The Future Is Now: Yankees Face Life After Mariano Rivera
May 4, 2012 · Peter Alfano · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
No one could have predicted that Mariano’s Rivera’s career might end this way, laying on the warning track in the Kansas City outfield, holding his right knee in pain.
The Yankees have had their share of injuries this season and they run the gamut from bad luck to bad judgment.
Joba Chamberlain jumping on a trampoline at a kid’s playground, Michael Pineda perhaps concealing an injured shoulder after being traded to New York and now this.
Mariano Rivera, someone who can actually be called a living legend in baseball, tearing his ACL while shagging fly balls during batting practice as he has done so many times before in his storied career.
It’s one thing for Yankees management to prepare for Rivera’s departure in the offseason.
New York could bolster their bullpen with a trade or free-agent signing. They might decide they have all the pieces in place and simply move everyone up a notch in the current bullpen.
No one, however, could have envisioned losing Rivera like this. Maybe, however, it’s what we should expect of the oldest team in the majors.
There’s a lot of wear and tear on the Yankees, which is why manager Joe Girardi has been trying to give his position players plenty of days off starting in the first week of the season.
Is that enough to overcome father time?
Nick Swisher is nursing a hamstring injury and he’s not even the oldest of the Yankee starters. Brett Gardner is a mere pup compared in Yankee years and he has been on the disabled list.
A team that entered the season with no apparent holes now faces an uncertain future.
Consider the Yankees are counting on a 39-year-old pitcher coming out of retirement to bolster their starting rotation. And Andy Pettitte has had his share of injuries in the past, as well.
Fans will want GM Brian Cashman to start writing checks and trading prospects for immediate help, but he will more likely wait to see what impact the Rivera injury has on the Yankees.
The bullpen is deep and Soriano and Robertson may be more than ready to handle the added responsibilities.
Cory Wade could move into the seventh-inning role, too.
The larger question for Cashman is whether he has let the Yankees get too old without infusing some needed youth in the lineup. Even a 22 year old can tear an ACL, but the recovery process is longer when older players are injured.
Rivera’s injury would shake up any team. Some might even kiss their playoff chances away.
The Yankees, however, are as well-suited as any team to take the hit and move forward. We’ll have an opportunity to see what life without Mo is like a little sooner than expected.
Enter uncertainty.
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