Will Mariano Rivera Choose Retirement? He Says He’s Already Decided

Thursday, ESPN New York reported Rivera might be considering retirement anyway:

The article indicates some of the considerations, including Rivera’s desire to go out as an elite player and what sort of contract the Yankees would offer him; he earned $15 million in 2012. Manager Joe Girardi didn’t sound certain of Rivera’s status, either:

Mariano Rivera is clearly a robot, which is how he stealthily avoids the same age-related jokes that Jamie Moyer is often the butt of. But even robots want to sit on a porch, sipping lemonade and enjoying retirement. Rivera has already said that he’ll make a decision on his retirement this year, and he told the New York Post that he’ll announce his decision by mid-season.

(Rivera) revealed to The Post yesterday he will announce his decision before midseason ...

Because he cares so much about the Yankees, his teammates, the game and the fans, Rivera said he wants to make sure he can properly say good-bye to the fans when the time comes. “It would be nice that you tell the fans, so every stadium you go to, the fans will be there to show their appreciation and you appreciate the fans,’’ he said.And by “sipping lemonade”, I mean “saving mortal souls”, as Rivera says he’ll credit a lot of his decision to religion. It sure sounds like a guy who’ll walk away from the game, and we’ll know mid-season.

The point being that there’s no shortage of good arms in the organization, and eventually -- probably in 2013 but maybe not -- the Yankees will have to do what almost every other team does every year or two, and find a suitable pitcher to protect small and moderate ninth-inning leads.It’s not really so difficult.

We know that closers come and closers go, but this graf from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale did sort of surprise me:

Rivera won’t yet tell the media whether he’s going to retire or try to stick around. He has already decided whether he’s going to retire or try to stick around. He says that nothing that happens during the season could change his mind, which seems far-fetched - I’m sure something could change his mind - but Rivera sounds awfully committed to his choice, and as Carig states, the suspicion is that he’s just about ready to spend the rest of his life with his family.