Buzz: Mariano Rivera Waits on Yankees
Last week, at his blog for the Journal News, Yankees beat writer Peter Abraham wrote that Mariano Rivera is ‘more determined than ever’ to test the free-agent market, considering the recent treatment of Joe Torre.
However, during a recent interview with MLB Radio on Sirius Satellite, Rivera explained that the absence of Torre will not impact whether or not he re-signs with the Yankees.
…people are framing this as mo flip-flopping, or back peddling from his initial remark, which, by the way, was not on the record, but via a source through abraham…to which i say, ‘so what.’…i mean, if he intends to test the market, he’d be stupid to insinuate that the Yankees are no better than any other team…i also don’t understand why our society loves to play ‘gotcha’ when a person simply changes their mind…why is this a bad thing, again…
…at any rate, the early buzz in new york suggests mo may have settled for a two-year deal from the Yankees, but could now pursue a third year, either guaranteed or as an option, all in the area of $12 million per season…
…and, yes, i do believe the Mets would have as good of a shot as any in landing him, considering he would not have to move homes and could be reunited with Willie Randolph, which, from what i can gather, is appealing to him…however, i think it is safe to assume that mo will pursue his own closer’s roll, instead, and not settle for being a set-up man or co-closer to Billy Wagner…
This past season for the Yankees, for the first time since his rookie year in 1995, the 37–year-old Rivera had an ERA higher than 3.00, while blowing four saves.
…ultimately, when it comes to mo, as wellas his buddy, Jorge Posada, i can only assume the Mets will be nothing more than leverage in their negotiations with the Yankees, where they’ll eventually return…
