He is the greatest closer in post-season history but during last night’s game against the Angels it appeared that Mariano needed a little something extra. He turns his back from the plate, looks around to see if anyone is paying attention and then BLOOP, he SPITS on the ball. Now I’m not idiotic enough to think that this is the reason for his long history of success, but for this one moment, Mariano CLEARLY is cheating. Of course, the spitball was banned from MLB in 1920, so it’s not like this is something new to Mariano, I mean, he’s old but not THAT old…
Amazingly none of the other 5 umpires on the field noticed anything and while the TV cameras caught it, there was no mention or acknowledgement whatsoever. Astonishing.
What do you think? Is he cheating or just “accidentally” spitting on the ball.
The Slanch Report 
i think buck and mccarver were still too busy sucking jeter’s dick for throwing to the correct base to notice this.
buck’s hairplugs this year look pretty tight, btw.
bro, you rock. “he’s old, but he’s not *that* old.” love it.
while i can barely fathom this from rivera (and i HATE the yankees), this is pretty condemning. i think the clincher is his actions before the spit, where he clearly looks around to see if anyone is paying attention.
that being said, i realized this morning that i’m staring down the barrel of a yankees v. phillies world series… and as a mets fan, that makes me want to stab myself in the face. i don’t even know who i’d root for in that series.
ugh. i just got the shivers.
That’s how I felt before the Giants/Pats SB and also Alien vs. Predator: whoever wins, WE LOSE.
If you watch any game on TV or live, its pretty obvious that most pitchers spit-up and moiturize the ball before almost every pitch, and its legal to go to the mouth or wipe sweat onto your hand when not on the mound. I think its mostly a grip benefit or to help raise the seams on the modern baseball. However, a spitball is technically still against the rules and this is an egregious infraction, during a nationally televised game no less. You should send this around to some other sites, this should probably become a big controversy.
the new york post is already on it, as apparently MLB is investigating.
no mention on ESPN that i’ve seen. they don’t cover heroes with negative press (ben rothlisberger). only pariahs and black guys.
It’s impossible for me to believe that his entire 15-year dominance of Major League hitters has merely been the result of some performance enhancing saliva. So I don’t think he’s a habitual hawker. But if he did resort to cheating last night I’m gonna have to say “bad form!” Though it pains me to do so.
Well I definitely don’t think this is a constant thing he does, someone SOMEWHERE would have noticed it before, but it does seem evident that, for this one moment at least, he expectorated on the ball. I have a love/hate relationship with Mo, I think he’s incredible and never want to face him, and I have too much admiration for his career dominance to think this is something he always does. But he definitely got caught.
the MLB cleared Mo of any wrongdoing.
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/mlb_no_evidence_rivera_threw_spitter_0tOjVFwIbDTyHq27OseczJ
wop wah.
“didn’t find any evidence…” they must mean BESIDES THE VIDEO OF HIM DOING IT right?
HEY ANGEL FANS KISS MARIANOS ASS NEXT TIME HE GONNA FART ON THE BALL
Technically farting is allowed. Although I don’t know that it does much for the break on a cutter…
i don’t exactly understand what major league baseball would or could do, seeing as there was already a precedent set for allowing cheating pitchers during postseason play to get off without punishment. (see rogers, kenny anno 2006)
oh and i love this, so representative of how full of shit our entire culture/country is.
“We have found no evidence that Mariano Rivera spit on the ball,” spokesman Pat Courtney said.
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
no evidence? no evidence. no evidence but the videotape implicating mariano rivera. that’s exactly what evidence is. i mean like i said, obviously they’re not going to do anything, that’s what selig/mlb does about everything- nothing, but you can’t say there is no evidence. is it that hard to say “after reviewing the evidence, it can not be proved conclusively that rivera spit on the ball”? or “mlb will take no action against rivera due to inconclusive evidence”?
ok there’s no evidence that manny or arod or ortiz ever took steroids. none. sure, there’s “the list” and “the mitchell report” but no evidence.
honestly, i’m not trying to antagonize, but that’s essentially a semantic argument. although i will concede on many levels the terrible corruption and mishandling of MLB by its owners and commisioner.
also:
The Commissioner’s office spokesman said, “From the available video and still pictures that we have, there’s no evidence that Rivera spit on the ball.”
why bother holding press conferences then?
rivera is a moron who should learn another pitch, and how to get rid of his new men on base restless leg syndrome he’s developed.
Love, love, love it. Deadspin’s got the exculpating still frames up where you can clearly see the spit not hitting the ball.
Which, myummers, I assume was from a video that Selig CGIed after the fact to avoid tarnishing the Yankee Mystique™, yes? Because although he’s been throwing a single pitch for 15 years that behaves nothing like a spitball, there’s NO WAY that one video clip can be wrong, right?
Suck it!
thanks for swooping in after the fact, funzo.
so, you’re telling me that since it’s now been more than 24 hours since the incident/game in question occurred, someone was able to go to the trouble to microanalyze the “evidence” after hearing about all the controversy? crazy. hard to believe this day and age, especially with the media being so passive and understated. also thank you for omitting the fact that i never said outright that rivera was guilty. my comments were surrounding only the outcry and mlb’s response to it, and the incorrect use of the word “evidence.”
would you care to chime in on who got the better end of the lou brock-ernie broglio trade?
Sorry, I didn’t realize there was a 24-hour statue of limitations on SR comments. Also, nothing you said above makes a lick of sense.
i guess there’s a lot of things you don’t realize. item #7 that i never said was that there was “a 24-hour statue of limitations on SR comments.” that’s just plain moronic. go ahead and read my last comment again, and if you can’t process it this time, well, i guess i could try and dumb it down for you.
I commented on something 24 hours after Slanch posted it, which garnered a “thanks for swooping in after the fact.” I guess you’re saying that the timing isn’t the problem, but that I shouldn’t enjoy people getting all worked up over a non-story?
Sorry, I did, and I do.
Now, can you please dumb down for me how “From the available video and still pictures that we have, there’s no evidence that Rivera spit on the ball” indicates that the entire world is corrupted and full of shit?