In the last week, the Yankees furthered the notion that they are again a special team while exposing the most likely impediment to greatness.
They have kept winning and winning, which is almost impossible to avoid when the opponent is as inept as the Orioles. But they also kept showing their age.
Mariano Rivera woke up sore Saturday with a stiff left side and has not pitched since. Alex Rodriguez was rested Sunday because of an ache behind his right knee. Jorge Posada was pulled from Monday’s game with pain in his right calf and has yet to return to play. And yesterday, with the Yanks en route to a 7-5 victory and a sweep of the Orioles, Andy Pettitte was removed after five innings with what was termed elbow inflammation.
Besides a Yankees uniform and career brilliance, these four players share something else in common: Rivera is the oldest closer in the AL, Posada the oldest starting catcher, Pettitte the oldest starting pitcher (with Tim Wakefield out of the rotation in Boston), and A-Rod is the second-oldest third baseman. For the record, Derek Jeter is the AL’s oldest shortstop.
Those five make up 20 percent of the roster, but about 50 percent of the 10 most vital players on the team. Their career durability is remarkable, and that durability has enabled them to accumulate milestones, but also mileage. Reality is reality, and all pro athletes just have so far their odometers can go; and these special players obviously are closer to maxing out the odometer than to being showroom fresh.
So the Yankees are in a race this season, and not just against the Rays and Red Sox. But against Mother Nature and Father Time. They are trying to again outrun the realities of age, the cruel mortality of the sporting life. And not with supplementary players, but instead the very soul of their team.
“We are going to have to manage it,” Joe Girardi conceded of having age on his roster.
The early returns are catastrophes averted. A-Rod returned to the lineup Monday. Girardi expects Rivera to be ready to close tomorrow in Fenway, and was somewhat optimistic also about Posada. As for Pettitte, GM Brian Cashman said the southpaw is expected to miss “one start at the very least.” He said the encouraging factor was no ligament problems were revealed.
Still, the Yanks now likely begin a series in Detroit next week with Javier Vazquez and Sergio Mitre, and you can see what happens if age begins to more seriously cripple this roster.
Pettitte first experienced pain near his left forearm in his last start against the White Sox, but the pain migrated to near his elbow this time. He insisted he was fine until after the fifth inning when Girardi pulled it out of the uber-competitive Pettitte that more discomfort had cropped up.
Girardi acknowledged that “managing the competitive spirit” of these veterans is part of the obstacle course. For you do not achieve what these players have without pushing through a lot of pain to perform. But what heals quickly in the 20s or early 30s lingers in older bodies; younger bodies withstand, older bodies break down.
Thus Girardi and his staff are in the tricky spot of having to manage prideful players with the big picture in mind. Aches that these veterans would endure to play with in October — or in 2002 — should not be pushed in May — or in 2010. So Girardi closed with Joba Chamberlain on Monday and Tuesday, and a committee yesterday. Francisco Cervelli caught. Rodriguez had Sunday off. Jeter DHed on Tuesday.
“The truth is we have a strong history of our older guys staying healthy,” Cashman said.
True. Last year, in fact, the two most significant long-term injuries belonged to the prime-aged Chien-Ming Wang and Xavier Nady, and it is twentysomething Curtis Granderson on the DL now.
But can the Yanks repeat as champions if they cannot defy odds and repeat the general good health they had with their older players last season? Already, they are challenging for the lead not only in most RBIs, but most MRIs.
So far their depth — of both talent and character — has fueled a powerhouse start to the season. However, a race is underway, one path to the Canyon of Heroes, one path to age-old problems.
joel.sherman@nypost.com