David Ortiz, and Luis Gonzalez to name a few. 

 Mo has also shut down these same men, along with literally hundreds of others in the same time period.  Mariano Rivera runs a close second to Derek Jeter as my favorite Yankee.  Metallica's "Enter Sandman" give me goose-bumps everytime I hear it both at the Stadium and in my car.  Mo is my guy!

It now pains me to publically admit what I've felt has been coming for two seasons now.  Mariano is coming to the end. 

The most remarkable thing about Rivera's career, in my opinion, is that he has had all of this success while basically using one pitch, the cutter.  When he first came into the league, Yankee fans remember, his style was to "stair-step" the four-seam fastball.  Strike one was at the knees.  Strike two was at the belt.  Strike three was a swing and miss at a letter high fastball.  It was about 1998 when the cutter came the pitch du jour, and the rest is history.  Now, sadly, Rivera may be as well.

When a pitcher throws one pitch, usually he's bagging groceries at the A&P.  However, Rivera was nasty enough to make it happen.  Now, the velocity is waning.  The desire to prove something is gone.  As the Barenaked Ladies sang, "It's all been done". 

Now the Yankees have done what they have refused to do in the Steinbrenner era.  They've held on too long to a player because of his past accomplishments.  Rivera hasn't yet had a season that doesn't meet his standards.  This may be the first, and because of that, it may be his last.  What a sad thing to say.