In his first action of the spring Mariano Rivera still seemed to have some juice left in his arm. He came into yesterday’s spring training game in the 4th inning and dominated, throwing eight pitches, seven for strikes. Not bad for a 38 year old.

Rivera recorded two strikeouts in his inning of work. Of note, he didn’t throw his cutter, a pitch that will send him with a first class ticket to the Hall of Fame.

“I didn’t need to throw cutters today,” Rivera said. “I felt real good out there. I was able to throw the pitches and hit the strike zone.”

It’s interesting to see that Rivera hasn’t missed a beat according to yesterday’s outing. He is set for 10 innings this spring and is scheduled to make back to back appearances at the end of spring to prepare himself for the regular season. Rivera is in the first year of the 3 year contract he signed over the winter. Yesterday’s appearance was a good sign for Rivera and the Yanks, let’s hope the rest of the season goes as effortless and smooth.

(Frank’s articles can also be found at OnTheBlockNY)