EVERY now and again, it is worth remembering who the bedrock of this wondrous era really has been. And just how different the Yankees are going to look when they are finally forced to lay a new foundation.
Every now and again, it is a valuable lesson to recall that for all of Joe Torre’s stoic guidance, for all of Derek Jeter’s captainly leadership, for all the times Andy Pettitte rode to the rescue in Game 2 of playoff series, for all of Jorge Posada’s grittiness, for all the forever moments accumulated by a parade of yesterday’s heroes – Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams, take your pick – there is one man who has been more responsible than anyone else for all the aggregate glory stacked high since 1996.
And yesterday, that man had a few things to say.
“I’m going to be open to hear all offers,” Mariano Rivera said two days after another cataclysmic end to another aborted Yankees October as he cleared out his Yankee Stadium locker for what may be the final time. “The Yankees had the opportunity but didn’t do nothing with it.”
Of all the things that have made Yankees fans shudder the past few days, those 20 words might frost the bones quicker than any other, on a couple of levels. For one thing, Rivera reiterated that he intends to continue his Hall of Fame-caliber career somewhere, whether that’s in The Bronx or not. For another, though he didn’t irretrievably link his decision to the fate of Torre, he made the most ardent plea yet emanating right from the clubhouse.
“I don’t feel good about it,” he said. “I don’t see why they’re even thinking [about letting Torre go]. I wish he’s back, definitely. If you ask me what I would want, I want him back.
“I’ve been with Joe for so many years, and the kind of person he has been for me and for my teammates, he’s been great. The thing is that I don’t see why they have to put him in this position.”
Look, before we start wondering when the Yankees will begin to form a human chain surrounding the team’s corporate headquarters in Tampa to show their support, it’s worth remembering this: If the Yankees come up with the right number of dollars, and the right number of years – and if they don’t, that will be a far greater upset than anything the Indians did the past week – Rivera will stay, and he’ll play, and he’ll pitch, no matter if the manager’s name is Torre or Mattingly or Girardi or Valentine or Huggins or Higgins.
But that’s really beside the point. All Rivera has done is collect 443 saves since assuming the closer’s role in 1997, this after turning in the single-greatest season that a setup man has ever turned in, in 1996, all but inventing that job as a high-profile role. All he has done is add 34 saves (in 38 chances) in the postseason, pitching to a mind-boggling 0.77 ERA.
Even this year, without an October save to his credit, Rivera was one of the few Yankees who matched his regular season against the Indians, throwing two scoreless innings in Game 2, another 1 1/3 in Game 3, then escaping from his only trouble of the playoffs – first-and-third, one out in the ninth – without adding a run.
“The one thing you learn in baseball is that every man is replaceable,” Alex Rodriguez said in late summer. “But that man,” he said, pointing to Rivera, “is irreplaceable.”
The Yankees spent the better part of 2007 obsessed with, in no particular order, A-Rod’s contract, a 141/2-game hole, the Red Sox, A-Rod’s contract, Joe Torre, Roger Clemens’ absurd money grab of a contract, and A-Rod’s contract. Rivera had his say in the spring. That quickly dissolved. He shrugged his shoulders, shrugged off some early struggles, turned in another lights-out season from May 1 on home.
Now he wants his. Says he’ll listen to all offers. Will he? Will he bolt? The Yankees had better be careful here. If they spend as much time between now and November wringing their hands over a third baseman who has yet to play in a World Series, they may well be inviting a closer who’s won four of them to slip out the side door.
And if that happens, the era will never feel more over, and the winter will never feel more frigid.