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Longtime New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera thought long and hard about hanging up his spikes for good after tearing his ACL way back in May, but Erik Boland of Newsday reported over the weekend that Mo has decided he wants to come back for one last hurrah in 2013.

Assuming he and the Yankees are able to agree on a new contract, the greatest relief pitcher in the history of baseball will once again be suiting up in pinstripes next season.

But what of the land beyond 2013? Who will take Mo’s place once he finally retires?

Rafael Soriano was a candidate for the honor once upon a time, but not so much anymore. He thrived closing games in Rivera’s stead in 2012, and he’s looking to capitalize on his performance on the free-agent market after opting out of his contract a few days after the World Series ended. He’s likely going to want too many years and too much money for the Yankees to re-sign him.

After spending the bulk of the 2012 season as a closer, Soriano may not want to be Rivera’s understudy in 2013 anyway. There is, however, at least one pitcher out there who would love to hold that position during Rivera’s (probably) final big league season.

According to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com, Kansas City Royals free agent right-hander Joakim Soria wouldn’t mind going from being a primary closer to being a primary setup man for Rivera. He apparently considers Rivera his idol, and he would like very much to learn under him.

“If the Yankees call, we will be all ears,” said Soria‘s agent, Oscar Suarez, on Monday. “If there is a fit, Joakim would be elated to work with Mo. He would close everywhere except there.” 

As of Monday, the Yankees hadn’t yet kicked the tires on Soria. If they do, they’ll join a list of suitors that his agent says is already eight teams deep. His agent says that a deal could be agreed to soon if the right offer comes along.

There will be some risk for whichever team signs Soria. He didn’t pitch all that well in 2011, and he’s currently recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent last April. He may not be ready to pitch until after the 2013 season is underway, and then he’ll have plenty of rust to shake off to get back to where he was in 2010.

Given the circumstances, should the Yankees give Soria a look as a potential long-term replacement for Rivera? Or should they pass on him and cross that bridge when they get to it after the 2013 season is over?

Giving Soria a shot wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. There aren’t many relievers out there with his upside, and he’s an even more appealing option for the Yankees because he’s a guy who could actually take after Rivera out on the mound.

As far as Soria‘s upside is concerned, we know what it looks like. Between 2008 and 2010, he compiled 115 saves, a 1.84 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP and a 4.04 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He was an All-Star in 2008 and 2010, and he finished in the top 10 in the AL Cy Young voting in 2010 as well.

There’s obviously some concern about how Soria will bounce back after his surgery, and there’s also some concern about whether the 2011 season was the beginning of the end for him even before his right elbow started acting up. He regressed to post a 4.03 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP, and hitters went from hitting .216 against him in 2010 to hitting .259 against him with a .397 slugging percentage.

However, it’s not like we’re talking about a reliever who will need to recover an explosive fastball and an unhittable slider once he returns to action. Keith Law of ESPN.com pointed out in a recent Insider piece that Soria always pitched more like a starter when he came in to close things out, getting ahead in the count with his fastball and then going to his offspeed stuff to finish hitters off. Blowing hitters away wasn’t his style.

According to FanGraphs, Soria‘s fastball sat in the low 90s before he had his surgery. It may take a little bit of time for him to get back there, but it’s by no means unfair to expect him to recover that kind of velocity at some point down the road. If he does, that means he won’t have to vary his pitching style from what it was like when he was one of the most dominant relievers in baseball.

What makes Soria a particularly intriguing fit for the Yankees is that one of the pitches he features is a cut fastball. The guy he’s open to studying under, of course, just so happens to be the very man who popularized the cut fastball.

Last April, Mike Fast of Baseball Prospectus noted that Soria‘s cutter first appeared in July of 2010. It’s essentially a slower version of his fastball with more breaking action, and the idea behind implementing it seemed to be to cut down on the number of hits batters were getting off his fastball.

It worked. According to FanGraphs, hitters went from hitting .293 against Soria‘s fastball in 2009 to hitting .227 off fastballs and cutters in 2010. He saw his strikeout rate decline from 11.7 to 9.7, but he lowered his BABIP from .300 to .277.

However, hitters adjusted to what Soria had to offer in 2011. They hit .278 off his fastball, and .294 off his cutter. It didn’t help that his average cutter velocity dropped by about two miles per hour from 91.7 to 89.8, which may have been an early sign of his forthcoming arm problems.

This is an area where a year of tutelage under Rivera could potentially have a huge payoff. Soria‘s cutter clearly isn’t a totally refined pitch just yet, and it could very well become refined if he were to listen to whatever advice Mo had to give. Rivera could even teach him how to get by with a cutter that sits right around 90 rather than 92.

That’s pretty much where Mo’s cutter was at when he was on the mound early in the 2012 season. Per FanGraphs, it was only coming in at an average of around 90.6 miles per hour, yet he was still using it to hold hitters to an even .200 batting average.

Basically, the innings Rivera managed to pitch in 2012 were par for the course. He was getting by with merely decent velocity relative to what his velocity used to be like, and anybody who has been watching will know that this has been the case for quite a while now.

Rivera could throw his cutter in the mid-90s in his heyday, making it the closest thing to an unhittable pitch as yet discovered by mankind. As he got older, though, his cutter’s velocity started going down bit by bit.

It’s still been an effective pitch because Rivera knows how to locate it and when to give hitters a different look with his four-seam fastball. If he has any secrets in regards to how to vary up pitch sequences, he could pass those on to Soria.

Provided he has a good set of ears and a good head on his shoulders, Soria could basically become a Rivera clone who also features a slider, a curveball and a changeup, which is a very scary thought. Hitters wouldn’t necessarily be overpowered against him, but they’d surely be overmatched.

Now, all of this sounds good in theory, but reality has a way of making things that sound good in theory and killing them before they’re even off the operating table.

In this case, much depends on Soria‘s stuff eventually being close to where it was when he was one of baseball’s most dominant relievers. His surgically-repaired arm may not allow that to happen.

Plus, actually signing Soria to be Mo’s successor would be tricky, as it would require the Yankees to sign him to a multi-year deal that would keep him in pinstripes beyond 2013. That’s problematic for both the Yankees and for Soria.

It’s problematic for the Yankees because giving a multi-year deal to a reliever is rarely a good idea, especially not when said reliever is coming off Tommy John surgery.

It’s problematic for Soria, meanwhile, because a multi-year deal for him at this point would likely call for a low base and tons of incentives. He’s better off taking a one-year “prove it” deal and then trying to have a good season so he can test the free-agent waters in 2014 with a significantly higher price tag.

Still, it’s worth it for the Yankees to at least take a shot at calling Soria‘s bluff. They could call him up and say they’re willing to give him a two-year deal loaded with incentives that also has an option for a third year. They could sell it to him by telling him that they want him to learn under Rivera just as much as he does and that Rivera’s job will pass to him in 2014 if he proves he deserves it in 2013.

Other teams will be able to offer Soria a chance to close right away and the kind of one-year deal he may be seeking at the moment, but he won’t find another opportunity like the one the Yankees could offer him. 

If he were to go for it, signing him could end up being an ingenious solution to one of the more notable dilemmas the Yankees will have to deal with in the very near future.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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New York Yankees fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Mariano Rivera has announced he will be back for the 2013 campaign.  With that announcement, one cannot help but wonder who is going to be groomed to take over in the ninth inning once the shoo-in for Cooperstown finally hangs up his spikes.

Following Rivera’s traumatic season-ending injury in 2012, the Yankees were fortunate enough to have former Tampa Bay Ray Rafael Soriano in their arsenal, and the big right-hander stepped up his game to fill the void.

In 69 appearances, Soriano had 42 saves and a 2.26 ERA.  With him, the team maintained the stability it had grown accustomed to during the era of “the Sandman.”

Unfortunately, that success translated to the potential for “greener pastures” for Soriano and he opted to pursue free agency this offseason.

With that solid backup gone, who will the team turn to should 2013 be Mariano Rivera’s final season? 

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The New York Yankees were supposed to see a familiar face out on the mound on Tuesday night for the first time in a couple of months, but Mother Nature had other plans.

Veteran left-hander Andy Pettitte, out since June with a broken left ankle, was set to start for the Yankees against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, as Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com reported, but the word from YES Network broadcaster Michael Kay is that Tuesday’s game has been rained out:

Yankee game rained out. Day night DH tomorrow with first game at 1 pm. My best info is pettitte starts first game.

— Michael Kay (@RealMichaelKay) September 18, 2012

Pettitte’s first start in nearly three whole months will have to wait.

It’s coming, though, and it really couldn’t come at a better time. Given the circumstances in the AL East, the Yankees need as much help as they can get in the last couple of weeks of the regular season.

As such, they’d no doubt love to see Mariano Rivera back on the mound as well. This, however, is something we know isn’t happening. Mo teased a potential return to the Yankees by the end of the season way back in July, but Yankees GM Brian Cashman moved quickly to squash that possibility. Rivera’s torn ACL needs more time to heal.

However, Rivera did vow way back in May that he would be back in 2013, saying he’s “not going out like this.”

Pettitte has also left the door open for a potential return in 2013. He said this weekend, via ESPNNewYork.com, that his injury has changed his thinking.

Said Pettitte:

I could probably say that when I came back I thought there was no chance that I was coming back, this is a one-year deal. But getting hurt and only having 60 innings right now and you were hoping to have a couple hundred innings under your belt, it definitely gives me the option to consider coming back again next year, that’s for sure.

Granted, Pettitte went on to say that he’s basically in wait-and-see mode for now. It’s also worth noting that Rivera backed off his promise to pitch in 2013 back in July because he doesn’t want to leave himself open for disappointment if it turns out his body won’t allow him to pitch.

So really, it’s anybody’s guess as to whether Pettitte and/or Rivera will pitch for the Yankees again in 2013. 

Here’s my best guess: Both of them will be back in 2013. Allow me to explain why.

Why Andy Pettitte Will Be Back

When Pettitte made his 2012 debut on May 13, nobody really had any idea what to expect. He didn’t officially sign on with the Yankees until late in spring training, and he wasn’t exactly a picture of health when he last pitched in the majors in 2010.

Pettitte proceeded to shatter expectations in the first eight starts he made for the Yankees upon his return, posting a 3.29 ERA and a .228 opponents’ batting average. He pitched at least six innings in each of his first eight starts, and he probably would have pitched six innings in his ninth start had a line drive not hit him in the leg.

That line drive, of course, landed Pettitte on the DL, freezing him at 58.2 innings pitched until now. There’s only enough time left in the season for him to make three more starts. Because the Yankees are going to be watching his pitch count and his innings like a hawk, it’s hard to imagine Pettitte finishing with any more than 80 innings under his belt when the season comes to a close.

If so, Pettitte would officially set a new career low for innings in a single season. That’s not ideal, but you can obviously see where he’s coming from when he says that he figured he was in for a much larger workload when he decided to come back this year. 

Just like he wasn’t back in 2010, Pettitte has not been a picture of health this season. We are, however, talking about a freak injury that has derailed his season. This year has left Pettitte with few, if any, reasons to think that his body can’t handle pitching in the big leagues anymore.

Conventional wisdom says that his body will break down if he comes back in 2013, as he’ll be 41 years old by next June. However, this is a possibility that shouldn’t be taken for granted. The track record for pitchers in their early 40s isn’t utterly hopeless.

On Monday, Matt Klaassen of FanGraphs posted a helpful rundown of left-handers who were still pitching in their early 40s. Among the lefties in recent history who enjoyed some decent success were Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, David Wells and Jamie Moyer.

With the exception of the Big Unit, who could still strike hitters out with the best of them when he was in his early 40s, the key for all the old lefties who enjoyed some success later in their careers was to have good control. For them, it was pretty much all smoke and mirrors.

Pettitte has demonstrated this season that he’s more than up to the task of keeping hitters guessing. The 2.3 BB/9 he’s posted so far this season is his lowest such mark since his near-Cy Young season with the Houston Astros in 2005. His 9.1 K/9 is fluky, but it goes to show that Pettitte’s pitch selection and location were as good as ever when he was pitching earlier this season.

If we include Pettitte’s 2010 season in the discussion, we’re talking about a pitcher who has a 3.26 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9 and 7.7 K/9 over his last 187.2 innings. Numbers such as these qualify Pettitte as a well-above-average pitcher.

The Yankees certainly need one of those now, and they’re going to take as many of those as they can get in 2013 as well.

Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Yankees only have a handful of starting pitchers looked up for next season. One, obviously, is CC Sabathia, and the others are Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda and David Phelps.

Because this group leaves a lot to be desired, I’ll be surprised if the Yankees don’t find a way to re-sign Hiroki Kuroda after what he’s done for them this season (14-10, 3.26 ERA). But even if they do, the back end of their prospective 2013 rotation will still need some work.

Hughes is fine, but Pineda will be coming off major shoulder surgery, and Nova will be coming off a season in which he’s given up a lot of hard-hit balls and hurt himself with walks. Phelps has been decent as a starter, but he hasn’t done enough to prove that he deserves to be handed a rotation spot in 2013.

Complicating matters is the fact that both Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, who entered the season as the Yankees’ two best pitching prospects, endured trying seasons in 2012. Banuelos was hurt for much of the year, and Betances struggled to the point where the Yankees really had no choice but to demote him from Triple-A to Double-A.

The Yankees are going to need to arrange some depth for their rotation this winter, and it will need to be cheap depth if they’re serious about lowering their payroll. 

That’s where Pettitte will reenter the equation. Per a report from Newsday, the Yankees are only paying him $2.5 million this season. They could bring him back on a similar deal, or perhaps even a little cheaper, if he decides that he does indeed want to keep pitching.

My money is on him wanting to pitch. His ankle injury saved his arm a lot of wear and tear this season, and the fact that Pettitte teased a return in 2013 is a sign that he still has the bug just as bad as he had it earlier this year when the Yankees were gearing up for the 2012 season.

He probably won’t stop pitching until he embarrasses himself. And judging from the way he was pitching earlier this season, he has it in him to hold off embarrassment for another season.

Why Mariano Rivera Will Be Back

Between the two of them, Rivera would seem to be a bigger lock than Pettitte to come back in 2013, but that’s largely because he promised so vehemently to come back just a few weeks after he tore his ACL.

As mentioned above, he sort of took that promise back in July. 

“I don’t want to put something in my mind because if it doesn’t happen, I’ll be disappointed,” he said.

He also said, “I don’t even know if I want to play next year. I don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring. One day at a time.”

The latter quote contradicts something else he said in May, via Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News:

I was leaning toward coming back. I was feeling strong on that. It’s hard. I was weighing how I feel, the traveling, the games, and it’s the same. The traveling, I hate it; the playing, I love it. I was torn between that.

So one minute, Rivera was saying that a comeback in 2013 was as good as set in stone. The next minute, he pulled a complete 180. He hasn’t made it easy to get a read on his thinking.

The one thing we have to keep in mind about Mo, however, is that he’s dealing with an injury that generally takes a year to recover from. He won’t really know how he feels about 2013 until he throws from a mound for the first time, and that’s something he hasn’t done yet. All he’s done to this point, according to the Yankees’ official website, is play long toss.

The bright side in all this is that Rivera is in pretty much the same boat as Pettitte. What he’s dealing with is not an arm or shoulder injury brought on by years of wear a tear, but a knee injury caused by a freak accident. Just like Pettitte, Rivera’s arm was just fine at the time he got hurt.

Rivera’s arm has been just fine his whole career, of course. You don’t rank eighth on the all-time list in appearances unless you enjoy good health for a long time, and Rivera has been lucky enough to enjoy good health for close to 20 years.

Yes, he’s old. Rivera is 42 now and will turn 43 in November. He’s no spring chicken.

But hey, he already ranks fifth in WAR on the all-time list for relievers after the age of 40, according to Baseball-Reference.com. That’s just another fact that tells us that he’s a freak of nature.

If Mo decides he wants to pitch in 2013, the Yankees will be glad to have him back. Their bullpen has been solid this year, in large part thanks to the job Rafael Soriano has done filling in for Rivera, but there’s no denying it isn’t as deep or as dominant as it was in 2011. The Yankees’ bullpen had a 3.12 ERA in 2011, and it has a 3.41 ERA this year.

The Yankees would have to bring Mo back at their price, however. Mo is on the books for $15 million this season, and he’s certainly not getting that kind of money if he chooses to play again in 2013.

He’d have to sign a one-year contract with a much lower base salary (i.e. $5 million or below). The Yankees could sweeten the deal with incentives.

If Mo really wants to pitch, he’d agree to that. He’d be taking a pay cut, to be sure, but that shouldn’t deter him too much, seeing as how he’s already made well over $100 million at this point in his career.

The one danger in bringing back Rivera is that it could prompt Soriano to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract. But as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has reported, Soriano is already leaning towards doing that.

Soriano opting out wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. The Yankees would still have David Robertson to set up for Rivera, and they could go out and find a cheaper replacement for Soriano on the open market. Names that come to mind are guys like Mike Adams, Ryan Madson and Mark Lowe.

Whether or not the Yankees retain Soriano, they’re going to have a strong bullpen once again in 2013 if they re-sign Rivera.

Saying as much is definitely dependent on Rivera pitching well after suffering the first major injury of his career. But while I do have some doubts about his ability to come back, I know as well as anyone that it’s never a good idea to bet against the great Mariano Rivera.

Special thanks to Baseball-Reference.com for the stats.

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New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman announced over SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio airwaves on Tuesday to that Mariano Rivera won’t play in 2012, per BombersBeat.MLBlogs.com.

Cashman told host Jim Duquette that Dr. Keith Pyne, who was working on Rivera’s rehab this year, didn’t give a “fair reflection” of the 42-year-old’s progress when he talked to Joel Sherman of the New York Post earlier this month.

Pyne offered hope that Rivera may return to the Yankees in 2012 with his words, but Cashman said Pyne’s actions were “unprofessional” and “provided improper information.”

Rivera, of course, tore his right ACL early this season while shagging fly balls before a game against the Kansas City Royals. He has said he hopes to return in 2012, but stopped short of promising anything.

The news is bittersweet for Yankees fans.

On one hand, who wouldn’t want one of the game’s greatest all-time closers back as soon as possible? After all, Rivera is not only a 12-time All-Star and five-time world champion, but he’s the all-time leader in regular-season saves (608) and postseason saves (42). For his career, he owns a 2.21 ERA and 1.00 WHIP while holding batters to a .210 batting average.

On the other hand, the last thing you want to do is rush Rivera back and risk further injury. At this stage of Rivera’s career, further damage to his ACL could be career-ending.

It also must be noted that Rafael Soriano has done a heck of a job overall filling in for Rivera this season. He owns a 1.62 ERA in 42 games, with 25 saves in 27 opportunities. Even if Rivera is out for the playoffs this season, Soriano isn’t a bad guy to have closing games.

In any case, Yankees fans hope Rivera can at least return next season, but that will ultimately be up to him.

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Coming off of a three-game sweep of baseball’s sweetheart team in Washington, the Yankees have vaulted to the top of nearly every version of MLB‘s power rankings. 

New York’s first 10-game winning streak since 2009 (the year they won No. 27) has put the Yankees back atop the competitive AL East by two-and-a-half games and has seemingly made them the favorites to represent the American League in the World Series. 

But not so fast, Yankee Universe. Your team isn’t flawless. 

Yes, the Yankees are undoubtedly the hottest team in the game at the moment. They lead all of baseball in home runs and fielding percentage. They rank in the top 10 in both runs scored and team ERA, and they have one of the strongest bullpens in the bigs despite an injury to the best closer the game has ever seen.

But I’m still not convinced. I am not yet certain that New York’s aging roster can hold off hungry divisional opponents in Tampa Bay, Toronto, Baltimore and even Boston. I haven’t seen enough to tell me that, if they make it, the Yankees can beat the likes of Texas, Los Angeles or Detroit in a five- or seven-game playoff series. 

Because nothing is decided in June.

But if the current date doesn’t convince you that it is too early to judge playoff contenders, then maybe some facts will. 

Here are a few factors that separate the New York Yankees from greatness.

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The surgery of New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera continues to be delayed and the date when he goes under the knife remains unknown.

After tearing the ACL in his right knee shagging fly balls back on May 3 against Kansas City, surgery was the obvious next step.

Instead, as first reported by the New York Post, a blood clot that was previously discovered in his calf that delayed surgery still hasn’t gone away.

According to ESPN New York’s Wallace Matthews he was treated with blood thinners, but they have not extinguished the clot. There is still no timetable for the surgery.

How is Mo taking all of this? Considering it’s out of his hands, he sounded just fine about it (via New York Post): “It’s not frustrating because there’s nothing I can do.”

The only thing Rivera can do is continue to strengthen his leg through training, and make sure it’s as strong and sturdy as possibly heading into the surgery.

Luckily for Yankee fans, the delayed surgery will not have any sort of effect on his opportunity to return healthy and ready to roll at the beginning of the 2013 season according to manager Joe Girardi.

The team has played rather mediocre baseball in his absence, posting an 8-10 record. What’s incredible about their play since the injury is the lack of save opportunities. There have only been five since Rivera went on the DL.

It’s a good thing considering Rivera’s replacement David Robertson was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained muscle in his left ribcage back on May 15. Now it’s Rafael Soriano who is holding down the fort.

It has certainly been a rough year for the backend of the Yankees bullpen and the blood clot of Rivera is just the latest example. 

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Mariano Rivera is now on the shelf for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, and the Yankees are left with a vacancy in the closer’s role for the first time in recent memory.

Rafael Soriano and David Robertson are currently in line to pitch the ninth, but Joe Girardi hasn’t said who will be the primary choice and replacement.

Popular opinion would suggest that Robertson should see the most time in the ninth, but Girardi seems content with mixing it up.

Should the Yankees choose to pursue a trade, there are several options that could be had at the right price.

If the Yankees’ ninth-inning tandem is struggling by the trade deadline, look for Brian Cashman to make a few calls to see if the following three guys are available.

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Headlines can be a writer’s best friend, and a writer’s worst nightmare. Sometimes they can attract attention to a story in a positive way and up the reads and feedback on a story. Sometimes they can instigate widespread anger that is misleading with regards to the actual story.

This column is the latter.

No one wants to see Mariano Rivera hang up the cleats, and worse for the fans, his cutter. But, it would behoove Rivera to pass up the thought of a valiant comeback in this situation for what his future could hold for the following reasons.

He Will Never Be “The Old Mariano”

To be brutally honest: He has an absolutely destroyed knee right now. The ACL is the tendon that runs through the entirety of the knee, essentially keeping the knee from bursting forward and creating a bigger, more uncomfortable bulge there. Not to mention the torn meniscus.

As a pitcher that throws as many high-speed pitches as he does (he has made his money on what could be the best cutter ever thrown in baseball history), he needs everything in that leg, the leg he pushes off of on the mound, to work perfectly for him.

If he were to try and pitch again on a reconstructed knee and take 1-2 mph off of his cutter and a little bit of the movement and he all of a sudden becomes hittable. Who wouldn’t hate to see the greatest closer of this generation go out with his head hanging after a few blown saves?

Plus, let’s not forget that if he were to have another knee injury, even if it is not as drastic as this one, he will be effectively useless from that point on. The human body requires some serious reconstruction to have a chance to survive one knee injury. Two in one lifetime is nothing short of debilitating.

The Hall of Fame Is Begging for You

Let’s not act like Rivera is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Rivera has notched 608 saves, coming to an average of 39 in a 162-game season, sports a career WHIP of just under 1.00 and has fanned 1,119 batters. Good luck keeping that out of Cooperstown.

Besides, the Hall wouldn’t mind a Rivera sighting in their ballots. The steroid era names are beginning to show up on the ballots now. Put yourself in the shoes of a Hall of Famer.

Would you rather answer 20 or more questions about not voting or voting for certain players and continuously being forced to rehash one of baseball’s darkest moments, or answer two or three about how great “The Sandman” is?

Rivera ending his career of baseball without the potential failure of a comeback would be a great story and capping it off with a Hall of Fame plaque is fitting in every way possible.

Why Not Take Some Extra Time With Your Family?

Rivera has a wife and three kids. Having appeared in 60 or more games in 14 of his 17 years before the 2012 season, he clearly has not been home as much as most husbands and fathers would like.

I feel confident Rivera was wanting to return home a hero, but a man of his prominence and popularity will have no problem feeling appreciated if he were to retire. So, with that, why not go home and live the retired life with your wife?

He made more money in his career than most Americans would know what to do with. Go enjoy it, Mariano.

He Can Still Satisfy His Competitive Urge

Having no where to channel a need for winning is a legitimate concern for most retired athletes. Rivera has now been taking every minute of every day to do nothing but make himself better for winning since 1995. It’s getting to the point where that’s all he knows.

To remedy this, well, let me just put it this way. Is there a better man on the face of the planet to learn how to throw a cutter from? He may not be able to be a MLB pitching coach, seeing as his repertoire is limited as a closer, but, as a private instructor, Rivera could teach pitching and get the same competitive fire doused as he watches his students take the mound.

Plus, I know the name “Mariano Rivera” will drive the price up a little bit.

Also, Rivera has financial interest in two New York City restaurants. Again, this is different from taking a major league mound with the game just one bad pitch away from being lost, but he could always turn to this new interest. Plus, what New Yorker wouldn’t take a subway across town to eat at a diner on the chance of seeing The Sandman up close and in person?

Let me make myself clear and state that I am a monstrous Rivera fan. Seeing Rivera win as many World Series titles as he did was fantastic, even as the A’s fan that I am. All good things must come to an end.

Mariano, baseball will never forget you. You can guarantee I’ll make sure my kids stop at your plaque in Cooperstown. That’s a must-see. “That man right there threw the best cut fastball that baseball will ever see. Past, present, future. This is the guy,” I’ll tell them.

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New York Yankees legendary closer Mariano Rivera blew his first save opportunity in the Opening Day game against the Tampa Bay Rays, but there is no need to be concerned.

The Yankees were quickly down by four runs in the first inning, but Raul Ibanez proved his worth with a three-run home run blast in the third inning.

Reliever David Robertson, a likely candidate to become the full-time closer after Rivera retires, walked one and gave up one single, putting runners on the corners, and then struck out three batters in the eighth inning.

New York held a 6-5 lead until the ninth inning when Rivera entered the game and blew the save. Carlos Pena got the game-winning hit off of Rivera.

Every game is important, but this is only one game. Losing the first game of the season doesn’t exactly boost the confidence of the team, but there is plenty of baseball ahead.

Back in 2009, the Yankees were swept by the Boston Red Sox in three separate series during the season. The Yankees went on to win the World Series that year.

The point is that although the Yankees fell apart, in the end they will get it together and have a strong season. They will regain their confidence and overcome, just like they always do.

For the first game of the season, the Yankees appeared to be solid even with some mistakes.

Losing the first game knocked the wind out of the players and the fans, but with 161 games left to play, the Yankees have plenty of time to take the AL East.

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Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of all time.  Any analysis I do of Rivera will open with that statement. 

However, he not the most dominating closer in MLB right now. Last season, I projected Rivera to save 30 games, and he pumped out 44. 

This was due to unexpected success by the Yankees and the failure of the American League East to contain them.  Rivera was 16/20 in saves against his own division, which the Yankees weren’t predicted to win.  He was also 100-percent healthy in 2011, and that was a tiny bit of a surprise. 

I might be a Yankee hater, but I’m not a Rivera hater.  He’s a God among men when it comes to closers. 

I just don’t see how at 42 he can continue to dominate American League hitters with one pitch, the cutter.  The last two seasons he’s combined for 10 blown saves, which is equal to his previous four seasons combined.  His ERA, while still amazingly low, has steadily increased each of the past three years. 

So what does that all mean?  Nothing.  It is impossible to predict anything but the best for Mariano Rivera, but the better question is, when will a collapse, big or small, occur? 

With that risk in mind, I’ve kept my expectations somewhat low for Rivera.  While he easily can break 40 saves, my projections have him around 35.

If this is Rivera’s last season, he could put it all on the table and be awesome.  It’s up to the fantasy manager to take that small but ever-present risk.

The Closer Report 2012 Projections

35 Saves, 6 Wins, 2.49 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 53 Ks

2012 Fantasy Draft Analysis

Right now, Rivera is going where he is expected, around Round 8. 

I wouldn’t touch him till round 11 or 12.  There is much more value later in the draft, and it’s probably better to take a SP or a position player in rounds 7-9 than to take a chance on Rivera.  It’s not a bad pick to take him there, just realize you are taking on a 42-year-old risk.

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