Betting on Zeroes for Rivera

Rivera is so good, I believe he could save Eliot Spitzer from himself.

With apologies to the NBA, Rivera is where amazing happens routinely.

As a 20-year-old shortstop prospect in Panama in 1990, he decided to pitch one day; a Yankees scout was at the game and signed him. Two years later, Rivera had Tommy John surgery -- I think Tommy John performed the surgery himself -- and he made it to the majors in 1995.

He became a setup man in 1996 for John Wetteland, when the Yankees employed their devastatingly effective "6-2-1" strategy: six innings from the starting pitcher, two from Rivera and one from Wetteland. Likewise, my first ex-wife executed her own "6-2-1" strategy: six months of marriage, two months of counseling and one month until divorce.

In 1997, Rivera developed his cut fastball, which he mixes in with his two-seam and four-seam fastball. Note: I am familiar with the intricacies of all of his pitch deliveries and release points because I once sat next to Tim McCarver on a nonstop flight from Newark to Sydney.

(Column Intermission II: And now the closing words of the closing chapter of "Living on the Black": "He would finish his career in a Braves uniform. He had proved, once and for all, that you could go home again." In John Feinstein's defense, he only types with two fingers, so he can't reach all the letters on the keyboard.)

Rivera, 38, is third all-time in saves, plus has a 0.77 ERA in postseason.

Waiting for Rivera to screw up is like waiting for Godot.

What's most impressive about his 453 saves in 512 opportunities is this: It's all been done under the watch of George Steinbrenner in New York, where you're never more than two blown saves away from a slow boat to Tampa.

I'm betting on Rivera to go 0.00 for '08.

Let me explain it this way: If you take any number, double it, add 10, divide by 2 and subtract your original number, the answer always will be 5. Similarly, if you bring Mariano Rivera in to pitch, the number of runs he allows always will be 0.

Ask The Slouch

Q. Are bloggers journalists? (Zach Stillman; Chardon, Ohio)