Mariano Rivera - Closer.
Age: 35 Years Old (Turns 36 in May).

Three-Year History and splits:

SEASON G IP H R ER HR BB SO W L SV HD BlSv ERA
2003 64 71.2 61 15 13 3 10 63 5 2 40 0 6 1.66
2004 74 79.2 65 17 17 3 20 66 4 2 53 0 4 1.95
2005 71 78.1 50 18 12 2 18 80 7 4 43 0 4 1.38

Outlook: What can possibly be said about Mariano? Perhaps...I wish I had more hands so I could give him 4 thumbs up! No, for Mo, only the highest honor is worthy. That's right: I Heart Mariano. Anything less...would be uncivilized.

I think Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus sums it up quite nicely:

"Mariano's been consistent and such a presence. Gossage was feared, Righetti was good, McGraw was a great story, but Rivera is such a pure, consistent guy that on the few occasions where he fails, it's a shock. No other closer has ever inspired such confidence."

Exactly. We all know what Mo has done to this point in his career; 2.33 ERA, 541 GF, 379 SVs. In 807 innings, 630 Hits, 728 Ks, 215 BBs, 42 HRs. 8-1 with 34 SVs and a 0.81 ERA in 112 postseason innings. Staggering numbers when you really start looking at them. They become even more impressive once you consider what he has done since the rumblings began that he was finally succumbing to time and overuse. Those thoughts weren't entirely unfounded as Rivera posted ERAs over 2 for all three years between the 2000 and 2002 seasons. Prior to those three seasons, the closest he had gotten was a 2.09 ERA in 1996, his first full year in the majors. He also lost part of the 2002 season to injury. Well, apparently Mariano took the phrase "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" to heart since he has been phenomenal (even more so) since 2002. The numbers don't lie: 209 G, 228 Innings, 176 Hits, 209 Ks, 48 BBs - 193 GF, 136 SV - 1.66 ERA, 8.3 K and 1.9 BB per 9 and .32 HRs a game.

Hold on, it gets better. Last year, at the tender age of 35, Mariano posted one of his finest seasons ever. If you take out his misadventures against Boston in his first two appearances last year, his line for 2006 becomes: 1.17 ERA, 9.0 K and 1.8 BB per 9, .12 HRs a game and a 5.13 K/BB ratio. He also put up a line that I will never forget. On the road last year, he gave up one earned run in 35 innings (that's a 0.26 ERA with a 32/5 K/BB ratio). Maybe it was his decision to forgo pitching in the winter leagues during the offseason, maybe it was the implementation of a two-seam fastball into his arsenal, maybe he just found the fountain of youth. It might be a mixture of all three but whatever he's been doing, I hope he keeps doing it because it's worked. I mean, even after accounting for some regression because of his age and worse luck, Mariano still projects to have a great season and until he shows that he can't do it anymore, I can't think of any reason not to expect more greatness from Mo.

It will be a sad day when Mo walks off the mound for the last time but until that day, I will continue to be amazed by his performance, humbled by his modesty and in awe of his faith.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

G Innings W L BB KHDSVBlSv ERA