MIAMI – While Mariano Rivera’s cranky right ankle didn’t render him unavailable to Joe Torre for last night’s game against the Marlins, the best closer in baseball will keep close tabs on the hinge during the remainder of the season.
Rivera, who was scratched from Tuesday’s All-Star Game by Torre, the AL manager, pitched last Saturday and Sunday against the Mets at Yankee Stadium, absorbing a loss and posting his 29th save. He felt a shooting pain in the ankle in each outing but was able to work through it.
However, if the discomfort intensifies, Rivera isn’t going to hesitate to shut himself down.
“If it gets worse, I won’t pitch,” said Rivera, who has converted 29 of 32 save chances and was tied for the AL saves lead with Seattle’s Kazuhiro Sasaki going into last night’s action. “I am thinking positive and I don’t think it will get worse.”
The Yanks have their fingers crossed Rivera doesn’t need to miss any extended time. While Mark Wohlers and Mike Stanton have experience closing games, they aren’t in Rivera’s class – nobody is.
Rivera returned to his home in Panama for the All-Star break, where for three days he didn’t touch a ball or test his push-off foot with any type of exercise. He did, however, receive treatment. And during yesterday’s mandatory workout at Pro Player Stadium, Rivera did some running and didn’t feel any problem.
“We will see how it goes, today I was running and it felt fine,” Rivera said. “I will know better if I pitch.”
Rivera is at a loss to get into a deep explanation of the injury or when it surfaced.
“I can’t describe the sensation but when it hurts it’s like a pinching going up and down,” said Rivera, who received treatment for a similar problem last year and has been getting worked on daily for the past three weeks. “I don’t want to think about it. I will pitch and see what happens. I hope it goes away.”
Torre didn’t seem concerned about Rivera’s problem, which was not deemed serious enough by the Yankees to keep him in New York.
“It’s like going to work with a cold,” Torre said. “Some days you sneeze and some days you don’t. It’s not going to affect the quality of your work. And I know if he doesn’t do well I know the first question is going to be, ‘What about his ankle?’ But that’s not going to be the case. If there are days he can’t pitch, then he won’t pitch. But anytime he is on the mound, he will be expected to be effective and I don’t expect his workload to change much.”