Exit Sandman

If this is it for Mo, and all signs point to it indeed being the end, whatta shame. Coming from my extremely homersexual Boston perspective, a damn, damn shame. That's not how I wanted to see one of the greatest baseball career's of all-time end. If it had been during an actual game, although I'm not entirely sure how a pitcher goes about tearing an ACL on the mound, it'd be one thing. But shagging fly balls? In Kansas City, of all-places? Shakespeare himself couldn't have written such a tragedy.

Hey, I'll remember Mo for the good times. Bill Mueller's walk-off home run in the Varitek/A-Rod game. The 2004 ALCS when he couldn't pick off Dave Roberts. Opening Day at Fenway in 2005 when he got a mock cheer from the crowd.

Make no mistake about it, for as mortal as he looked at times in 2004-05, that was eight seasons ago. He was off to a great start again this year (5/6 save opportunities, 2.16 ERA). He'd been dropping hints during spring training that this season would be his last anyways, but I'm sure no one envisioned this being the situation.

Also as Mo goes, so goes the no. 42, never to be worn again by a major league baseball player. So there's that as well. Jackie Robinson's number is officially retired.

Fortunately for the Yankees, this David Robertson kid seems like the real deal (hasn't allowed a run yet this season in 11 innings, striking out 18 batters while walking just 3). My colleague Anthony Russo has been pumping up Robertson as the heir apparent for awhile now, so we'll see how this works out. It's one thing to put up those numbers as a set-up guy; it's a whole other to do it following the undisputed greatest closer of all-time. Just ask Alfredo Aceves how that's going in Boston.