Those, of course, are lyrics from the 1991 hit "Enter Sandman," by heavy metal rock band Metallica, the same song that blares every time Yankees closer Mariano Rivera enters a game at home. Those lyrics are probably a good indication of how Yankees fans who turn in for the night when No. 42 enters the game, thinking its result is a foregone conclusion. Yankees win.
OK, so maybe that's a bit much, and it's surely way too early to say that Rivera is on some sort of sharp career decline right now, but it is worth noting his struggles, which are, at this point, just temporary.
Until recently, Rivera had been his usual "lights-out" self, holding down the back end of a really good Yankees bullpen. However, a trip to Boston over the weekend started what's turned into a forgettable stretch for the greatest closer of all time.
Rivera started by blowing a save on Sunday night in Boston. Staked to a one-run lead in the top of the ninth, Rivera surrendered a leadoff double to Marco Scutaro. The Red Sox shortstop then came around on Dustin Pedroia's sacrifice fly that tied the game, a game that the Sox would win off Phil Hughes in the 10th.
Then, two nights later, Rivera entered a 4-4 game with the Angels at Yankee Stadium. He gave up a leadoff single to Alberto Callapso, before retiring the next two batters. However, he couldn't sneak a 3-1 pitch by Bobby Abreu, who took Rivera deep for a two-run home run in what ended as a 6-4 Halos win.
Finally, on Thursday afternoon, Rivera entered in the ninth with a safe four-run lead, but with runners on first and second. His first pitch to Russell Branyan was hit for a home run, pulling the Angles within one, before Rivera slammed the door. Coincidentally, Rivera recorded his 30th save of the year for the 14th time in his Hall of Fame career.
That gives Rivera a running three-day line of this: 2 2/3 innings pitched, four hits, four earned runs (not counting the two inherited runs that scored on Thursday), two home runs, and no strikeouts or walks. His ERA in that time: 13.50.
It's obviously a small sample size, and everyone is entitled to struggle from time to time. It's the nature of the game. However, when you're as automatic as Rivera is, every time you go through a struggle like this, people are going to talk. When you're as old as Rivera is, that talk only gets louder. He's not going to pitch forever (we think), and therefore, every subsequent slump will be accompanied by the question, "Is this the beginning of the end for Mo Rivera?"
In short, probably not. However, if you're looking to nitpick, look at two interesting statistics. In this three-appearance stretch, Rivera has allowed two home runs and at the same time, he hasn't recorded any strikeouts. Now, Rivera isn't necessarily a strikeout closer, but Rivera did enter this stretch averaging roughly eight strikeouts per nine innings. And as far as the home runs go, Rivera had allowed just one before Abreu's shot earlier this week and Branyan's on Tuesday.
Rivera has chalked up the struggles to poor execution and mistakes. With all of the success he's had in his historic career, he's more than earned the right to a mistake here and there. That doesn't mean slumps like these won't get people talking.
He'll likely figure out with the basis for that being he's figured it out his entire career. But stretches like these are a strong reminder that he won't be able to be the Sandman forever.
