Rivera, Pettitte dealing with shoulder pain

Sep 27, 2008 - 6:46 AM BOSTON (Ticker) -- With the team poised to miss the postseason for the first full season since 1993, two of the biggest pieces of the New York Yankees' dynasty of the late-1990s and early 2000s are dealing with shoulder trouble.

Closer Mariano Rivera said Friday that he has been dealing with a shoulder problem and may opt to have minor arthroscopic surgery in the offseason.

"This isn't something that is a serious shoulder injury," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "It wasn't affecting his stuff. It wasn't affecting his ability to get people out."

Rivera is 6-5 with a 1.38 ERA and 38 saves in 39 opportunities. The 38-year-old righthander, who has struck out 76 and issued six walks in 69 1/3 innings, allowed only one run in his last 14 appearances.

Should he choose to have the surgery, MLB.com is reporting it will not affect his availability for 2009. Rivera reportedly will need only a few weeks of rehab to recover.

Andy Pettitte, who also has been shut down for the season by the Yankees, had a second MRI on his ailing left shoulder on Friday.

"We wanted to make sure because, obviously, he's someone we think about for next season," Girardi said.

The 36-year-old Pettitte will become a free agent this winter. He went 2-7 with a 6.23 ERA after July 26 and 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA in 33 starts overall.

"It was the best way to find out everything because it was a descriptive test," Pettitte said. "They said it looked good. Everything really looked good. They thought just with rest that I would feel good. My rotator got inflamed and I never stopped. I just kept throwing and tried to get through it."

When asked if he is going to return next season, Pettitte was non-committal.

"I've just got a lot of stuff I need to think about," he said. "I've got a lot of stuff I want to weigh. There's a lot of reasons and good things to think about coming back - obviously new stadium, obviously guys on this team you want to win a championship with.

"Just now, you're looking forward to getting through these (last) two games and getting home and getting some decisions behind me."