Mariano Rivera RUMORS & NEWS

New York Post "The Yankees didn’t need to see Orioles closer Jim Johnson implode for a third consecutive appearance to appreciate Mariano Rivera. “Believe me, I don’t take it for granted,” manager Joe Girardi said after Rivera picked up his 17th save in as many chances in last night’s 6-4, 10-inning win over..." May 21

New York Post "Even though Joba Chamberlain apologized to Mariano Rivera yesterday for talking rudely to the Yankees icon Saturday, Chamberlain said he wouldn’t do anything differently if given a mulligan. On Saturday, Rivera was in the Yankees’ dugout before a 3-2 win over the Royals talking to people about..." May 13

USA Today "Apparently, Joba Chamberlain never learned to pick his battles. And the New York Yankees reliever had an uphill climb in front of him after a verbal spat with his teammate, renowned closer Mariano Rivera. Rivera asked Chamberlain, who was chatting nearby, to keep it down as he wound up a..." May 12

New York Daily News "Apparently the Joba Rules didn’t include a chapter on class. Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera exchanged tense words in the dugout before Saturday night’s game, as Chamberlain took exception to Rivera instructing him to quiet down while the closer chatted with reporters about an emotional event..." May 12

New York Post "The Yankees added a bit of humor to Mariano Rivera’s return to Kauffman Stadium Friday night. When Rivera was shagging fly balls during batting practice, there was a chalk outline on the warning track in left-center and a sign prepared by bullpen coach Mike Harkey fastened to the fence with..." May 11

New York Post "“Oh, no. It’s Mo.’’ Those words belonged to catcher Chris Stewart but spoke for the entire Yankees’ organization one year ago today when Mariano Rivera crumbled to the warning track in Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium. “I was behind the batting cage and saw some commotion in the outfield. I..." May 03

Tampa Tribune "He is the last major-league baseball player to regularly wear 42, Jackie Robinson's number. There is poetry in that, dignity, class and professionalism, too. Mariano Rivera, 43, baseball's greatest reliever and one of its finest men, is retiring after this season. The Yankees closer, with..." April 24

New York Post "On the night the Yankees and Diamondbacks honored Jackie Robinson by each wearing No. 42, two Yankees with deep ties to the former Dodgers star carried the hosts to victory. Mariano Rivera, the last player to wear No. 42, and Robinson Cano, who was named after Robinson, helped the Yankees cop..." April 17

New York Post "The Mariano Rivera Farewell Tour makes a particularly notable stop tonight. When the Yankees host the Diamondbacks, it will be the last time Rivera won’t have the number 42 all to himself on the field. For Rivera’s teammates, Jackie Robinson Day (celebrated a day late because the Yankees were..." April 16

New York Post "Mariano Rivera didn’t get a chance to close yesterday’s season opener, but he was able to clear one more hurdle before the Yankees’ 8-2 loss to the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. The 43-year-old returned to his habit of shagging fly balls during batting practice, which is how he suffered the knee..." April 02

Bergen Record "Mariano Rivera didn’t have a game to save but still had a moment to savor. Having announced his retirement at season’s end, his introduction was met by the sellout crowd with the loudest and longest cheer of opening day. Boston players applauded along with the crowd. After acknowledging the..." April 02

New York Daily News "Mariano Rivera's famed cut fastball was darting through the strike zone as usual Friday in his final appearance of what should be his final spring training. The Yankee closer, who is entering what he says is his farewell season, retired all three Nationals' hitters he faced, throwing only 10..." March 30

New York Post "The first headache surfaced two weeks ago and Mariano Rivera described it as more than the garden variety discomfort that two aspirin could make disappear. “It was severe,’’ Rivera told The Post yesterday morning in a George M. Steinbrenner Field dugout. The headaches weren’t as strong, but..." March 24

New York Daily News "Shortly after 1 p.m. Monday at the Yankees' minor-league complex, two games began on adjacent fields against the Blue Jays involving mostly Single-A players from both organizations. The two starting pitchers for the Yankees, however, were anything but low-level prospects -- Andy Pettitte and..." March 19

Newark Star-Ledger "Phil Hughes flinched and raised his head toward the overcast sky. His body language displayed exasperation. Behind a protective screen near the mound, a few coaches exhaled when they saw Hughes was okay. Just a few minutes into a simulated game at the teams minor-league complex, a comebacker..." March 19

New York Post "Jorge Posada squatting behind the plate would have made for a Core Four reunion last night at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Derek Jeter started his first game at shortstop since being carried out of Yankee Stadium with a fractured left ankle on Oct. 13. Andy Pettitte made his spring debut..." March 14

New York Post "He is the “irreplaceable” Yankee, yet Mariano Rivera was replaced pretty effectively last year. Rafael Soriano delivered 42 saves and a 2.26 ERA and was arguably the second-best closer in the American League behind the Rays’ Fernando Rodney. Yet, when Rivera announced he was retiring after..." March 13

New York Daily News "In the opinionated, ego-fueled world of sports media, there is little to no consensus. Battle lines are drawn over even the most minor of issues. Except when it comes to Mariano Rivera. In the aftermath of his retirement announcement, testimonials from those who have covered him for years, and..." March 12

New York Daily News "Rachel Robinson says she has admired Mariano Rivera's baseball path from afar, a Hall of Fame-worthy, (soon-to-be) 19-season stretch marked by the Yankee closer wearing the same No. 42 that Jackie Robinson wore during his legendary Brooklyn Dodgers career. Still, Rachel Robinson admits that the..." March 11

New York Post "Like the signature pitch Mariano Rivera throws, everyone knew what was coming yesterday and still it cut the baseball soul to hear these words: “After this year, I am retiring.” In the end, major league hitters didn’t get to Rivera. Hotel rooms did. He simply has grown tired of being away..." March 10

New York Daily News "Mariano Rivera knows a thing or two about closing. On Saturday, he began the closing act of his career with the same grace he has used to collect more saves than any pitcher in history. Sitting with his wife, Clara, and two of their three sons, Rivera delivered the news the world knew was..." March 10

New York Daily News "Hours after announcing that he would retire after the season, Mariano Rivera reminded teams around baseball that they weren’t done with him yet. Rivera made his first appearance of the spring Saturday, pitching a 1-2-3 fifth inning in the Yankees’ 2-1 loss to the Braves at Steinbrenner Field...." March 10

Pinstriped Bible "The big story of the day was Mariano Rivera's announcement of his planned retirement following this season, but it was also both his and Derek Jeter's first time back in game action since their injuries last year. Jeter kicked off his game with a typical line drive single to the opposite field on..." March 09

New York Times "For much of the past 18 years, the Yankees have relied on Mariano Rivera to pitch in the late innings with games on the line. That certainty helped them become perennial contenders and secure five championships. But the Rivera era is coming to a close. “It’s official now,” Rivera, 43, said..." March 09

Pinstriped Bible "When most relievers decide their baseball career is over, a team simply moves on to the next best guy they can find. Relievers are fungible and volatile, so the drop off isn't supposed to be significant to one from another. That has never been the case with Mariano Rivera. If relievers are..." March 09

USA Today "They most recently exited a major league diamond on terms far different than their own. For Mariano Rivera, it was a long ride on a green cart that took him from the warning track of Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium into the visitor's clubhouse last May, the ligament charged with holding his..." March 09

New York Post "David Wright is in some rare company. One of his best memories is hitting against Mariano Rivera. Not many hitters can say that. “I have the distinct honor to tell my kids and grandkids one day that I got a walk-off hit against him,’’ Wright recalled Thursday at Chase Field as Team USA prepared..." March 08

New York Post "It hurts worse when our icons say farewell, because they are the ones who define our own lives as fans. It can be baseball, yes: Mariano Rivera yesterday, Mickey Mantle in spring training of 1969, Joe DiMaggio after the 1951 World Series, Willie Mays after the ’73 World Series. But it isn’t..." March 08

New York Post "In Tampa and Joel Sherman in Jupiter The most emotional close of Mariano Rivera’s career comes tomorrow. Rivera is set to announce at a 10 a.m. press conference at Steinbrenner Field that the 2013 season will be his final one. True to his private nature, Rivera wanted to keep this matter..." March 08

New York Post "No one knows The Great Rivera better than Joe Torre, and the former Yankees manager was not afraid to tell the world the impact Mariano Rivera has had on his illustrious baseball life. “He basically made my career in ’96 when we came up with the formula to pitch in the seventh and eighth..." March 08

Hardball Talk "Last year Mariano Rivera changed his mind about retiring after knee surgery ended his season, but Buster Olney of ESPN.com writes that “it’s an open secret” the Yankees closer “intends to retire” following this season. In fact, according to Olney “that announcement figures to be very soon,..." March 07

New York Daily News "Joe Girardi wasn’t fully ready to commit to it, but there’s a chance Mariano Rivera will see his first game action Wednesday since undergoing knee surgery early last season. “I think the next thing might be a game. Could be (Wednesday),” Girardi said of the Yanks’ exhibition game against..." March 06

New York Post "Mariano Rivera is getting close to moving from simulated games to actual exhibitions. “Maybe a [spring training] game,’’ Rivera said when asked what was next for him. “But I have to wait for the boss.’’ That would be the Yankees committee of trainer Steve Donahue, pitching coach Larry..." March 06

New York Post "Mariano Rivera is getting close to moving from simulated games to actual exhibitions. “Maybe a [spring training] game,’’ Rivera said when asked what was next for him. “But I have to wait for the boss.’’ That would be the Yankees committee of trainer Steve Donahue, pitching coach Larry..." March 04

ESPN.com "Mariano Rivera pitched an inning of a simulated game Thursday morning and came away more pleased by the balls he caught than by the ones he threw. "What do you guys think, huh?,'' Rivera asked a group of reporters who watched his 18-pitch session on the back field at George Steinbrenner Field...." February 28

New York Daily News "Mariano Rivera’s season ended during batting practice last May 3, the closer writhing in pain on the outfield warning track. Friday, the future Hall of Famer was back at BP, although this time he was all smiles. Rivera stepped on to the mound at Steinbrenner Field Friday morning, throwing his..." February 23

New York Post "Mariano Rivera said his chances of returning from major knee surgery for last year’s Yankees postseason were very slim, but if he made it back, baseball’s all-time saves leader would have retired. However, Rivera said that mindset is not influencing his decision on whether to continue playing..." February 18

Newark Star-Ledger "Mariano Rivera whistled as he walked alone, head down, along the green carpet that led toward the clubhouse inside George M. Steinbrenner Field. He had just completed his second bullpen session of the spring, and as he explained later, “everything was good. Everything was right on schedule...." February 17

MLB.com "The problem was with Mariano Rivera's knee and never his arm, so the Yankees' closer expressed no surprise that his 30-pitch bullpen session flowed so smoothly on Saturday. "I always tell you guys that I trust myself," Rivera said. "I trust God first, then I trust myself. I'm capable to do..." February 16

New York Post "The two most important Yankees pitchers will be on display Saturday at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Staff ace CC Sabathia and closer Mariano Rivera will throw bullpen sessions. It will be Sabathia’s first mound workout of the spring and Rivera’s second. Each hurler is coming back from..." February 16

Newark Star-Ledger "Mariano Rivera turned 43 this past November. He began his 19th major-league season on Wednesday morning, beneath a gunmetal gray sky that eventually parted for the sun. He has five World Series rings. He’s made 12 All-Star games. He’s finished in the top three in Cy Young voting four times. He..." February 14

New York Post "Derek Jeter and the Yankees believe the shortstop will be ready for Opening Day against the Red Sox on April 1. That’s the plan for Mariano Rivera, too. Yet, until Joe Girardi experiences Jeter and Rivera doing everything on the field without setbacks, there will be some doubt in the manager’s..." February 13

New York Daily News "Yankee fans who had withdrawal not hearing Metallica's "Enter Sandman" for most of last season will be happy to hear that the pitcher behind that entrance song is ready to go for 2013. "I feel great," Mariano Rivera said Tuesday night. Rivera, 43, was the guest of honor at radio host Ed..." January 23

New York Daily News "When Nick Saban wanted to make sure Alabama was focused for Monday's title game, he had his players watch a tape of Mariano Rivera. "He talked about how he struggled at some time ... because he was trying to be a perfectionist, and when he's in the bullpen, he sees the crowd, he hears the..." January 07

MLB.com "Mariano Rivera said that his surgically repaired right knee is close to completely healed, and the closer expects to have a normal Spring Training workload. "It's not 100 percent. It would be, I would say, 95 percent," Rivera said. "By the time Spring Training starts, it'll feel 100..." January 06

New York Post "Mariano Rivera's surgically repaired right knee still isn't completely healthy. "It's not 100 percent,'' Rivera said of the torn ACL he suffered May 3. "I would say it's 95 percent. By the time spring training finishes, it will be 100 percent." The Yankees once again will rely on the..." January 06

Hardball Talk "Two weeks after officially returning to the Yankees on a one-year, $10 million deal Mariano Rivera made it very clear that he expects to be fully recovered from knee surgery by Opening Day. "Oh, yeah, I don't see why not," Rivera said, via Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News. "We have..." December 13

New York Daily News "Here's a holiday present the Yankees can enjoy all the way until spring training: Mariano Rivera, who is coming back from right knee surgery, says he'll be ready to pitch Opening Day April 1. "Oh, yeah, I don't see why not," Rivera said Wednesday at the Stadium, where he was helping out with..." December 13