TARRYTOWN, N.Y. -- From a distance of 60 feet and six inches, it took Mariano Rivera all of six tosses to scatter splinters of lumber, a familiar accomplishment for the mortal enemy of Louisville Sluggers everywhere.
But there were no hitters and no catcher as Rivera climbed back atop a mound for the first time since his season-ending injury. His tosses were part of a commercial shoot, during which he gleefully destroyed a wooden camera shield.
"I'm feeling good," said Rivera, who made about 25 throws on the Hackley School's snow-covered diamond. "The rehab has been great; it's been tough, but at the same time, I'm seeing good results. I can't wait to continue and stay 100 percent. A day at a time, like I always tell you guys. A day at a time."
Rivera, who turns 43 later this month, flashed his smooth, iconic form as he tossed prop baseballs toward a protected cameraman, showing no ill effects from a torn right anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that truncated his season in May.
One week ago, Rivera told general manager Brian Cashman that he decided to continue pitching in 2013. Currently a free agent after the expiration of his two-year, $30 million deal, Rivera is leaving negotiations in the hands of Cashman and agent Fernando Cuza.
"Like I told you guys before, I didn't want to go out like that," Rivera said. "At the same time, we haven't discussed anything. We're talking, so hopefully we'll finalize everything."
Rivera had told Cashman in an earlier conversation that he wasn't sure about his plans for 2013, and the game's all-time saves leader had contemplated retirement in the past.
But the memory of writhing in pain on the warning track of Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium is luring him back to change the ending.
"I didn't want to go out like that," he said. "I felt like I have something left, and [I should] give it a shot. Why not?"
Manager Joe Girardi mentioned this week that Rivera was admonished during the season for trying to throw sooner than advised, using the incident as evidence that he believed all along that Rivera planned on returning for another big league season.
But with months to go until the Spring Training report date for pitchers and catchers, Rivera is in no hurry to push his rehab to the next level, no matter how good it might have looked to see him back on a mound.
"I have a long time to go. I'm not rushing," he said. "I just have to make sure that my knee gets stronger. It does. It's getting stronger and stronger every day. I'm happy with that. I just have to continue what I'm doing."