Mariano Rivera still hasn’t been able to set a date for surgery to repair the torn ACL in his right knee he suffered in Kansas City earlier this month, because the blood clot doctors discovered following the injury hasn’t dissipated.
“We’re trying to work out the clot,” said Rivera, who remains on medication to get rid of the clot and is rehabbing the knee in the meantime.
“I have to strengthen the knee. I’m doing a lot of therapy.”
The hope is the rehab will help offset the delay of the surgery. Because the Yankees don’t expect Rivera back before next season, manager Joe Girardi is confident Rivera’s return won’t be affected by the clot.
“The doctors have talked about waiting until he’s really strong,” Girardi said. “I joke with him, ‘How about July, since you’re walking around so well?’ ”
Rivera, who walked around the clubhouse without the aid of crutches, insisted he’s not bothered by the lack of progress and hopes his increased range of motion will aid his eventual recovery.
“It’s better and the pain is more [tolerable],” Rivera said. “It’s not frustrating because you can do nothing about it. You just have to do it.”
Because of their recent struggles, the Yankees have hardly even missed their closer since they haven’t had many leads to hold. Rivera, though, is confident the team will turn its season around, despite his absence.
“The team is not doing so well, but we’ve been through this before,” Rivera said. “We’ll bounce back and will be fine. We’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves. We have seen this before.
“We’re not going to worry about it. As long as our mentality is good, everything will pass.”
* The Yankees’ catching depth is showing no signs of improvement, with prospect Austin Romine out until at least July with an inflamed disc in his back after seeing Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles nearly a month ago.
“He saw Watkins in Los Angeles about four weeks ago and is on his third week of rehab,” general manager Brian Cashman said.
Watkins is the same back specialist the Mets’ David Wright visited for his injury last season.
After trading Jesus Montero in the offseason and sending Francisco Cervelli to the minors, what was once an organizational strength doesn’t seem so impressive, since Romine is a long way from being able to help in the majors this season.
* Mark Teixeira batted seventh in the lineup for the second straight game last night. Girardi said he didn’t check with the first baseman or the training staff before deciding to play Teixeira after he missed two games with severely inflamed bronchial airways.
* Raul Ibanez batted fifth again and is one of the Yankees’ lone bright spots. He entered the game tied for the team lead with 27 RBIs, coming on just 30 hits.
* CC Sabathia will serve as the team’s representative at the first round of the First-Year Player Draft on Monday, June 4. The Yankees have the 30th overall selection.
Additional reporting by George A. King III.