I saw him pitch last night.  He did much better, although I still had this uneasy feeling watching him.  It is very easy for him to lose his mechanics.  Sometimes it was his arm slot, sometimes it was his stride, other times I think he just plain lost focus.  As with most everyone else on this planet (exception to this rule is below), he must stay down in the zone.  Hopefully, over time, these will be corrected and he’ll get more consistent.  I felt a little bit better about him.  As always, in baseball his next start is his most important.  I heard Andy Pettitte say in an interview that he is bringing Kei Igawa on the ‘Clemens’ workout.  Good.  He needs some muscle on those legs. 

Is Mariano for real?  Remember when I said that Farnsworth should master his other pitches before trying a changeup?  Mariano is a perfect example of a pitcher who is the master and now is mastering another pitch.  He made Ryan Howard look foolish with his new changeup.  Excellent.  I can only marvel at this man, this player.  He’s absolutely incredible.  And introducing a changeup now at this stage in his career, is pure, unadulterated genius.  Guys who think they have Mo figured out will be in for a surprise.  I expect no dropoff in Mo’s game.  He looks ready and I am sad with the knowledge that there will be a day when I will not see him pitch anymore.   Â