Mo Rivera

[Lindseynelson]

If he turns down 45 mil over 3 torre deserves him
This guy is about 75 innings away from being a setup man and the Yankees
are giving him a thank you deal

[Richmond Hill Phoenix]

Definitley. He's not even worth $15 mil right now, let alone when he'll be 40. They're so desperate to bring him back (after losing A-Rod, and possibly Posada and Pettite) that they'd likely give him $18mil/season if he asked for it, especially if non of the aformentionned three return.

[nerfan]

Definitley. He's not even worth $15 mil right now, let alone when he'll be 40. They're so desperate to bring him back (after losing A-Rod, and possibly Posada and Pettite) that they'd likely give him $18mil/season if he asked for it, especially if non of the aformentionned three return.

Posada did return, for 4Y/$52M deal.

[Richmond Hill Phoenix]

I've read that, but there's nothin official on it yet. He's still not listed on the Yankee's roster etc...

Even if they've signed him, losing Mo would be a huge deal to alot of Yankee fans.

[lovethegame]

yes the Yankee fans would miss him right up to the point his 15 million dollar cutter was 88 mph and heading towards the stands

[Mattingly]

yes the Yankee fans would miss him right up to the point his 15 million dollar cutter was 88 mph and heading towards the stands
Mariano Rivera has been a legend amongst Yankee fans. He's still an active player, and unliike other future Hall of Famers like Clemens, Unit, A-Rod and Jeter, he's spent all of his time here and is considered one of the very best at his position.

I don't know how those in the History of the Game forum would rate him amongst closers, but there's no doubt (to my biased homer views) that he's at least in the top 3 in history.

Only A-Rod could I say was amongst the very best offensively at his position while here if you look at his 2007 season. Rocket & Unit are excellent, but both made their names on other teams. Mo is very much beloved by the Yankees.

He was upset that the Yanks didn't sign Torre, which he'd considered a no-brainer. He was also upset that Bernie wasn't offered more than a spring invite/Minor League deal. He's a man of great pride, but we'll see if he can eventually come around.

Yeah, $15m is definitely based upon what he's done in the past, like a "thank you for everything" sweet deal. Hopefully, he doesn't go looking elsewhere, since I don't think he'd ever get the same contract elsewhere.

[TonyStarks]

Mariano Rivera has been a legend amongst Yankee fans. He's still an active player, and unliike other future Hall of Famers like Clemens, Unit, A-Rod and Jeter, he's spent all of his time here and is considered one of the very best at his position.

I don't know how those in the History of the Game forum would rate him amongst closers, but there's no doubt (to my biased homer views) that he's at least in the top 3 in history.

Only A-Rod could I say was amongst the very best offensively at his position while here if you look at his 2007 season. Rocket & Unit are excellent, but both made their names on other teams. Mo is very much beloved by the Yankees.

He was upset that the Yanks didn't sign Torre, which he'd considered a no-brainer. He was also upset that Bernie wasn't offered more than a spring invite/Minor League deal. He's a man of great pride, but we'll see if he can eventually come around.

Yeah, $15m is definitely based upon what he's done in the past, like a "thank you for everything" sweet deal. Hopefully, he doesn't go looking elsewhere, since I don't think he'd ever get the same contract elsewhere.

Matty,
The $15M for Mariano, for me, is VERY hard to swallow.
But now there are reports that the reason he hasn't accepted this stupid contract is because he doesn't care for a 3 YR deal. He wants a 4 YEAR deal!

Now that...would be tremendously stupid.
Paying any 40YO pitcher $15M+ isn't smart business.

[digglahhh]

In a sense Mo has the Yanks at gunpoint; he has all the leverage here.

How do you replace the man many consider to be the greatest closer of all time, when he has played his entire career for your team.

What would WFAN sound like if he is not resigned and Francisco Cordero, with the ink barely dry on his $9M per year deal comes in and gives up a game winning homer in the first series of the season. The mere idea of not facing that possibility itself is worth the difference between what Mo deserves and $15M for the Yankees.

With all this jive about the Yanks fall from grace (if you can call never missing the playoffs a fall) being blamed on them diverting from the mold of the "true Yankees" and in the direction of free agent mercenaries, how would it go over to let Mo walk.

Overpaying him or not, they just can't let him go.

[KCGHOST]

The Yanks don't owe Rivera anything. He has been handsomely compensated for his past efforts. Nobody else is going to pony up $15M per year for 75 IP's per year. Make him your best offer and if he decides to walk tip your cap and wish him well.

[Rags2Riches]

The Yanks don't owe Rivera anything. He has been handsomely compensated for his past efforts. Nobody else is going to pony up $15M per year for 75 IP's per year. Make him your best offer and if he decides to walk tip your cap and wish him well.


I agree, 15m at his age with a 4yr deal imho is way to much, even for the likes of Mo

[digglahhh]

And face the wrath of the fans...

The Yanks are insuring themselves against a PR nightmare.

How much the peace of mind is worth is up to them, and separate question from how much Mo is worth on the field.

[TonyStarks]

In a sense Mo has the Yanks at gunpoint; he has all the leverage here.

How do you replace the man many consider to be the greatest closer of all time, when he has played his entire career for your team.

What would WFAN sound like if he is not resigned and Francisco Cordero, with the ink barely dry on his $9M per year deal comes in and gives up a game winning homer in the first series of the season. The mere idea of not facing that possibility itself is worth the difference between what Mo deserves and $15M for the Yankees.

With all this jive about the Yanks fall from grace (if you can call never missing the playoffs a fall) being blamed on them diverting from the mold of the "true Yankees" and in the direction of free agent mercenaries, how would it go over to let Mo walk.

Overpaying him or not, they just can't let him go.

What are you talking about? What leverage does Mariano have? He has none.
The Yanks are already doing him a favor by throwing $15M per season at him.
Don't you think that is enough "respect" for Mo?

If you ask me, it's time to let Mo walk.
I was already peeved about the $15M deal.
Any other team would offer Mo a 2 YR deal and here the Yanks are giving him a 3 YR deal at 1B and 3B Slugger or Ace Starting Pitcher type money!

Yanks don't owe him anymore or anything!
If the Yanks hand Mo a 4 YR deal it's possible that they end up eating $30M worth of this contract.

Thank you for your services Mo and we appreciate it, but you've priced yourself out of the Yankees range for a Closer.

[Richmond Hill Phoenix]

It's not just the services they would be paying for. It would be the familiarity of having Mo in the bullpen. If A-Rod and Posada come back for sure, then Mo might have less leverage. But the fact remains that not having Mo would be a huge shock to most Yankee fans.

[TonyStarks]

It's not just the services they would be paying for. It would be the familiarity of having Mo in the bullpen. If A-Rod and Posada come back for sure, then Mo might have less leverage. But the fact remains that not having Mo would be a huge shock to most Yankee fans.

I certainly wouldn't be shocked.
I'd be glad that the Yankees finally made a good decision about an agining Vet.
The Yankees made the right call on John Wetteland and now they should do the same with Mo.

IMO, it's better if Mariano goes out as he has now. Yankee fans certainly don't want to see Mariano getting pounded on...which if 2007 showed us anything is a probability.

He wants $60M?!?!
If $45M isn't good enough for Mariano, them ask him to go look for that type of deal elsewhere.
Where else would he get anything close to that?

[Ytown Tribe fan]

We're talking about the Yanks, aren't we?

The franchise that dumped Babe Ruth because he was old and wanted to be manager?

Maybe they should put Donny Baseball at first base cuz it means so much to the fans.

Rivera is so close to being done you can feel it every time he steps onto the mound. They owe him nothing. They owe the FANS wins, and only wins. Especially postseason wins.

[digglahhh]

What are you talking about? What leverage does Mariano have? He has none.
The Yanks are already doing him a favor by throwing $15M per season at him.
Don't you think that is enough "respect" for Mo?

If you ask me, it's time to let Mo walk.
I was already peeved about the $15M deal.
Any other team would offer Mo a 2 YR deal and here the Yanks are giving him a 3 YR deal at 1B and 3B Slugger or Ace Starting Pitcher type money!

Yanks don't owe him anymore or anything!
If the Yanks hand Mo a 4 YR deal it's possible that they end up eating $30M worth of this contract.

Thank you for your services Mo and we appreciate it, but you've priced yourself out of the Yankees range for a Closer.

Nobody prices themselves out of anything for the Yankees, they have (bad pun directed at your user name coming) Supreme Clientele!

You are in the minority. Yankee fans a whole will be LIVID if Mo is allowed to walk.

They are going to sit there and say that he price himself out of the Yanks' plans? They are going to do this with a straight face, after they sit down with A-Rod and ink him to a $250M+ deal? Meanwhile, the fans think A-Rod is a bum who doesn't come though when it's on the line, a "loser" and not a "true Yankee." Mo, on the other hand, is a proven playoff stud, a "true Yankee," and a "winner."

Granted, none of those words mean anything - but the fans espouse them ad naseum.

The fans will kill the Yanks if they let Mo go, he has the support of those who fill the stadium, and thus pay the bills, thus he has the leverage.

You wanna be the guy who is going to throw the beloved shaggy puppy to the kill shelter with the kids crying and screaming? No. So, what do you do, you keep him, and risk him pooping on your rug.

Is he worth the money? No. But, money has never been a concern for the Yanks, the fans love him, and there aren't any attractive top level free agent replacements. So, they'll do what he wants.

[ChrisLDuncan]

Matty,
The $15M for Mariano, for me, is VERY hard to swallow.
But now there are reports that the reason he hasn't accepted this stupid contract is because he doesn't care for a 3 YR deal. He wants a 4 YEAR deal!

Now that...would be tremendously stupid.
Paying any 40YO pitcher $15M+ isn't smart business.

You underestimate the cleverness of Ca$h. If Mo leaves Joba is our closer, and we need to keep Joba in the rotation. So if 15 mill keeps Joba in the rotation then I'm happy. All things conisdered this isn't a bad deal. I don't want to have to look for another starter next season. In all fairness this is also what the Yankees get though too, they should have resigned him in the offseason.

[Mattingly]

Matty,
The $15M for Mariano, for me, is VERY hard to swallow.
But now there are reports that the reason he hasn't accepted this stupid contract is because he doesn't care for a 3 YR deal. He wants a 4 YEAR deal!

Now that...would be tremendously stupid.
Paying any 40YO pitcher $15M+ isn't smart business.
Tony,

I just heard on the radio that Mo wants the 4th year since Hank "Little Stein" made his loose cannon ways more overbearing when he'd mentioned that Mo (DOB: 11/29/1969) will soon turn 38. I guess that Mo didn't like that, so he tacked on the extra year.

Does anyone not know that Roger Clemens is 45? Does he worry about this? I mean, c'mon, man, Mo, we love ya dearly, but let's get reasonable on this!

Mo was also upset since his agents offered to get him a 2-year extension in spring 2007. The reason: he wanted to be there in 2009 when Yankee Stadium III was opened. Now he insists upon *FOUR YEARS*. Man, something about that is weird.

The Yanks FO was cautious and wanted to see what he'd do before offering him any money. Mo then mentioned that the Yanks wouldn't have any advantage and that he'd willingly test the FA market.

Now Joe Torre welcomes him, like A-Rod into LAD. Man, this can get ugly.

I think that Hank should've just been held in a luxury quarter of the negotiations area, then Brian Cashman should've just asked if a 3-year deal would've been OK. Once you do that, I think that $40m would've been enough above the market value (given his age (shhhhhhhhhhhh!)) to add in what he means to the Yanks and having his entire professional career being exclusively with the Yankees.

Either case, if he can back off the age demand, we may be better served.

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

Yankee fans a whole will be LIVID if Mo is allowed to walk.


The fans will kill the Yanks if they let Mo go, he has the support of those who fill the stadium, and thus pay the bills, thus he has the leverage.


Is he worth the money? No. But, money has never been a concern for the Yanks, the fans love him, and there aren't any attractive top level free agent replacements. So, they'll do what he wants.

How do you know? Do you have a crystal ball? Since when does management do what the fans want?

Rivera has his best years clearly behind him. The last two seasons he was not dominant at all. So I also think it is time to part ways and find a better closer.

If the Yankees really want to rejuvenate, they should not sign Mo. Plain and simple.

[TonyStarks]

Nobody prices themselves out of anything for the Yankees, they have (bad pun directed at your user name coming) Supreme Clientele!

You are in the minority. Yankee fans a whole will be LIVID if Mo is allowed to walk.

They are going to sit there and say that he price himself out of the Yanks' plans? They are going to do this with a straight face, after they sit down with A-Rod and ink him to a $250M+ deal? Meanwhile, the fans think A-Rod is a bum who doesn't come though when it's on the line, a "loser" and not a "true Yankee." Mo, on the other hand, is a proven playoff stud, a "true Yankee," and a "winner."

Granted, none of those words mean anything - but the fans espouse them ad naseum.

The fans will kill the Yanks if they let Mo go, he has the support of those who fill the stadium, and thus pay the bills, thus he has the leverage.

You wanna be the guy who is going to throw the beloved shaggy puppy to the kill shelter with the kids crying and screaming? No. So, what do you do, you keep him, and risk him pooping on your rug.

Is he worth the money? No. But, money has never been a concern for the Yanks, the fans love him, and there aren't any attractive top level free agent replacements. So, they'll do what he wants.

Good job on the pun. :D

Come on dude. ARod and Mariano are two different things.
I am a fan who never thought of ARod as a choker or those other things you claimed. Not even that tired and bogus label "True Yankee" load.
Yankee "fans" who jump aboard started that bogus "True Yankee" crapola and it's bogus.

I might be in the minority , but I seriously do not like handing free money over to players...the Yankees are about to dump Carl Pavano. You know the guy who's stolen about $40M from the Yankees. And only unreasonable Yankee fans who jumped aboard the bandwagon in the 90s would cry about Mariano being let go. It makes sense to just about anyone else.

The Yanks should just offer Mariano a 2 Yr deal and that's it! 3 is pushing it.
Take it or leave it. There a few guys who could close out games coming off the books within the next 2 years. (See: Joe Nathan)

Mariano is not just being ridiculous but unreasonable.
I say let him go on the market and find a 3-4 year deal elsewhere and for around $15M. Let's see how many offers in that range he gets.

Humberto Sanchez, Mark Melancon, JB Cox, Kevin Whelan, Russ Ohlendorf, David Robertson are all around the corner and I'd give them a shot at the Closer role.

No thank you. :)


PS: I hope your not saying that fans come to the stadium to see Mariano. Are you? Yankee fans will come to the Stadium regardless of who's closing out games.

[digglahhh]

Tony,

I applaud you for being a rational fan. I, too, think that they shouldn't give such a contract, in duration or value, to Mo.

And, I, too, know that A-Rod and Rivera are two separate cases. But, you know that the media and the fans will jumble them. They can't credibly cite money as the reason for not resigning Mo after shelling out 275 for A-Rod. Money never stopped them before, it will sound disingenuous to say that when the gravy train just happened to stop before one of their most beloved players was allowed on. Don't project your rationality and intelligence on to the common fan and talking head...

I don't think the Yanks are giving in to Mo so much as they are protecting themselves for criticism. Sure, this move can be criticized too, but I think they are looking toward the lesser of two evils. Things would be different if somebody like Francisco Rodriguez was out there to be had.

Overpaying him would be less detrimental than overbooking him - I think we agree on that.

Supply your own Bulletproof Wallet joke.:)

[Charger567]

Why is this such a bad deal? He was as good as ever for most of last season. His ERA was skyrocketed by a few bad games, but I don't think he's declining. He was still hitting 97 last year, and has two of his best seasons at age 35 and 36.

[ChrisLDuncan]

Why is this such a bad deal? He was as good as ever for most of last season. His ERA was skyrocketed by a few bad games, but I don't think he's declining. He was still hitting 97 last year, and has two of his best seasons at age 35 and 36.

Agreed, the top closers in the AL after April:


ERA HRs Allowed Ks BBs IP BABIP (rough estimate)
Papelbon 2.26 5 74 10 47.6 .216
Rivera 2.30 3 66 9 62.5 .304
Nathan 1.85 2 65 15 58.4 .229
Putz 1.84 4 74 12 58.8 . 218
Jenks 2.49 2 45 9 50.7 .206
Rodriguez 2.84 1 70 30 53.7 .303


Give some of those other closers a normal BABIP, and see what happens ot their ERAs. Most innings pitched, tied for the least amount of walks surrendered. Good ERA, so I don't see why so many people are losing their minds over this. Plus if Mo is the closer, JOBA IS IN THE ROTATION!

[lovethegame]

Sparky Lyle wins the Cy Young and the Yanks get Goose.
4 years is too much for any pitcher over 32 and turning down 45 mil over 3 is ludicrous and a blessing for the Yankees