UPDATE ON MARIANO RIVERA'S KNEE SURGERY

Kieran Darcy of ESPN is reporting HERE that the great Mariano Rivera will have surgery on his knee on June 12th. That's good news but there is even better news when you read Mariano quotes... he reeks of confidence. When asked if he'll pitch in 2013, he said:

"Oh yeah, there's no doubt about that, God willing...I always believe in miracles...You have to get it fixed first."

Mariano knows his body and he knows his limitations.  There is no doubt that I believe him when he says he wants to come back but I also believe that it all depends on what his body can handle.

Even without injury, you need to factor in age. Age is an interesting thing when it comes to pitchers though.  Sure, age can slow down a regular player, but I always felt like pitchers can usually play alittle later into their career.  Mariano is a good example, even guys like Randy Johnson.

Hell, look at Jamie Moyer who's 49 and who was just released by the Rockies and has already latched on to the Orioles with a minor league deal (Read HERE). Mariano is a reliever compared to those guys and if this ACL surgery is successful, I believe in him, and I believe he will do what he says, he'll come back. He'll do it because he's a guy who never wants to let the team or the fans down. I really believe that.

Best of luck Mo, we're all pulling for you in Yankeeland. By the way, if any developments happen before the surgery, we'll bring it to you here at Bleeding Yankee Blue, but in the meantime, we'll bring you a surgery update on June 12th.

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WHY JAMIE MOYER MAKES ME FEEL OLD

As a huge fan of baseball and baseball's history I have to tip my cap to Jamie Moyer and what he accomplished last night. For those of you who may not know, at the age of 49, Moyer became the oldest player to ever win a Major League game last night. Just a remarkable feat considering all the pitchers to have ever taken the mound in MLB history.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the year Moyer broke into the league (1986) and put into perspective just how long ago that was...and how incredible it is that Moyer is still pitching in 2012. And not just pitching, but pitching well! Okay, so check this out...

• Moyer broke into the big leagues with the Cubs in 1986, before 263 major-league players last year were even born!

• He pitched his first game before Wrigley Field installed lights.

• Moyer's first win was in his first start, June 16th, 1986. He pitched against and beat Hall of Famer Steve Carlton.

• Among Moyer's teammates on the Cubs in 1986 was Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.

• Moyer has thrown shutouts in four decades.
  

Impressive, right? How about this...

And to give this piece a little Yankee flavor, here is the lineup the Yankees had on June 16th, 1986 -- the same day Moyer made his debut -- Yanks vs. Red Sox: (CF)Rickey Henderson, (1B)Don Mattingly, (RF)Dave Winfield, (DH)Mike Easler, (LF)Ken Griffey (not Jr. -his dad), (3B)Mike Pagliarulo, (C)Ron Hassey, (2B)Willie Randolph (SS)Ivan DeJesus - and our starting pitcher that day, "The Louisiana Lightening", Ron Guidry! Oh, in case you are wondering, we got hammered that game by the Sox, 10-1. I'm still upset!

(yep, that's a young Jeter!)

On June 16th, 1986...

• Derek Jeter was 12-years-old
• ARod was 11-years-old
• CC Sabathia, Tex, and Swish were 6-years-old
• Cano was 4 years-old
• Russell Martin and Brett Gardner were 3-years-old
• DRob was 1-years-old
• Phil Hughes was 6 DAYS old!
• Ivan Nova & Eduardo Nunez weren't even born yet!
  

Congrats to Jamie Moyer. Thanks for making us all feel old!

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com
Twitter: @MikeyBlu23

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WHY PETTITTE'S RETURN WILL ALL WORK OUT

I believe that Andy Pettitte will succeed on the Yankees this year. According to Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record, you can’t help but be excited about him returning. Stapleton says Pettitte is maybe 2 weeks away from pitching in an exhibition game and he’s ahead of schedule.

According to Stapleton, Pettitte faced batters Friday, "Pettitte faced six batters and seemed encouraged with what he showed in the biggest challenge to date during his comeback from a year's retirement. He wants to throw a modified bullpen session Sunday in order to keep refining his mechanics and getting a feel for his pitches."

I believe that no fan is NOT excited about Andy Pettitte, unless you’re a blog and want to be provocative and take the other side suggesting that Pettitte returning is “no big deal.” Sure, that stance is unique and you’ll get more readers that day, but there is no denying… Everyone feels it, Pettitte is back! Whether or not you want to believe Pettitte will succeed again in pinstripes is another story of course. Sure, he’s older now, 39, and 40 in June but pitchers that have been successful in their career can usually pitch forever, I think about guys like Jamie Moyer, Nolan Ryan, Dennis Eckersley…Eckersley reinvented himself from starter to reliever, but you get my point. I believe in Pettitte based on his work ethic and conditioning. If you don’t, I’m afraid you’re just trying to be different… and I get that...from a blog perspective.

Look... Andy Pettitte may or may not be a success this season, but I believe we can all agree that when you already have guys like CC Monster and Ivan Nova, and adding a veteran like Hiroki Kuroda and a talented kid like Michael Pineda, the rotation looks pretty damn good. With Andy Pettitte returning, the rotation just got great. Plus Golden Boy Phil Hughes is out to prove he’s the real thing… finally.

The best news comes from Stapleton's piece where talks about an encounter between Pettitte and Freddy Garcia and he in the weight room yesterday. They seemed to have a pleasant conversation, according to Stapleton. Stapleton wrote:

"'I like him,' Garcia said of Pettitte. 'He just said, 'We have to win.' I said, 'We'll figure out something,' and that moment's going to come next week or the week after that."

Read Stapleton's piece HERE. Bottom line, we have what it takes to win it all this year. I believe in Andy Pettitte and the rest of our guys. The whole thing just makes sense this season…it’s destiny after all... isn't it?

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WHY WE NEED TO RECAP

Starters like Doug Davis, Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Bonderman, Freddy Garcia, Rodrigo Lopez, and Brian Moehler are all out there for the Yanks to snag off the free agent market if they want a quick fix at the back half of the rotation.

Bartolo Colon is pitching in a Dominican Winter League and there are mixed reviews about how he's doing. Colon clearly wants to make it back, the question is, will the Yankees take a chance on him or will it be a team like the Royals.

Then you look at pitchers like Pedro Martinez or Jarrod Washburn and these guys haven't pitched in the majors in a while. Over a year.

You then have guys like, John Maine, like Justin Duchscherer and 90 year old Jamie Moyer (who just keeps on ticking). The problem with these guys are they're all coming off injury. The only name the Yankees have been connected to is Justin Duchscherer, but who knows if he's still on the radar.

Andy Pettitte is by far the Yankees top choice. Reliable, durable and comfortable, but there's one issue of concern... It's January 25th. Ladies and Gentleman, Don't panic. I have a good feeling about this guy, I feel like he's coming back. I've said it before in IF YOU BUILD IT, HE WILL COME (BACK), Andy waited until January 26th before and this may seem like a long time, but it's actually not. Tomorrow's the 26th. After that, well, then you have to start to worry. My gut says Andy's coming back, that being said, it is very possible he's "getting pitcher ready" to see how his body responds to the daily workouts. It's possible that he's seeing how he feels day in and day out to see if he can handle a full season. It's reality. So, while I feel good about Andy, keep that in the back of your mind. Be patient... We'll know soon.

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