February 22, 2012
by Brien Jackson
Derek Jeter arrived for camp today, but the news he made was all about Mariano Rivera. Jeter claims to know what Mo has decided to do with regards to next season, but he wasn’t sharing the knowledge with reporters. Call me pessimistic, but that makes it sound like Mo is leaning towards retirement, doesn’t it? Here’s some other notes from camp for you to enjoy while I go worry about that:
- When last we saw Ivan Nova, he was leaving Game 5 of the ALDS early with a strained forearm. Today he told reporters his arm feels 100%, and that there’s no residual discomfort from the injury. So that’s good.
- On Sunday, general manager Brian Cashman admitted that the Yankees “conceded” the division title to the Rays back in 2010. Today, however, field manager Joe Girardi disagreed with his boss’s interpretation. Though Girardi is really just disputing the choice of wording, as he’s admitting there were starters on the team with some nagging injuries and that the team prioritized nursing those wounds over going all out for the A.L. East crown.
- Finally, Joel Sherman speculates that Eric Chavez could be serving the role of semi-regular third baseman this year to allow Alex Rodriguez to DH more often. Call me crazy, but I think that’s a terrible idea. It’s one thing for Chavez to get playing time as a back up or if A-Rod gets hurt, it’s quite another thing to be planning to give him regular playing time. On the one hand, there’s the fact, apparntly forgotten in many quarters, that Chavez is one of the most fragile players in the game, and is probably the best bet on the entire team to spend significant time on the disabled list. On the other hand, there’s the fact that Chavez just isn’t much more than a replacement level player at this point in his career, espeially with the bat.
I don't think there is much doubt at this point that Rivera is PLANNING on retiring after the season… but will he follow through when the time comes? I'm not so sure
It's easy to TALK about retiring, but when the moment comes when you realize you'll never walk on that mound again, hear those cheers, live the life, make another 15 million…. (should have put that one first haha).. it's not so easy
Favre is of course the most famous recent example, but the truth is he was/is just as much the norm as the exception,,, its very tough to walk away… i'll believe it when I see it
quick follow up..
Rivera has a "good" season… probably it
"Great" or "Bad" season I think he comes back.. either to keep it going or for redemption
He wouldn't be the first athlete to walk away with something left in the tank though.
Agreed – if nothing else, look at history and the recent great (or semi-great) Yankee pitchers. Both Mussina and Petite left with "something in the tank" – shoot, Moose retired after his first 20 win season. While Andy had injury problems, the team wanted him back. Mo spent a lot of time around those guys – I don't think he'll have any problem walking away.
;(
Eric Chavez with semi-regular playing time? Geez, that wouldn't be good.
As per Mo, he's gone after this year. He's 42. He wears 42. It's all symmetry. Heck, if he gets 39 saves, he'll end up with 642.