That sound you hear is a million Yankee fans...

...screaming:

Rivera, 37, regarded by many as the greatest closer in baseball history, will be paid $10.5 million this season, the option year of a two-year contract. He is eligible to become a free agent after the season, and Rivera seemed to be suggesting yesterday that anything was possible.

“I want to finish my career here,” he said. But, he added, if the Yankees did not “give me the respect that I deserve,” he would contemplate moving on.

“If they want to talk, we’re willing to listen,” Rivera added of the only major league team he has ever played for. “But I’m going to bring nothing to the table. I’m just going to focus on what I have to do and see what happens. I have a contract for this year. That’s what matters.”

He added: “This is a business. If they have somebody who can do a better job than I do, they will do it. So I don’t have to worry about those things. When the time comes, if they want me back, they want me back. Otherwise, I’m not going to sit in my house crying. I’d have to move on.”

Rivera had 34 saves and a 1.80 earned run average last season.

On the other hand, spring training has begun.