All good? Photo credit: @YankeesPR

KANSAS CITY – Mariano Rivera and Joba Chamberlain said that all was forgiven on Sunday, one day after the Yankees pitchers had an intense exchange during batting practice in the visiting dugout at Kauffman Stadium.

Rivera was conducting an interview with reporters in the dugout and instructed Chamberlain, who was yelling to family members in the seating area, to be quiet. Chamberlain took exception to Rivera’s comment, barking, “Don’t ever shush me again.”

When Rivera chuckled dismissively, Chamberlain continued, “No, seriously. Don’t ever shush me again. I don’t get to see my family very often.”

Chamberlain said on Sunday that he did not feel the need to apologize for the incident, but Rivera said that Chamberlain did indeed offer an apology before Sunday’s game.

Rivera also said that he personally wanted to apologize because the exchange was in view of reporters and fans.

“Sometimes you have little things that we say that we don’t mean,” Rivera said. “It’s good. We’re a family here. That’s what it is all about. It’s something that we take care of in house. It’s something that is in house. Unfortunately it happened in front of you guys, but again, it shouldn’t happen. We apologize and we move on.”

Rivera had been discussing an emotional visit with local families and seemed to be distracted at times by Chamberlain’s loud running commentary. Chamberlain said that he spoke to Rivera outside the clubhouse on Saturday and actually asked for an autograph on behalf of a family member, which Rivera granted.

“We joked and laughed after the game,” Chamberlain said. “It’s one of those things. I’m around him more than I am my family. He’s a brother to me. I’m pretty sure everybody has ha an argument with their sibling at one time or another. It was good. I saw him, we laughed and joked this morning. It’s just another day.”

Chamberlain hinted that there may have been more on his mind than Rivera’s comment, saying, “There’s a lot of things. It was my fault, personally. My family is here and my son [Karter] wasn’t here, which kind of bothered me. But that’s another story for another day.”

Manager Joe Girardi said that his understanding is that everything is fine between Rivera and Chamberlain. Rivera added that he is not angry or insulted by the comments from Chamberlain, who has been his teammate with the Yankees since 2007.

“No, I’m better than that,” Rivera said. “When you’re in the team or you’re in the family for so long, you know the members of your family, you know what I mean? He’s a good kid, man. He’s a good kid.

“Sometimes we all say things that we don’t mean to say. It’s the way it is and I keep it like that. … There’s a lot of other things that I have to worry about. I’m better than that, guys.”

Photo credit: Kent Klooster, MLB.com

Mariano Rivera jogged out to the spot where his career nearly ended 12 months ago, looked down, and smiled.

A prankster from the Yankees’ clubhouse had painted a white chalk outline of Rivera’s body on the warning track, while a banner adorned with stop signs and yellow caution tape fluttered from the outfield wall reading: “No Mo Zone.”

Rivera posed in front of the wall for a photo, grabbing his right knee in mock pain. He said that he expected to hear some good-natured ribbing from his teammates as he returned to Kauffman Stadium, the Yanks’ first trip back since Rivera tore his right ACL before a May 3, 2012 game against the Royals.

“The only thing that will come back to me is just knowing that I got hurt there,” Rivera said. “But I mean, I will enjoy it definitely because that moment and seeing where I am right now, that’s what is gratifying. I’m thanking the Lord for me being here.”

Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey, who was one of the first on the scene when Rivera crumpled in pursuit of a Jayson Nix fly ball on that afternoon last May, is believed to have been one of the leading pranksters to dress up the left-center field area on Friday.

The adornments were removed by the time the Yankees’ batting practice session concluded, and manager Joe Girardi said that he didn’t expect his thoughts would drift to Rivera’s injury much during the course of Friday’s game.

“Not really,” Girardi said. “You see guys get injured all the time in different ballparks and I know Mo is not just your everyday guy, I understand that. I’m sure the guys will have a little fun with it today and then try to put it behind us.”

The Yankees placed right-hander Joba Chamberlain on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with a strained right oblique, making Chamberlain the 10th player currently on the DL and the 11th overall this season (Phil Hughes started the year on the shelf before being activated).

Brian Cashman said on a conference call that the Yankees were still discussing who to promote, but according to Dan Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal, they’ve decided on right-hander Preston Claiborne, a power right-hander who had a 3.48 ERA and three saves in eight appearances at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The Yanks haven’t officially announced the move, but hey, we’re living in a Twitter world. Here’s what Claiborne tweeted last night:

Thank you for all the love everybody. Words can’t describe it.

— preston claiborne (@olroy57) May 3, 2013

And fellow Yanks Minor Leaguer Rob Segedin tweeted this:

Could not be more proud and jacked up for long time teammate @olroy57 on his call to the bigs. Well deserved! Best of luck buddy! #nyy

— Rob Segedin (@RobSegedin) May 3, 2013

The Yankees should have Claiborne in uniform tonight against the Athletics, and they’ll also be finding a locker for infielder Chris Nelson, who was acquired from the Rockies late on Wednesday and replaces Corban Joseph on the active roster. Cashman said that he expects Nelson to be a useful piece for manager Joe Girardi.

“Ultimately, we’ve been running Jayson Nix out there every day, [Robinson] Cano out there every day,” Cashman said. “So he’s going to give us a chance to make sure we take the pedal off the metal on Nixy a little bit and maybe Cano a little bit.”

There was a lot of ground covered on the conference call, and here is a quick rundown of some of the other news and notes to get you up to speed:

• David Robertson had an MRI on his left knee and has “a little bit of crankiness” in the hamstring area. He was seen by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad but Cashman said this is not considered a DL situation.
• Alex Rodriguez will report to Tampa on May 6 to begin baseball activities. The Yankees are still keeping his timeline for return vague: “We’re just going to stick to sometime after the All-Star break,” Cashman said. Mark Teixeira is also heading to Tampa at the end of this homestand, and Curtis Granderson had a second day of at-bats in Extended Spring Training games yesterday.
• Cashman said that the Yankees weren’t considering promoting left-hander Clay Rapada to replace Chamberlain because he is thought of as more of a left-on-left specialist. Other names mentioned by Cashman in consideration were Mark Montgomery and Sam Demel.
• Chien-Ming Wang has posted some nice numbers thus far at Triple-A, but the Yankees aren’t convinced that they would translate in the big leagues. Cashman was candid on that, saying that Wang isn’t the same power sinker guy who won 19 games in back-to-back seasons in 2006 and ’07.”He’s becoming a different type of pitcher now because he can’t come up here and just sink that sinker every pitch,” Cashman said. “He needs to incorporate some of his pitches in there and mix and match because he’s that reduced in velocity. His lines have been very nice and good, but he’s working on all his weapons because what he’s doing down there wouldn’t represent necessarily what we think he could do up here right now.”
• Michael Pineda had “a good physical day” down at the Yankees’ complex. Cashman said he was sitting 93 mph on the radar gun and touched 95 mph. That velocity has to be encouraging, considering the nature of labrum injuries.
• Derek Jeter is in a removable boot and has been able to use a stationary bicycle and swim. The Yankees are also using laser therapy, hydro therapy and a bone stimulator on Jeter, who will be in the boot for four to eight weeks until his fractured left ankle heals.