Damon wants to return, will explore other options

By JAY COHEN
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK — Johnny Damon soaked it all in as he shared a float
with first-timers Nick Swisher and Jerry Hairston Jr. for the
New York Yankees’ championship parade through the Canyon of
Heroes on Friday.

The whole scene made him a little wistful.

“It’s good he got to do it in his first year here,” Damon said
as the energetic Swisher bounced around beside him after the
parade finished in the shadow of City Hall. “It took me my
fourth and possibly final year. I am so overjoyed because you
don’t know how many times you get this opportunity.”

Damon helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 and played
one more season in Boston before bolting for a $52 million,
four-year contract with New York. That deal is up now and the
parade is over, leaving the outfielder’s future as one of the
major questions facing the champs heading into the offseason.

“I think that’s just the reality of our game,” slugger Alex
Rodriguez said. “You hope obviously as many guys come back as
possible.”

World Series MVP Hideki Matsui and left-hander Andy Pettitte,
who won the clinching game in each playoff series, also are
eligible for free agency. The fate of Matsui and Damon could be
linked if New York decides to add another big bat in the
offseason, and both have said they want to come back.

“At this point right now, I’d like to just take a little break
and just let my body rest,” Matsui said through an interpreter,
after his creaky knees limited him to DH duties this year. “I
think at some point we’ll pick up some of the offseason topics
that need to be worked out and go from there.”

The 37-year-old Pettitte is deciding whether to retire or return
for a 16th major league season to try for a sixth World Series
ring.

Damon, who turned 36 Thursday, tied a career high with 24 homers
this season and hit .281 with nine RBIs in the playoffs. He also
had one of the postseason’s most memorable plays, stealing
second and third on one pitch during New York’s three-run rally
in the ninth inning of Game 4 against the Phillies.

“Obviously, I’m going to have a lot of options,” Damon said,
“and I think what it comes down to is what kind of option the
Yankees want to give me or not give me. Why wouldn’t I want to
come back? We have the best owners in baseball. We have the best
team. We have the most revenue and the biggest payroll, so who
wouldn’t want to be part of the Yankee tradition? I would like
to continue mine and I feel like I can come back and do a great
job again.”

Damon left New York’s clinching Game 6 victory Wednesday night
with a strained right calf but he called it “probably a week
thing” after participating in the parade.

His injury wasn’t the only one overshadowed by the World Series
win. After the Yankees wrapped up their 27th title, closer
Mariano Rivera said he tweaked his ribs in the ALCS against the
Angels, with his ailing side bothering him for the rest of the
playoffs.

“It don’t matter now,” Rivera said when asked Friday about how
much pain he was in on the mound. “It’s over. Thank God it’s
over. It was manageable.”

Rivera tossed 5 1-3 scoreless innings over four appearances in
the Series, recording two saves. He had five saves in five
opportunities with a 0.56 ERA in the postseason, just adding to
his reputation as a big-game pitcher.

“He did what we needed him to do,” reliever Joba Chamberlain
said.

A handful of players started cleaning out their lockers at
Yankee Stadium after the parade was finished. The name plates
had been removed and the carpet was clean after it was soaked
with champagne during the celebration after Game 6.

A.J. Burnett gave hugs to Chamberlain and Chien-Ming Wang. Eric
Hinske took his folding chair with the Yankee Stadium inaugural
season logo.

“It’s definitely a day to celebrate and enjoy,” captain Derek
Jeter said.

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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.