I hope so too and I think the Yankees want him back. The frustrating part is there is NO room for him, that's what makes this situation so unfortunate.

Source: Newsday

BY JIM BAUMBACH
Newsday Staff Writer

February 11, 2007
When we last saw the Yankees together four months ago, chaos reigned. Everything fell apart so quickly against the Tigers in the ALDS that it must have felt like a roller coaster going downhill fast.

This week, the memory of that nightmare finally starts fading.

Yankees pitchers and catchers officially report to Tampa Tuesday, marking the start of the team's season. Everything begins fresh, and there might not be any other team in baseball that's more thankful for that.

Then again, this won't be their typical spring training camp, at least not the kind that their fans have grown used to lately.

For starters, there will be no recently acquired first-time Yankee superstar dominating the headlines.

The Yankees tried that with Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson and Johnny Damon -- and how many World Series rings did that method deliver?

So with their roster aging and loaded with long-term, guaranteed contracts, general manager Brian Cashman went about his offseason to-do list a little differently, doing far more subtracting than he did adding. He traded Gary Sheffield, Johnson and Jaret Wright, all for youth.

And while major league teams collectively spent more money this offseason than ever before, the Yankees stayed relatively silent, at least compared to their old self.

They acquired a known quantity in Andy Pettitte and added Japanese pitcher Kei Igawa through the posting process to avoid the luxury tax.

"The Yankees not only have emerged from the offseason as one of the elite teams in the major leagues, but also a vastly improved farm system that will allow them to sustain their championship success," Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said in an e-mail message.

But the price the Yankees will pay in the short term for their added pool of young talent is a major-league rotation that has its share of question marks.

By trading Johnson back to the Diamondbacks last month, which was sparked by the lefthander's preference to play closer to home, the Yankees are left with Igawa as their fourth starter and Carl Pavano as their fifth.

Cashman freely admits there are questions. Igawa never has thrown a pitch in the majors and Pavano hasn't pitched in a major-league game since June 2005 because of an embarrassing list of injuries.

And although the Yankees created goodwill among fans by bringing back Pettitte, team officials have not forgotten about his troublesome left elbow, which was a big reason why they let him leave after the 2003 World Series in the first place.

Yankees brass undoubtedly will spend a good portion of spring training taking stock of their pitching staff, determining how much they can trust Igawa and Pavano and keeping an eye on Pettitte's elbow.

If they must turn to someone else, highly touted pitching prospect Phil Hughes won't be hard to find. He'll be in camp for the second straight year, and although the team expects him to start the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, they haven't ruled him out as part of the roster to start the season. "He's not very far off," Mussina said recently.

Hughes, 20, headlines an impressive crop of young pitchers in camp, including Humberto Sanchez (acquired in the Sheffield trade), Ross Ohlendorf (acquired in the Johnson trade) and righthander Tyler Clippard.

"For the first time since I've been in camp, we're going to have an opportunity to look at six or seven mystery guys that we don't know who they are, or at least we haven't seen them yet at the major-league level," Rodriguez said last week. "Maybe we can strike lightning in a bottle, kind of like Detroit did last year with Verlander and Zumaya."

Of course, the Yankees aren't blinded by youth.

They made it clear to 44-year-old Roger Clemens that he's welcome back whenever he wishes, and Pettitte's return to pinstripes can only help their cause.

But The Rocket's decision isn't expected until after spring training, so the Yankees aren't concerned about it right now. Their thoughts are completely focused on the spring, a welcome reprieve from last fall.

Source: Metro West Daily News

By Art Davidson / Daily News staff
Saturday, February 10, 2007 - Updated: 11:30 PM EST



By Yankee standards this offseason has been downright bizarre. New York has actually reduced its payroll and has significantly improved its farm system by trading some veterans for several young players.

The Yankees acquired seven excellent prospects in trades for pitchers Randy Johnson and Jaret Wright and outfielder Gary Sheffield.

"We are very excited about some of the young players we've received," said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. "We are always going to pursue free agents, but now we have a considerable amount of top-level talent within our own organization. Hopefully, some of those players will make an impact for us, like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano did when we promoted them from our farm system."

The Yankees won their ninth straight AL East title last season, but were defeated by Detroit in the Division Series. After losing the series opener, the Tigers rebounded by winning the next three games.

It was speculated that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner might fire manager Joe Torre or that the team might trade Alex Rodriguez, but neither occurred.

New York's lineup should be even more potent this season. Outfielders Hideki Matsui and Sheffield both missed significant portions of last season with injuries. The trading-deadline deal which brought Bobby Abreu to New York prompted the Yankees to ship Sheffield to Detroit last November.

The Yankees' biggest concern entering spring training is their starting rotation. Chien-Ming Wang has become New York's top starter. The 26-year-old right-hander was 19-6 last season.

The departure of Johnson puts more pressure on 38-year-old Mike Mussina, who is coming off a good, but unspectacular 15-7 season.

The Yankees' most significant offseason acquisition was bringing back Andy Pettitte for his second tour of duty in the Bronx. Pettitte, 34, has spent the last three seasons with Houston. New York didn't ardently attempt to re-sign Pettitte after he filed for free agency following the 2003 seasons because Cashman had concerns about his left elbow. Those worries seemed justified when Pettitte was hampered by injuries in 2004, but he's pitched more than 200 innings in each of the last two seasons. Pettitte was 14-13 in 36 games last year.

Does the return of Pettitte mean that Roger Clemens might also decide to move from Houston to New York and pitch for the Yankees again?

"If Roger Clemens wants to pitch this year we are certainly going to be interested in talking to him, like we did last year," said Cashman. "He made it clear last year that the only teams he would consider playing for are Houston, ourselves and the Red Sox."

Cashman admits that he was disappointed that the Yankees weren't able to sign Daisuke Matsuzaka and that he ended up with the Red Sox.

"There were indications that it wasn't going to be us," said Cashman. "Once that happened I was hoping that our main rival wasn't going to win the right to negotiate with Matsuzaka. The Red Sox have added a very good pitcher."

The Yankees settled for signing Japanese southpaw Kei Igawa, who was 14-9 with a 2.97 ERA last season for Hanshin. Igawa, 27, doesn't have an overpowering fastball, but he's led the Central League in strikeouts three times.

New York posted a bid of $26 million to win the right to sign Igawa. The Yankees then gave him a five-year deal worth $20 million.

"He's not Matsuzaka, but he's someone who we believe is going to be a long-term asset to us," said Cashman.

The Yankees' fifth starter could be Carl Pavano, who claims he's finally healthy. Pavano hasn't pitched in a major league game since June, 2005.

For the last two years Philip Hughes has been New York's best prospect. He could make the jump from Double A to the major leagues, but the Yankees would like him to get at least some experience at the Triple A level. Two other young hurlers, Humberto Sanchez, who was obtained in the Sheffield deal, and Tyler Clippard, also will be given an opportunity in Florida to earn pinstripes.

New York's effective bullpen has been bolstered by the addition of Luis Vizcaino, who is the most senior of the four players the Yankees received from Arizona for Johnson. The Yankees still have future Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera as their closer. Conversely, Boston's closer remains a mystery.

The only new non-pitcher who is likely going to receive a significant amount of playing time is former Red Sox first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who spent last season in exile in Kansas City.

Source: MLB.com

Entering his 10th season as general manager, Brian Cashman has seen his Yankees teams run the gamut of Spring Training news cycles.

February's calendars have been highlighted by tell-all books, imported superstars, blockbuster trades, returns from injuries, off-field issues, contract talks and even a few spats with the Boston Red Sox. And that's just the last few years.

So what could the next few weeks of 2007 hold? Cashman isn't sure, but one thing is certain -- around the Yankees, events are never in short supply.

"Every spring is different," Cashman told MLB.com on Friday. "There are always major needs with potential free agents at the end of the year; there are always new players who arrive via trades, and new free agents.

"Sometimes you've got a former player returning, like Andy Pettitte, and sometimes you've got a new hotshot rookie knocking on the door. The stories can be similar, the teams are very different, but the effort to win a championship and be the best you can be is always there."

Though the mandatory report date for Yankees pitchers and catchers isn't until Feb. 13, several veteran players -- Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Miguel Cairo among them -- have already traded their winter gear for shorts and T-shirts.

Another Yankees stalwart, Bernie Williams, remains on the outside looking in. The Yankees have reportedly offered the 38-year-old a standing non-roster invitation to camp, which the outfielder said Friday he did not intend to accept.

Williams addressed reporters briefly at a New Milford, Conn., benefit concert. Convinced by his good showing last season, Williams has said that he is capable of playing another season, though the Yankees -- the only organization he has known in a 16-year Major League career -- do not appear to have room for him and, thus far, have been unwilling to offer a guaranteed deal.

Cashman said that he views the Yankees' roster changes as largely complete.

"As of right now, we're going in with what we've got," he said. "I've floated some ideas out there, but I don't want to say anything more than that. These are the people we've committed to going in with, so we're getting ready to hit the ground running."

As is the case every spring, the Yankees have a hot-button issue to contend with. This year it may wind up being Alex Rodriguez's opt-out clause, which gained steam coinciding with the third baseman's promotional book tour this week in New York.

Cashman said that he is not putting serious thought into the possibility that the two-time Most Valuable Player could be playing his last season with the Yankees.

"It's just not something I'm going to be focusing on right now," he said. "We're focusing on getting the team ready for '07. We're not focusing on '08."

Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, suggested to the Associated Press that Rodriguez could secure a significant raise for 2008 and beyond by exercising the opt-out clause. Rodriguez is set to earn $72 million over the final three years of his contract.

Cashman said that there was little the Yankees could do to influence the end result of the clause, which was built into Rodriguez's original 10-year, $252 million contract, signed with the Texas Rangers.

"That's a decision for Alex," he said. "He negotiated that in good faith when he did his contract, and that's a right that he earned and bargained for. We'll just wait until the end and see what he has to say. If he opts out, he opts out."

With a core compiled by established returning players, the Yankees have a certain luxury of using Spring Training to showcase various young talents who were either promoted or acquired over the winter.

Cashman said that it was an "unlikely" scenario that top pitching prospect Phil Hughes would break camp with the Yankees, but noted that the respective bounties from the Randy Johnson and Gary Sheffield trades should be of particular interest.

"I think there are people in this organization that people are anxious to go in with and see what they've got," he said. "Those will be the more interesting stories -- who Alberto Gonzalez is, who Ross Ohlendorf is, Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan, people like that; the new guys."

With those young players waiting in the wings, Cashman rejected the idea that talent has been stockpiled with thoughts of translating it into established Major League talent through trades.

For the moment, he said, the Yankees' farm replenishment can be taken at face value. That follows a pattern notably established with the promotion and subsequent successes of right-hander Chien-Ming Wang and second baseman Robinson Cano.

"I think we've demonstrated here in the last few years that we prefer to keep our players for ourselves," he said. "We're going to grow from within and go inward first before we decide to go outside. You have to have talent from within to do that, so hopefully, we've added enough choices to give us that ability."

Source: Daily News

BY MARK FEINSAND
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER


The Yankees didn't make any major splashes on the free-agent market this winter, passing on - or getting outbid on - big names such as Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt, and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Instead, the Bombers shed a couple of big contracts, dealing Randy Johnson and Gary Sheffield, while bringing back old friend Andy Pettitte. Despite their bloated - albeit decreasing - payroll and All-Star lineup, the Yanks are looking to players such as Philip Hughes, Humberto Sanchez and Jose Tabata to carry them into the next decade rather than dole out hundreds of millions to players in free agency.

That's not to say that Brian Cashman is in the midst of a rebuilding project. The Yankees' objective for 2007 is the same as always, which is to bring the World Series trophy back to the Bronx.

With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to Tampa on Tuesday, here are the five biggest questions facing the Yankees this spring.

1) Is the rotation good enough?

That depends on two separate questions: Will Carl Pavano stay healthy and can Kei Igawa make a smooth adjustment to the major leagues? If the answer to each of these is yes, then the Yankees are in good shape. If not, it could be a long year in the Bronx.

Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina and Pettitte lead the rotation, and while there are always concerns about Pettitte's health, the lefthander has put some of those fears to rest by surpassing the 200-inning mark in each of the past two seasons.

Pavano's health, on the other hand, is still a hot topic. After working out in Arizona this winter, he says he's in the best shape of his life. His first two years in as a Yankee have been an unmitigated disaster, marred by a slew of injuries, some more bizarre than others. Pavano, who has pitched a total of 100 innings in pinstripes, is entering the third season of his four-year, $39.95 million deal. He will have to take the ball every five days and prove to his teammates that he wants to be on the field with them.

Igawa is more of a mystery, as few in the organization had even seen him throw a pitch before he arrived in Tampa earlier this week. Will Igawa follow Hideki Matsui's lead and make an easy transition from Japan to the majors, or will he resemble Hideki Irabu, who never lived up to expectations? The Yankees project him as a back-of-the-rotation starter, so there shouldn't be too much pressure on him.

2) How good are these kids, anyway?

Over the past few months, Cashman has been restocking the farm system, adding several hard-throwing young arms to the organization. Sanchez and Ross Ohlendorf were acquired in trades for Sheffield and Johnson, respectively, landing two blue-chip arms in the Bronx.

When these young pitchers will pay dividends is yet to be determined, but Joe Torre figures to get a good look at all of them during spring training. As Cashman likes to say, it typically takes 20 to 25 pitchers to get through a 162-game season, so these youngsters may be needed in 2007, just as Darrell Rasner and Jeff Karstens were called upon last year.

Then there's Hughes, who is likely to open the season at Triple-A Scranton. Hughes isn't just the team's top prospect, he's also probably the top pitching prospect in the league.

This will be Hughes' second go-around in big-league camp with the Yankees, only this time there is an outside chance that he could make the Opening Day roster. Either way, it's a near lock that Hughes will be wearing Yankee pinstripes at some point this season. If Pavano or Igawa stumbles during the spring, Hughes could seize the opportunity.

3) Can A-Rod stay out of the limelight?

It's unlikely that Alex Rodriguez will be able to blend into the background this spring. Despite the projections that A-Rod will opt out of his contract at the end of the season, he remains the highest-paid player in the game, and along with that title comes plenty of attention. Throw in the fact that he is coming off yet another dreadful postseason, and all eyes will be on Rodriguez for yet another spring.

The conjecture about his contract will be a year-long story, though it will be little more than speculation until the fall. A-Rod says he's committed to playing in New York, but could another October disappointment change his thinking? Only A-Rod knows the answer to that, though he is unlikely to reveal that answer for about eight or nine more months.

Unfortunately for A-Rod, his regular-season performance in 2007 - no matter how good it may be - will do little to silence critics. Only a strong October and a Yankees World Series win can do that.

4) Is Joe Torre on the hot seat?

Torre almost lost his job following the Yankees' first-round loss to the Tigers last October, but the manager was brought back for a 12th season - the final year of his three-year contract.

Like the A-Rod situation, there figures to be plenty of speculation as to Torre's future. Will this be the skipper's final season in New York? Will he move on in 2008 and manage elsewhere? Will he ride off into the sunset if his Yankees earn him a fifth ring? Will he be fired during the season if the team doesn't meet the owner's expectations?

It is hard to see George Steinbrenner giving Torre the ax during the season, even if the Yankees get off to a slow start. After all, the team stumbled out of the gate in 2005 and didn't get off to the hottest start last season, yet the Bombers have reached the postseason in each of Torre's 11 years. Knowing that Torre's contract is up, Steinbrenner could wait until the end of the season and make a change without the bad PR that would come with a firing.

This is still the Yankees, so a terrible first month, combined with a hot start by the Red Sox, could change everything.

5) Who's on first?

Doug Mientkiewicz will fill the left side of the platoon, playing against right-handed pitchers, while Andy Phillips and Josh Phelps battle it out for the other spot.

Phillips was expected to see a lot of time at first base last season, but a mediocre first half led to the Yankees' deadline deal for Craig Wilson, reducing Phillips to the bench. He hit just .240 with seven homers and 29 RBIs, proving himself to be a streaky hitter.

Phelps, whom the Yankees plucked from the Orioles in December's Rule V draft, did not play in the majors last season, but he has had success during his brief career. The 28-year-old hit 15 home runs in 74 games with Toronto in his rookie season of 2002, then followed that up with 20 homers in 2003. He hasn't done much since the Blue Jays traded him in the middle of 2004, but he has an opportunity this spring to play his way back to the big leagues.

Camp info

Pitchers and catchers report: Tuesday
Park: Legends Field
Location: Tampa, Fla.
Seating capacity: 10,000
First game: March 1 vs. Minnesota at 1:15 p.m., televised on YES (The Yanks get ALDS rematch with Detroit in their third home game, March 5 at 1:15 p.m. on YES and ESPN)
Ticket prices: $17 (200 level outside bases); $21 (200 level inside bases); $23 (100 level outside bases); $25 (100 level inside bases); $25 (boxes and suites)
Ticket info: log on to http://www.yankees.com or call (813) 879-2244

Source: NJ Herald

By BOB KLAPISCH
RECORD COLUMNIST


With pitchers and catchers finally within our grasp, the Yankees and Mets are about to learn whether their modest off-seasons will mean trouble later this summer. The Red Sox are better, and so are the Phillies and Braves. Met fans in particular should be prepared for a more harrowing, albeit entertaining, pennant race.

In fact, you could argue that for all the sub-plots that'll accompany the Yankees and Mets to spring training -- Alex Rodriguez's contract, Pedro Martinez's health, Andy Pettitte's re-acclimation to the American League -- it's Willie Randolph and Joe Torre who face the greatest challenges in 2007.

Both men are being asked to take their teams deeper into October, despite the fact that neither roster is significantly better today than it was at the end of 2006.

That's not good news for Torre, who was fired for a 24-hour period after Game 4 of the AL Division Series, and goes into the season without job security. The thought of finding another manager is already in George Steinbrenner's head; a slow start in April or May could easily remind The Boss how chilly his relationship is with Torre, no matter how staunchly GM Brian Cashman defends his manager.

Randolph has a new safety net, a three-year $5.65 million contract, but he has to convince the Mets that losing Game 7 of the NL Championship Series to the Cardinals wasn't necessarily a setback, just a detour in what promises to be a long golden era at Shea.

It won't be an easy sell for Randolph, not after a 97-win season during which the Mets had finished crushing the East before the All-Star break. No one believes the Mets will have it that easy in '07; such dominance comes along once in a generation. The Mets will find themselves being pressured by the Phillies, who signed Freddy Garcia and already have one of the more dangerous offenses in the National League.

The Braves could be a problem for the Mets, too, having vastly upgraded their bullpen. Adding Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez, and teaming them up with closer Bob Wickman, almost entirely covers the blemishes that ruined Atlanta in 2006. And outside the East, the greatest winter makeover in recent history -- the $300 million the Cubs spent on Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis, Aramis Ramirez, Mark DeRosa and Lou Piniella -- all but guarantees the arrival of another NL power broker.

The Mets? They still don't have a No. 1 starter, and, yes, it does matter. Whether or not Martinez ever returns to the rotation, his days of dominating hitters are over. Randolph has no one he can count on to take the Mets into the seventh inning; lucky for him that GM Omar Minaya has restocked the bullpen. As well, the Mets' American League-type offense should act as a buffer against any shortcomings in the starting rotation: they scored 103 more runs than they allowed last year, the NL's greatest surplus.

But Minaya knows the National League has closed the talent gap on the Mets since Adam Wainwright's final curveball to Carlos Beltran. The Mets desperately wanted Barry Zito, and made a strong push for Daisuke Matsuzaka. That courtship ended badly, too. One major league executive said: "The Mets still look great on paper, but if you ask me if they're head and shoulders above everyone else, I would have to say no. It'll be a fight."

The Yankees are braced for the same reality. In fact, their hopes of holding off the Red Sox may hinge on where Roger Clemens decides to finish his career. Without the Rocket in pinstripes, it's conceivable the Sox will have the advantage in starting pitching for the first time in the Torre era.

So much depends on whether Pettitte's cut-fastball is still effective enough to neutralize the AL's bigger, stronger hitters. And the back of the rotation is full of questions, too: is Kei Igawa ready for the big leagues? Will Carl Pavano ever again throw a pitch for the Yankees?

If Clemens chooses Fenway over the Bronx, the Yankees will almost certainly be forced to summon Phil Hughes from Class AAA, if they even wait as long as July. The 20-year-old right-hander was so effective at Class AA in 2006, minor league director Mark Newman told the Daily News, "At the end of the year, he had no-hitter stuff two out of every three starts, it seemed."

Hughes was 10-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 21 starts, holding opponents to a .179 average at Trenton. Scouts are calling him the next John Smoltz with an unmistakable appetite and skill for strikeouts: Hughes blew away 138 hitters in 116 innings last year.

How can the Yankees resist the kid? Cashman has staked his reputation on protecting Hughes, but with the Bombers' championship drought going into its seventh year, Hughes' career path could be linked directly to Matsuzaka's.

The question of the spring can be narrowed to this: does the Japanese star really throw an unhittable pitch called the gyro ball?

According to urban legend, the gyro is delivered like a football, with the same spiral that makes the ball drop straight down like a splitter, only with much greater velocity.

"The gyro ball is scary. It is beyond imagination," Kazushi Tezuka, the baseball instructor who researched the pitch and wrote a book called, "The Truth about the Supernatural Pitch," told Sports Illustrated.

It won't take long for the Red Sox (and the Yankees) to figure out whether Matsuzaka can alter the balance of power in the East. If the gyro ball is more than just hype, the Bombers will be on the phone with Clemens' agents, promising him the empire.

Rivera's future is uncertain

TAMPA -- Mariano Rivera acknowledged the absence of longtime teammate Bernie Williams on Monday, calling it "strange."
Could players be saying the same thing about the Yankees closer one year from now? Rivera's commitment to the team expires after 2007, and while he said he would love to retire in New York, he realizes that scenario is not yet certain.

"Definitely, I want to finish my career here," Rivera said. "But if they don't give me the respect that I deserve, [if] I have to move on, I have to move on. The Yankees always give me respect. When it comes to these times, I don't like to talk about it."

Rivera -- with Williams' apparent parting, now the longest-tenured Yankees big leaguer -- met the media near the front entrance of the Yankees' Minor League complex, his words draped by the background of passing traffic.

Though he appears to have given some thought to his baseball fate, Rivera insisted that he is not upset. Rivera's focus, he said, remains on helping the 2007 Yankees accomplish their goal of a World Series championship.

That mission begins Tuesday, as pitchers and catchers officially report to Legends Field. As Rivera noted, he is under contract with the team, and would not let any uncertainty concerning his future creep into his current obligations.

"I'm not that kind of player," Rivera said. "I play for the team. I'm a team player. I don't have to think about that stuff."

The Yankees have not made overtures to Rivera's agent, Fernando Cuza, regarding an extension of the two-year, $21 million contract that will expire after this season.

Rivera said he would be receptive to discussing an extension with the team -- "If they want to talk, we'd be willing to listen," he said -- but the closer noted he did not plan on initiating conversations.

"Like I said, this is a business," Rivera said. "If they have somebody who can do a job better 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."

Finding a successor to Rivera's throne would be difficult. A lifetime Yankee who signed with the organization in February 1990 and grew to become generally regarded as one of the top closers of all time, Rivera posted a 1.80 ERA over 63 appearances last season, including 34 saves in 37 opportunities.


Rivera said he had refrained from throwing for much of the offseason and that he has no concerns about his elbow, which was rested last September in preparation for the club's abbreviated postseason entry.

Clearly, at some point, Rivera acknowledged that his years of service in the Major Leagues will be complete. He needed no more glaring reminder of that than the fact that Williams' No. 51 will apparently go unused this spring.

"My body is ready to go," Rivera said. "Definitely, this is not going to be forever, but I'm going to do as much as I can and enjoy."

Source: Yankees

Source: USA Today

BY PETER ABRAHAM
STAFF WRITER


Pitchers and catchers report to Legends Field on Tuesday with the first full-squad workout coming a week later.

As is tradition, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre will address the players first and stress the team's pursuit of a championship.

It might be appropriate to gather everybody together for a photograph once the speech is finished. Just in case.

Torre is in the final year of his contract and barely avoided being fired last fall when the Yankees were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by the Detroit Tigers. Now 66, Torre said last spring that he wanted to manage into his 70s. But his vast reservoir of good will has run dry with the Yankees not having won the World Series since 2000.

At the very least, Torre needs another American League pennant to earn an extension, if not another World Series championship. With Don Mattingly on the coaching staff and reigning National League Manager of the Year Joe Girardi in the broadcast booth, viable replacements are plentiful.

The future is uncertain for several players as well. The $252 million contract Alex Rodriguez signed seven years ago includes a clause allowing him to void the deal after this season. Rodriguez would be leaving $81 million on the table were he to bolt, but he could get that back and more, given baseball's new economic climate.

It's a tactic agent Scott Boras used with success this winter when he had outfielder J.D. Drew leave the Dodgers in favor of a new contract with the Red Sox. Rodriguez has said on many occasions he does not want to leave New York, but he has never gone against the advice of Boras.

The Yankees also go into the season knowing that closer Mariano Rivera and catcher Jorge Posada are in the final years of their contracts. The team is expected to offer both players extensions, but those negotiations may not take place until after the season, as was the case with Mike Mussina in 2006.

"It's a little strange to be in that situation," the 37-year-old Rivera said recently. "But it's part of the game. They know how I feel and that I want to stay. I'm not worried about it."

"A lot can happen," said Posada, who turns 36 in August. "We'll see. That will take care of itself. I'm concentrating on what I have to do."

General manager Brian Cashman doesn't believe the contract situations will be a distraction.

"They shouldn't be, everybody has a contract for this season and a job to do," he said. "If we have the kind of season we're capable of and expect, those things tend to get settled."

Cashman is far more interested in the composure of the pitching staff. The Yankees bid $26 million to obtain the rights to Japanese left-hander Kei Igawa with the intention of using him as their fourth or fifth starter.

Cashman also has collected a group of young right-handers who have been invited to camp and could figure into the team's plans this season.

They include former first-round pick Phil Hughes, who is considered the best pitching prospect in the game by most scouts. The Yankees also have Humberto Sanchez and Ross Ohlendorf, who were among the prospects obtained when Gary Sheffield and Randy Johnson were traded.

The Yankees even have Carl Pavano, who is finally healthy after missing 18 months with assorted injuries.

"There are options now and flexibility that we didn't necessarily have before," Cashman said. "That was my goal this winter, to give Joe more options. I have to think about pitching all the time because history says that is what will determine the season."

Source: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Citizen's Voice

BY CHAD JENNINGS
STAFF WRITER

With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training this week, Times-Shamrock begins a series of stories each Monday looking at the candidates for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees inaugural season.

Nine logical candidates for five spots in the rotation. Our look at the Yankees Triple-A candidates begins with the position most difficult to predict.

Given the logjam of nearly major league-ready pitching talent in the Yankees system, the Triple-A rotation might not be decided until the final big league cut of spring training.

Headlining the Triple-A candidates is 20-year-old phenom Philip Hughes, who would be a lock to join the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster if not for his rapid assent toward New York. If there isn’t room for him in the Bronx, there’s no way he’s going back to Double-A Trenton, so he’ll be right here at PNC Field.

Beyond Hughes is — among others — a Double-A strikeout leader, two major league starters and three significant trade acquisitions. All strong candidates for a team that won’t have room for all of them.

Tyler Clippard

Pitching for Double-A Trenton last year, Clippard led the Eastern League with 175 strikeouts. It was his second consecutive season leading his league in strikeouts, and all those Double-A Ks came with 12 wins, a 3.35 ERA and the first no-hitter in Trenton franchise history.

At 21 years old, the right-hander is firmly entrenched in Hughes’ shadow, but Baseball America included him in its list of Top 10 Yankees prospects and noted that he profiles as a solid back-of-the-rotation starter in the big leagues.

Matt DeSalvo

A year ago, DeSalvo was nearly the shock of spring training when the unheralded, undrafted right-hander nearly pitched his way onto the big league staff. Instead, he wound up taking a minor league step backwards.

Signed as a undrafted free agent out of Marietta College in Ohio, DeSalvo dominated Class A and Double-A before his impressive 2006 spring training. Sent to Columbus to start last season, DeSalvo struggled and was sent down back to Double-A. This year, the 26-year-old, might be the longshot of this group to make the Triple-A rotation.

Steven Jackson

The least heralded of the three prospects acquired from Arizona in the Randy Johnson trade, 24-year-old Jackson was second in the Double-A Southern League with a 2.65 ERA last year. His record, however, was a less impressive 8-11.

A 10th-round draft pick in 2004, Jackson had been only so-so before last season, and despite such an impressive ERA last year, the group of Yankees Triple-A candidates is so strong that he might have to start this season in Double-A. If he proves last year wasn’t a fluke, though, Jackson could force his way into the Yankees’ Triple-A plans.

Jeff Karstens

This should be a fairly familiar name after Karstens pitched in eight major league games, including six starts, for the Yankees last season. He did pretty well with a 3.80 major league ERA, but there’s full slate of big league candidates heading to spring training and it’s hardly a sure thing that Karstens will return to New York to start the season.

Instead, the 24-year-old might start this year where he started a year ago. Last season, Karstens began the year in Triple-A Columbus and was demoted before putting things together in Double-A Trenton and returning to Triple-A before making his big league debut.

Ross Ohlendorf

Considered the 10th-best prospect in the Diamondback’s star-studded system, Ohlendorf was the top prospect the Yankees received in the Johnson trade. He was a fourth-round draft pick in 2004 and went 10-8 with a 3.29 ERA in Double-A Tennessee last season.

Along with Clippard, Ohlendorf might be the closest thing to a lock to join the Triple-A rotation.

He’s too big of a prospect to take a step back, but likely not yet ready for the big leagues. His power sinker could play well on PNC Field’s new grass field.

Darrell Rasner

Like Karstens, Rasner should be a familiar name to New York fans. He pitched six times for the big Yankees last season, building a 3-1 record and a 4.43 ERA.

Also like Karstens, Rasner is not guaranteed a spot in New York and could be back in Triple-A where he went 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA last year.

A former second-round pick of the Expos, the 25-year-old Rasner wound up being waived by the Nationals prior to last season and picked up by the Yankees. He could bounce back and forth from Triple-A to the major leagues this season.

Humberto Sanchez

The biggest concerns with Sanchez center on his durability and health. He missed significant time due to injuries the past two seasons, but when he’s healthy and pitching it’s hard to question his stuff.

Brought over in the Gary Sheffield trade, Sanchez was named the Yankees No. 3 prospect by Baseball America. He has a mid- to high-90s fastball and finished with a 1.76 ERA in 11 Double-A starts last year. Some reports consider him a fringe major league candidate, but the 23-year-old most likely will begin the season in Triple-A.

Steven White

Once considered among the Yankees’ brightest prospects, White’s stock has dropped the past two seasons. He struggled in Double-A in 2005, then dominated Double-A last year only to be promoted to Triple-A and struggle to a 4.71 ERA in Columbus.

That said, White’s still only 25 and as a former fourth-round pick could have the raw tools to eventually help in the majors. Because of the crowded group of Triple-A candidates, he could be forced back to Double-A this year. If he goes to Triple-A, White will have to prove himself to stay on the prospect map.

Or will it come from the outside, like Francisco Rodriguez from the Angels, who becomes a free agent after 2007?

Yanks bring back Villone

TAMPA -- The Yankees added one more arm to challenge for a spot in their bullpen mix on Tuesday, signing left-hander Ron Villone to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training.

Villone, 37, is expected to compete with Sean Henn to be the second southpaw behind Mike Myers on the Yankees' relief staff. He will wear uniform No. 47.

A native of Upper Saddle River, N.J., Villone made a career-high 70 appearances with the Yankees last season, compiling a 3-3 record and a 5.04 ERA in 80 1/3 innings, walking 72 and striking out 51.

He had declined salary arbitration from the club in December, leaving him available to pursue offers as a free agent.

Since breaking into the Major Leagues in 1995, Villone has compiled a career record of 55-57 over 543 games with the Mariners, Padres, Brewers, Indians, Reds, Rockies, Pirates, Marlins and Yankees.

Source: Yankees

Well that answers my question. WOO HOO!

Great news. Another solid pitcher brings the Yankees even better bullpen positions in 2007. Villone, Proctor, Vizcaino, Britton, Bruney, Karstens, Veras, the Yankees have plenty of options for the 'pen.

Source: ESPN.com

Carlos Zambrano has issued an ultimatum to the Chicago Cubs -- sign me now, or say goodbye when the 2007 season is over.


"Whatever happens, I don't want to know [anything] about a contract during the season. I want to sign with the Cubs before the season starts," the Cubs' pitching ace said in an interview on WGN-TV. "If they don't sign me, sorry, but I must go. That's what Carlos Zambrano thinks."

He also thinks he should get paid -- a lot. Zambrano and the Cubs are currently due to go to salary arbitration Feb. 20, with Zambrano seeking $15.5 million and the Cubs offering $11.025 million.

The Cubs spent lavishly during the offseason, forking over nearly $300 million to bring aboard Alfonso Soriano and Ted Lilly and re-sign Aramis Ramirez in an effort to turn around last year's NL-worst 66-96 record.

During the annual Cubs Convention, Zambrano, when asked whether he will test free agency next season, repeatedly said "This is a business" and noted that Barry Zito's seven-year, $126 million deal helped raise his value on the free-agent market.

"When you're a great pitcher and have talent, you deserve the money no matter who gives it to you," he said, according to the Tribune. "Zito is a great pitcher. Good for him he has that contract, and I think that will help me.

"[Cubs general manager] Jim [Hendry] spent a lot of money. I hope he has more for 'Big Z,'" he said, the newspaper reported.

Zambrano, who became the Cubs' staff ace when Kerry Wood and Mark Prior went down with injuries, went 16-7 with a 3.41 ERA in 2006. For his career he's 64- 42 with a 3.29 ERA in 977 innings.

Source: Scranton, PA Times-Tribune

BY CHAD JENNINGS
STAFF WRITER
02/14/2007

Down south, just a few miles from the Gulf of Mexico, snow is a myth. Sunshine and baseball are reality.

Northeast Pennsylvania might have spent Tuesday preparing to shovel driveways and scrape windshields, but in Florida, the Yankees spent the day preparing for another season.

Tuesday was the official spring training report date for Yankees’ pitchers and catchers, so no matter what the weather outside tells us, it’s time to think about baseball.

For the most part, this is a remarkably familiar group of Yankees convening at Legends Field in Tampa. The outfield and all but one of the infield front runners are returning starters, the top three spots in the rotation are basically set in stone with familiar faces and Mariano Rivera is back to close games.

Key jobs, though, are still up for grabs, particularly in the bullpen and at the back of the rotation.

With pitchers and catchers already in camp, and the team planning its first full-roster workout for February 20, these are the Yankees’ major league spring training storylines worth following.

Fourth and fifth starters

For now, it seems Kei Igawa and Carl Pavano are the heavy front runners for the back of the rotation, but neither is a sure thing. Igawa was signed out of Japan and will be playing his first season in America. Pavano is trying to come back from a series of injuries that forced him to miss all of last season.

Igawa’s adjustment and Pavano’s health are arguably the most pressing issues in Yankees camp.

If either struggles, the Yankees will have a host of Triple-A candidates to consider for the big league rotation, primarily prospects Philip Hughes and Humberto Sanchez.

For now, though, the jobs are Igawa’s and Pavano’s to lose.

Pettitte’s return

A steady starter and postseason juggernaut for the Yankees for nine years, left-hander Andy Pettitte is back in pinstripes after three years in Houston. There will be no shortage of love tossed toward the remarkably popular southpaw.

Although his 4.20 ERA last season was his worst since 2000, Pettitte is basically guaranteed a spot at the top of the rotation with Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina. The only real question surrounding those three is whether they can pitch well enough to carry a rotation that might be lacking in the fourth and fifth starting spots.

Bullpen wide open

After Rivera, the Yankees have plenty of relief options, and on Tuesday they added one more to the mix by signing lefty Ron Villone to a minor league contract.

Counting Rivera and Villone, the Yankees have 14 pitchers in camp who pitched in major league relief last season. They likely will carry seven in the bullpen.

Villone joins Mike Myers and Sean Henn as left-handed options. Brian Bruney, Kyle Farnsworth, Scott Proctor and Luis Vizcaino seem to be the front-runners from the right side. Injury is all that would keep Rivera from returning to his role as future Hall of Fame closer.

Another name to know is Chris Britton, who was acquired from Baltimore in the offseason trade for Jaret Wright. Last year the 24-year-old had a 3.35 ERA in 52 relief appearances for the Orioles.

First base platoon

For now, it seems the Yankees are set on carrying two first basemen, not counting Jason Giambi, who is penciled in strictly as a designated hitter.

Newcomer Doug Mientkiewicz, a defensive stalwart, will serve as a left-handed hitting portion of the first base platoon along with one of two right-handers, either returning Yankee Andy Phillips or Rule 5 draft pick Josh Phelps.

Phillips turns 30 in April and should be considered the favorite after serving as a solid reserve for the Yankees last season, but Phelps is a year younger and actually has more than twice as many career major league games to his credit. With 57 big league home runs, Phelps has enough power to crack the roster, but Phillips seems to be a better defensive player.

Any surprises?

Maybe not, but if a minor league candidate bursts into the big league picture, it will be huge news.

Right now, the only real position battles seem to be for a seldom-used backup catcher and for that right-handed first base platoon spot. Otherwise, it’s going to take outstanding numbers for a position player to jump onto the radar.

Some possible candidates: Outfielders Kevin Reese and Kevin Thompson hit well as Yankees reserves last year but seem headed back to the minors if the team carries only one reserve outfielder, and shortstops Andy Cannizaro and Alberto Gonzalez are extreme longshots to beat Miguel Cairo for the utility infielder job.

Money, money, money

Rivera and Alex Rodriguez are guaranteed spots on the big league roster, but be prepared to hear plenty about Rivera’s pending free agency and Rodriguez’s option to opt out of his contract after this season.

That’s the price of doing business.

Source: Lower-Hudson Journal

By PETER ABRAHAM

TAMPA, Fla. - Mariano Rivera understands why the Yankees may wait until after the season to discuss a contract extension. But if he does get to free agency, the Yankees should not expect any special consideration.

"Everybody would have the same shot," Rivera said earlier today at Legends Field. "The Yankees would not have an advantage. Everybody would have a free shot."

The Yankees retain Rivera's rights for 15 days after the final game of the World Series and would try to reach an agreement during that time.

That was the route general manager Brian Cashman took with Mike Mussina last fall. By waiting to commit the money, the Yankees can ensure that Rivera is healthy and productive.

Rivera is now 37 and appeared in only four games last September because of an arm injury. Tests taken last fall were negative and Rivera said he feels strong. But there already are plans to limit Rivera to one inning per appearance.

Cashman called Rivera on Tuesday night to discuss the situation.

"I don't know what's going to happen. All I can tell you is that I'm going to focus on this year and at the end of the year we'll see what happens," Rivera said. "They made a decision, I don't have to make a decision. I'm fine, definitely. I'm fine. I have no worries at all. I'm not upset either. I want to make that clear."

Source: Newsday

BY JIM BAUMBACH

February 14, 2007, 2:04 PM EST
TAMPA, Fla. -- Mariano Rivera said today he plans to test the market if they don't sign him to an extension by the end of spring training, and vowed to give the Yankees no homefield advantage if he becomes a free agent next winter.

"The Yankees will not have an advantage," he said. "Everyone will have a shot."

Rivera said general manger Brian Cashman called him last night, but never mentioned anything about waiting until the offseason to negotiate his new deal, as Cashman told reporters earlier Monday. That gave Rivera hope it could happen during camp.

But Rivera insisted his camp will not make the first call; they've already tried that. His agent, Fernando Cuza, called Cashman at the start of the offseason and requested that they get a new deal done by the start of spring training -- or table talks until after the season.

Rivera obviously is not sticking with that self-imposed deadline, saying today that if the Yankees called, he would certainly listen. But he adamantly insisted he would not negotiate once Opening Day (April 2) passes. "I just want to make sure when the season starts, I am 100 percent mentally and physically prepared for the season," he said.

Cashman is expected to address reporters later this afternoon.

Rivera is entering the final year of a three-year, $31.5-million contract signed during spring training in 2004. Today, he reiterated his goal of pitching for the Yankees in the new stadium, which opens in 2009, but also added he would not hesitate to walk if it came to that.

Source: Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. -- Joe Torre sat behind the manager's desk, and George Steinbrenner was surrounded by cameras as he limped down the tunnel outside the clubhouse at Legends Field. The Yankees were back in business Tuesday, opening spring training after another of their typically tumultuous offseasons.

After Detroit eliminated the Yankees in the first round of last year's playoffs, Torre wasn't sure he'd be allowed to return for a 12th season as manager. But Steinbrenner was persuaded to keep him on for the final season of his contract, and Torre sounded open to managing beyond 2007.

"I don't know yet. The way I feel now, I say yes," he said. "It's exciting. I'm looking forward to it. Every year is different, and that's what I think keeps it stimulating."

Torre will earn $7.5 million the final season of a three-year deal that paid him $6.7 million in each of the previous two years.

"Is there pressure on me because I don't have a contract?" he asked out loud. "No more pressure, my mind, than there always is, as far as I'm concerned."

He led the Yankees to four World Series titles in his first five seasons, but they haven't won one since 2000. They haven't even been to the Series since 2003, a failing that dwarfs their accomplishment of nine consecutive AL East titles.

In a job in which the only total that counts is World Series championships, Torre realizes he has no "safety net." Still, he has not concerned himself with asking Steinbrenner or general manager Brian Cashman for an extension.

"I have not talked about it. I have not inquired about it," he said. "I think I'd probably know during the year if it's as much fun as I hope it's going to be or I expect it to be."

The 66-year-old New Yorker with the weathered face -- who has earned a spot alongside Joe McCarthy, Miller Huggins and Casey Stengel as the team's most successful managers -- still sounds bewildered when thinking back to what happened last October, when camera crews camped outside his house in suburban Westchester. He knows Cashman is his biggest ally.

"I think Cash was a big reason why I'm still here right now," Torre said.

During a 34-minute talk with reporters two days before the opening workout, he addressed all the usual concerns of Yankees fans: the status of Bernie Williams, who hasn't accepted the team's offer of a minor-league contract; the tumult surrounding his decision to drop Alex Rodriguez to eighth in the batting order during the final game of the playoff loss to Detroit; and the need for Carl Pavano to gain the confidence of his teammates. Torre said he plans on limiting Mariano Rivera, whose elbow was tender late last season, to the ninth inning.

Before dropping in on the latter stages of Torre's 5½-hour staff meeting, Steinbrenner walked from the lobby to the clubhouse, almost like a perp walk past cameras. Dressed in a striped shirt and Yankees windbreaker, he favored a knee, looked pale and gave short answers to questions -- his longest reply was five words.

• Asked whether he was saddened by Williams' absence: "That's up to Cashman."

• What were his thoughts on 2007? "We're trying for it."

• Does Torre have to "win it" this year? "No."

• What does he expect from the team? "We're going to do well."

• Does he feel good about the team? "Yeah, sure."

• Is it good to have Andy Pettitte back? "It's great having him back."

Torre said he'd been trying to contact Williams, who hasn't accepted the Yankees' offer of a minor-league contract. Torre sounded open to the possibility of the outfielder playing his way back onto the team during spring training.

"Who knows? That's the one thing about being down here," Torre said. "You don't know. You're going to leave here with the team that you want to go north with."

A few minutes earlier, Cashman talked about Rivera. On Monday, the All-Star closer said he would wait for the Yankees to come to him about a contract extension. Rivera, who rarely says anything controversial, is eligible for free agency after the season and he said "if they don't give the respect that I deserve, I have to move on."

"Mo knows how we feel about him. We care a great deal about him. He's been a great Yankee," Cashman said. "Obviously there's a contract in place that we worked out a while before. Let me talk to him first. In theory I would always prefer to wait. Right now I want to concentrate on '07 and worry about '08 at another time. When that time will be, that would be between me and Mo."

Torre later recounted a story about Rodriguez, who didn't drive in a run in the series against Detroit and is 4-for-41 (.098) without an RBI in his last 12 postseason games dating to 2004.

"I went to my daughter's soccer game one day and the opposing team, one of the kids came over and asked about him batting eighth," Torre said.

"Alex has that aura about him, that he needs to be what I'm not sure anybody can be on a regular basis," Torre said before adding that A-Rod's lack of success in the postseason "weighs heavy on him."

Torre expects Pavano, who has been sidelined by a series of ailments since June 2005, will be a part of the starting rotation. He does think the pitcher must reconnect with his teammates.

"To me, you can't get commitment unless you get trust, and I think it's something you have to earn," Torre said. "You earn it by being reliable and, as I say, being there on an everyday basis for your teammates to feel your support."

Source: MLB.com

HOUSTON -- It's easy to recite that old cliche that there are only two things guaranteed in life -- death and taxes. But in baseball terms, there are two more elements that fit the bill: pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, and Roger Clemens keeping everyone guessing on his future.

This year is no different. Certain to hold off the retirement announcement for a third year, Clemens, although yet to say it publicly, is most certainly heading back to the mound at some point this year. It's a matter of where he wants to pitch, and while 30 teams would be crazy not to be interested, it's going to come down to three teams that he's quite familiar with: the Astros, Yankees and Red Sox.

Each team offers something unique that could lure the Rocket. The Astros have the "home field" advantage, considering he's a native Houstonian. The Yankees have the baseball tradition and the drama that Clemens craves. And Boston is where it all began for Clemens 23 years ago, and finishing there would bring things full-circle as well as mend all fences that broke down when Clemens departed the Red Sox organization in 1996.

If Clemens knows where he's headed, he's not letting on, and according to comments he's made in the recent past, he won't make any kind of decisions or announcements until after the season starts.

At first glance, it would appear the Yankees may have the advantage. His good friend Andy Pettitte re-signed with New York in December, and the Yankees clearly want the Rocket back in the fold. It's likely he'll be looking for the "full-court press" they gave Pettitte. And, as history shows, what the Yankees want, the Yankees usually get.

The Astros seemingly want Clemens back, too, but the blank-check theory may not be in effect in Houston. Asked recently about the club's feeling about luring Clemens back to the Astros, club owner Drayton McLane's comments were far from the "whatever it takes, we'll do it" attitude they've had in the past.

"We'll have to look and see what the package is," McLane said. "We have had to build the team without Roger. If we had saved for Roger, and then he wasn't able to come and we didn't find that out until May, that certainly would have put us way behind.

"We already built the team, and we've got a $95 million payroll. We'll have to look at the time when [Clemens' agents] come to us and see if they're ready to go, if that's appropriate."

The Red Sox appear to have some degree of interest in Clemens, but their desire to bring him back is not as strong as it was in 2006. Their pitching staff is stacked this year with Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jonathan Papelbon and Tim Wakefield, with Jon Lester and Matt Clement waiting in the wings. That means if Clemens were to sign on, a capable Major League pitcher would have to be traded or moved to the bullpen just to make room for him.

Clemens' desire to start late in the season, however, may increase Boston's interest, because by Opening Day, there will be a better read on the health of the six existing starters and just how badly (if at all) Clemens is needed in Boston. Besides, the Red Sox already have two pitchers over 40: Wakefield and Schilling.

April and May could very well be a tryout period for the three clubs. Clemens' recent comments suggesting that playing for a non-contender was a "waste of time" for him strongly hints that the 44-year-old will not join a struggling team halfway through the season.

But that raises another question: Is a 60-game sampling enough of an indicator of how a team will finish in the standings? In 2005, the Astros surely appeared to be going nowhere after a 15-30 start after seven weeks, and they wound up in the World Series. And the Red Sox were in first place last year at the All-Star break and trade deadline, but did not make the postseason.

Clemens will have an up close and personal view of how one team is progressing this spring, considering he's planning to spend extensive time with his son, Koby, a third baseman in the Astros' system. The Minor League side will hold a mini-camp prior to players reporting to Spring Training, which means the elder Clemens could be in Kissimmee right around the same time Major League position players report.

"I'll be on those back fields, and if our big league guys need some batting practice, I'll be doing that too," Clemens said recently at the Astros' Elite Pitching Camp.

The weeks Clemens spends at Spring Training will provide the perfect opportunity to get into playing shape, and the Astros will have to accept that Clemens may be using that time to get ready to pitch elsewhere. They insist that whatever he decides to do will not create any tension during Clemens' post-playing career, at which time he'll begin a 10-year personal services contact with the Astros.

But until Clemens declares he intends to play, the three interested teams can only sit by and wait.

"They have said they will let us know when they're ready to talk," McLane said. "Hopefully the time comes when they're ready. We're ready to talk."