NEW YORK -- Last September, manager Joe Girardi orchestrated a poignant and perfect way for Mariano Rivera to exit his final big league game, deputizingDerek Jeter and Andy Pettitte to walk out to the mound and execute the pitching change.
With Jeter's final Yankee Stadium regular season game scheduled for Thursday against the Orioles, Girardi said that he has been giving some thought to how best to acknowledge Jeter's departure, though Girardi is not ready to share those specifics.
"It's different in a sense with Derek, because you don't know where you're going to be at and the meaning of the game at that point," Girardi said. "Knowing Derek, not knowing if he's going to want to be out there for every minute and every play.
"I have spent a little time thinking about it. There's been other people that have thrown out some ideas that I've thought about. I'll just kind of wait and see how it goes, and we'll make a decision when it's time, I guess."
Rivera pitched in the Yankees' final home game last Sept. 26, retiring all four Rays batters he faced before Jeter and Pettitte walked to the mound, with Jeter telling his longtime teammate, "It's time to go."
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