Mariano Rivera Probably Done For 2012

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:

When Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tore his ACL shagging fly balls in the outfield, it was assumed that he was done for the rest of the 2012 season. The Yankees still maintain that they don’t expect to see Rivera until 2013, now that he’s vowed to come back. Rivera, though, isn’t closing the door on a return this September, because as long as the possibility exists, it can’t be impossible. Bryan Hoch:

There’s nothing conclusive, and we just don’t know how soon Rivera might be ready. He’s left the door open for an early return but he hasn’t exactly issued a guarantee. What we know is that Rivera’s thus far recovered well, and faster than doctors expected. But his recovery isn’t complete, so the most we can say is “we’ll see.” How satisfying!

About that...

Makes sense, exactly what we figured. But:

Rivera is, of course, 42 years old and rehabbing an injury of this nature is a rough thing for a younger man. However, Rivera has shown determination throughout his major league career. He went on record almost immediately after the injury as saying he’d come back, that he didn’t want his career to end that way.

It won’t be an easy task, but if anyone can do it, Rivera can do it. I’d fully expect to see him in uniform for the Yankees on Opening Day 2013.

Rivera, who made an appearance Thursday at a charity dinner at Sofrito on the East Side for Carlos Beltran’s baseball academy in Puerto Rico, still doesn’t have a time frame for surgery on his knee.

“I’m good. I’m feeling good,” said Rivera, who walked with a slight limp. “We’re thinking about (the timetable).”

Asked if he misses the game, Rivera said: “I miss it a lot. It is (killing me).”Rivera, who will turn 43 in November, still hopes to return to the game so he can go out on his own terms, rather than via the gruesome knee injury he suffered in Kansas City. Even if you’re not a Yankees fan, you have to be rooting for him to make it back.

For more on the Yankees, please visit Pinstripe Alley and SB Nation New York.

If you’re familiar with the Wins Above Replacement statistic, you’d know that it says Rivera is worth about 2-3 wins above replacement each season. So that would be an estimate of Rivera’s value. But ex-pitcher C.J. Nitkowski is active in Internet circles, and he’s pretty well versed on cutting-edge statistics, and he doesn’t think that value estimate is high enough. An excerpt from Nitkowski’s blog post:

That’s just one chunk of it, and you should read the whole thing. Nitkowski concludes:

Mariano Rivera is 42 years old, and this is the last year of his existing contract with the New York Yankees. Before the season started, there was speculation that he would retire in the fall. And then after Rivera tore his ACL Thursday night, there was speculation that we might’ve seen the last of him as a major-league pitcher. A torn ACL almost certainly means that Rivera’s 2012 is over. He could’ve opted for retirement, rather than choosing to come back.

Mariano Rivera is choosing to come back. As he tweeted himself:

There are those who think relief pitching is fungible, but that’s not accurate. The role of closing might be overrated in its overall importance to the game, because it’s the last thing that happens before a W is officially added to the standings, but there are great pitchers with that job who shut down the opposition night after night.

It’s an enviable position, even after the loss of Rivera. Robertson has been dominant since becoming a full-time reliever with the Yankees in 2010, posting a 199 ERA+ over his last 139 innings pitched, powered by 12.6 strikeouts per nine. He walks his share of hitters, but whiffs nearly three times as many batters as that, and he has little trouble keeping the ball in the yard. He’s also been able to shut down both lefties and righties in his career, a must for both a setup man and a closer.

And when it comes to Yankees/Red Sox, Rivera might be one of those guys too. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.

Rivera was asked if his career was over, and he responded that he didn’t know, at least leaving the door somewhat open for a return. He was expected to retire after this season.

Rivera’s teammates addressed the media as well:

Hey, here’s an idea! Let’s stop writing goddamned epitaphs!

Last night, one of my crazy Yankee friends texted me ...

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reported that Rivera suffered a torn ACL. Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal clarified that the MRI results and the doctors at Kansas City believe that the diagnosis is an ACL tear. The general assumption at the moment is that Rivera’s season is over.

A short time later, the Yankees officially announced that Rivera had suffered a torn ACL in his right knee.

Thursday night, something potentially devastating happened to the New York Yankees, their fans, and the entire game of baseball. Mariano Rivera was out shagging balls during pre-game batting practice, and he injured his knee in front of the wall. His facial expression was one of pure anguish, and he had to be carted off the field. We have a .gif and video for you, and we apologize for its being somewhat grisly. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

On Wednesday night, Jayson Nix was in Rochester with the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees. On Thursday night, Nix was in pinstripes and playing for the New York Yankees. He’s appeared in 264 major-league games over the last four years, and 919 minor-league games in his career. The 29-year-old has paid his dues.

So it must have felt pretty sweet to take batting practice at Yankee Stadium. He was called up to replace Eric Chavez, who went on the seven-day concussion DL. Maybe Nix would get some pinch-hitting opportunities. Maybe he’d hit well enough to stick. He took his rips during batting practice, hoping someone would notice.