Rivera makes stellar exhibition debut

TAMPA, Fla. -- And on the third Sunday of exhibition games, Mo finally pitched.

To the shock of no one, Mariano Rivera looked as sharp as ever, striking out the side in the sixth inning of the Yankees' 9-2 loss to the Twins at Steinbrenner Field.

"Silly," Joe Girardi said.

"Unbelievable," a scout said.

"Good," Derek Jeter said. "What did he throw? Ten pitches, maybe?"

Nope, not that efficient.

It was 12.

"That's what he does," Jeter said. "We'll see him in another week."

Jeter laughed at his joke, a form of which has been a part of Yankees spring training for several years now. The 41-year-old Rivera, unique in every sense of the word, is on his own schedule, one featuring fewer bullpen sessions and fewer appearances (which rarely if ever occur on the road) than his bullpen mates.

He's recorded 39, 44, and 33 saves the last three seasons with corresponding ERAs of 1.40, 1.76 and 1.80.

"Mo has a plan and a regimen and it has worked for him and he understands what works for him," Girardi said.

An opposing team's scout said Rivera actually is ahead of where he was at this time last year.

"First time out last year, he was at 86-88," the scout said. "Today, he was 90-92."

Said Rivera: "You get older, you get wiser. You just try to throw [as few] pitches as you can and make sure you work on your spots. That's what I do. I don't have that fastball that I used to have that was 96, 95, but whatever I have, I have to make it work."

For the first time, Girardi got to see the late-inning tandem he hopes to go to more than a few times this season. Rivera's setup man, Rafael Soriano, took the mound in the fifth, allowing a hit but otherwise having an easy inning.

Soriano lockers next to the closer. Rivera said that though quiet, he is a "great guy" and fierce competitor who will fit in New York just fine.

"He has everything to succeed here," Rivera said. "I don't see why not. The only person that will stop him will be God and himself. Besides that, he has the entire package."

Which has been said plenty of times about Rivera, who started his inning by throwing a 92-mph cutter for a called third strike to Jason Kubel -- who hit a go-ahead grand slam off him with two outs in the eighth inning last May 16 in the Yankees' 6-3 loss. Jeff Bailey went down looking at an 89-mph cutter on the outside corner and Luke Hughes struck out swinging on a 90-mph pitch.

Russell Martin had not caught Rivera in bullpen or side sessions until Sunday.

"That's the best cutter I've caught for sure," Martin said. "Normally, you see some kind of spin. His, you don't see the spin. There's no side spin; it just cuts. I don't know how he does it."

Rivera typically pitches between eight and 10 innings in spring training. He pitched six official innings last year and also threw a simulated game.

One reporter asked if, based on this outing, one inning might be enough to have him regular season-ready.

"One is not enough," Rivera said, smiling. "I have to go out there again."

Regarding Rivera, Girardi was asked how comfortable he'd be if Opening Day were tomorrow. He didn't even hesitate before saying, "He's ready to go."