By Jon Heyman, SI.com

On Monday, Rivera had suggested dismay over a delay in his contract talks and glumly spoke of baseball as a business. "I definitely want to finish my career here,'' Rivera told several New York writers, "but if they don't give me the respect I deserve ... I'm not going to stay at my house crying. I have to move on.''

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Posada, yet another great Yankee heading into the final year of his contract, expressed support for Williams without being critical of the team. "I'm a Bernie fan,'' Posada said. "He's done a lot for this organization, and we all know that.'' Posada expressed hope Williams would accept the minor-league invite, but stopped short of criticizing the team for its decision.

Posada didn't discount the possibility that Williams' fate triggered Rivera's remarks concerning his own situation. "Yeah, it could happen with anybody,'' Posada said. "You hope it won't happen to Rivera.''

Yankees people were surprised at Rivera's remarks regarding his own talks on Monday, especially since Rivera, a supremely low-maintenance superstar, has hardly ever uttered a critical or anxious word during his reign as one of the greatest closers of all-time. Yankees decisionmakers view the situations of Williams and Rivera far differently, considering Rivera is still one of the top two or three closers in the game. Their position in the Rivera delay is that they were busy forming their team and that they will not only get to his contract soon, but also expect to get a deal done. The likelihood is that the Yankees grant Rivera the two-year extension he seeks.

However, they don't discount the possibility that Williams' situation has affected Rivera's mood. And it surely has.