Fuck!

Sanchez To Undergo MRI

Pavano has bone bruise

TAMPA, Fla. -- Carl Pavano blocked a line drive with his left foot and was able to walk away with just a bone bruise, as precautionary tests confirmed Monday.
The way Pavano's injury-plagued last 1 1/2 seasons have gone, some would suggest that the 31-year-old right-hander should consider his slight ailment a good sign.

Pavano sees no such irony in the assessment, saying that he's more consumed with the good feelings he's getting on the mound this spring, and returning to that action.

"It hasn't even crossed my mind," said Pavano, who was hit by a batted ball on Saturday and went for an MRI and X-rays on Sunday. "I feel like this is something that could have happened to anyone.

"I feel like this is the first time I can say that I'm just going to pick up where I left off. In the past, it's been just positive words; I don't know how committed I was to it. I'm definitely committed to the fact that I feel good."

Pavano was pitching to non-roster infielder Alberto Gonzalez on Saturday when the 13th pitch of a batting practice session was smacked back through the box, hitting the instep of Pavano's left foot.

After hobbling for a moment and conferring with bullpen coach Joe Kerrigan, Pavano returned to action and completed a 40-pitch bullpen session. He later complained of tightness, but has taped and iced the bruised foot since Saturday and is reporting continued improvement.

"The foot's not an issue," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He puts a sneaker on and he doesn't even feel it when he's walking around. The baseball shoe is a little more uncomfortable for him."

Pavano is still a possibility to throw a bullpen session on Tuesday, saying that he feels ready, but would defer a final evaluation to the team's medical staff.

Pavano said his main concern would be completing a session Thursday in preparation for his scheduled exhibition start on Sunday at Clearwater against the Phillies.

"If everything keeps progressing the way it has, I think that's a realistic goal," Pavano said. "It could have been worse. It's just a bruise, and bruises heal quick."

Source: Yankees

Just to show how "great" things are in boston's camp

A matter of time
In typical fashion, Manny leaves everyone in the dark

FORT MYERS, FLA. -- Manny Ramirez put away his sun dial, or whatever it is he uses to gauge time these days, and he appeared excited to whip out his new bats and baseball shoes on his first day in Red Sox camp.

Ramirez created a stir merely by showing in a camp that already has circus-like qualities, and he did it without hardly uttering a word or taking a meaningful swing. On this day, he managed to upstage the international sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka merely by attending, which only goes to show there are advantages to lowering one's expectations. Officially, he was later than his teammates but still earlier than his timetable.

"I like,'' he says to one of his teammates in regard to the shiny shoes. And that was close to it on Day One in terms of English words.

Beyond that one brief expression of joy, it's hard to know what or how Ramirez felt about anything. Because on this day he was doing his oft-used Marcel Marceau Manny routine.

"No thank you, sir,'' he said, politely, in response to a request for an interview.

According to Manny Time, he arrived three days early. After setting the bar unusually low and telling his Red Sox bosses he'd be in camp by March 1, which is actually two days after the mandatory reporting date, Ramirez was able to arrive to camp ahead of schedule. Well, ahead of his schedule, anyway.

But as for the questions that have been unanswered, they remained pretty well unanswered.

Ramirez's professional mouthpiece, Greg Genske, didn't exactly live up to his job title. Genske took the questions. He just didn't answer the questions.

As to whether Ramirez would still welcome a trade, Genske said he was "not going to comment on speculation.''

As to the condition of Manny's mother, Onelcida, the stated reason Ramirez was late this year, Genske said, "I'm not going to comment on the health of Manny's mother.''

As to whether Ramirez ever intended to blow off camp to attend an automobile auction, Genske said he knew nothing about the car sale.

As to whether criticisms that he stopped trying late last year had merit, Genske said. "I'm not going to talk about last season.''

This, apparently, is what a mouthpiece does. He declines to discuss, explain, excuse or elucidate.

If he did provide answers, it would be hard to know what to make of them anyway. Because in Genske's story, Ramirez gets high marks for punctuality.

"He came just as soon as he was able,'' the mouthpiece said.

"He's excited to be here,'' the mouthpiece added.

I'm not exactly sure about that. But he did appear to revel in his brand new Nikes.

Overall, the interview with the mouthpiece was more way uncomfortable than Ramirez looked in the cage, and I don't care what his teammates said about how great he looked (they all said he did, but I suspect they were just thrilled to see him at all). The truth is, he looked like it was Day One for him. Which might explain why manager Terry Francona said he might have to hold him out of the first game or possibly more.

The best part of the interview came when one Boston radio person asked Genske whether he planned to do something about Ramirez behaving like a "12-year-old.''

Stiffly, Genske answered, "I wouldn't accept your characterization.''

No need to.

Though no one else quite put it that way, Francona talked long enough and sounded angst-ridden enough about the issue to make clear he understood it is an issue, albeit an issue he'd like to avoid. He complimented the other Red Sox players for accepting that there are two clocks in Red Sox camp, one for Manny and one for everyone else.

Then, he pointed out why, ultimately, he is accepting of it, too. "My job is to win games, not to point out every flaw in everyone's personality,'' Francona said.

While he was at it, Francona also pointed out that his job is not managing Manny, but simply managing. And that's a good thing. Because Manny has grown to the point of being unmanageable in Boston.

Ramirez didn't speak, and he barely swung his first day in camp. In the most-watched showdown of the spring, Ramirez tracked three straight pitches from Matsuzaka, without lifting his bat. With his endless repertoire, nobody really hit Matsuzaka hard. It was fun to watch, and that's exactly what Ramirez did. He watched for three pitches, then he took a seat.

Afterward several teammates marveled at how well Ramirez swung, but they had to be imagining what he's done, and what they figure he will do. "April first, he'll be doing his thing ... guaranteed,'' David Ortiz said in response to a question about whether Ramirez's annual tardiness bothered him or anyone else in camp.

Ramirez is predictable in his unpredictability. Then the season will start and you can mark him down for a .300-plus batting average, 35-plus homers, and 100-plus RBIs. Just like clockwork, you can.

Source: SI

2007 Baseball Preview

The Yankees fought hard to earn the AL's best record in 2006, overcoming serious injuries and flattening the Red Sox when it mattered most. They were stunned to be bounced in the first round by Detroit but kept most of the team intact for another run at the playoffs. Expect the Yankees to prevail again and take their chances with an aging rotation in October.

Rotation
As they fought for their playoff lives last October, the Yankees turned to Jaret Wright in game 4 of the ALDS. He didn't make it out of the third inning. It was no surprise then during the ofseason when, as prices soared for seemingly mediocre free-agent pitchers, the Yankees signed Andy Pettitte, an old reliable. Pettitte will join Chien-Ming Wang, the sinkerballer who tied for the MLB lead with 19 wins, at the front of the rotation. Like Pettitte, Mike Mussina must hope his elbow holds up. Japanese star Kei Igawa slides into the No. 4 spot in the rotation while Carl Pavano will get another shot to prove he's worth his big contract after missing a year with minor injuries. A lurking presence is Roger Clemens, who seems likely to sign with New York if he decides to continue his Hall of Fame career.

Bullpen
The Yankees shivered late last season when Mariano Rivera felt tightness near his elbow that caused him to miss three weeks down the stretch. Rivera was healthy by the playoffs, but the Yankees' starting staff gave him only one lead to protect in the division series. At 37, Rivera remains as vital as ever to the team's chances and is still an elite closer. Setup man Kyle Farnsworth impressed with his fastball but was frequently unavailable with back spasms. The emergence of Scott Proctor and, later, Brian Bruney solidified the bridge to Rivera and gave the Yanks four hard-throwing righties. Left-hander Mike Myers struggled in the second half but can still trick hitters in the right situations.

Middle Infield
It would be hard to find a team happier with its middle infield than the Yankees. Derek Jeter had the finest season of a Hall of Fame career, nearly winning the MVP award while batting .343 with 97 RBIs, and Robinson Cano made his first All-Star team. Jeter won another Gold Glove at shortstop, and Cano made great strides at second by working closely with coach Larry Bowa. Jeter and Cano also finished second and third, respectively, in the AL batting race. As Cano matures, look for his doubles (41 in 2006) to turn into homers as he establishes himself as a force in the middle of the order.

Corners
It was painful, at times, to see a player of Alex Rodriguez's skills fight himself so badly in 2006. Even before his annual playoff disappearance, Rodriguez endured long slumps in the field and at the plate and seemed to be unnerved by nearly constant criticism from fans and media. His chilly relationship with Jeter is a pressing issue for many fans, but probably overblown. Rodriguez showed in his MVP season of 2005 that he can handle New York. He must simplify his approach and let his skills take over. Across the diamond, the Yankees have finally determined that Jason Giambi should be a nearly full-time designated hitter. They signed former Gold Glove winner Doug Mientkiewicz for a defensive upgrade and could platoon him with Andy Phillips or Josh Phelps.

Outfield
The Yankees traded Gary Sheffield for prospects in November, comfortable with Bobby Abreu as their solution in right field. Abreu fit in seamlessly with the Yankees after a trade on July 30, running deep counts and seeming oblivious to any pennant-race pressure. His speed and arm also opened eyes in the Bronx. Center fielder Johnny Damon settled the lineup as the leadoff man and took advantage of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium for a career-high 24 home runs. He has a weak arm but played through a broken bone in his toe to cover a lot of ground in the outfield. In left, Hideki Matsui is poised to rebound after a broken wrist cost him four months and stopped a consecutive-games streak that stretched for 1,768 games, to his teenage years in Japan.

Catching
Logic says that Jorge Posada, at 35, should start to decline very soon. Yet Posada was a rock for the Yankees. Despite turnover at the backup spot, Posada ended the year strong and carried his surge into the playoffs, when he hit .500. The Yankees will rely on him heavily again -- their backup options are the well-traveled Raul Chavez and their Class AAA catcher, Wil Nieves, whose last big-league hit was in 2002.

DH/Bench
Giambi has long maintained that he hits better when he plays in the field, and the numbers prove his point. He batted .224 when he was the DH last year and .289 when he wasn't. But those numbers matter more to Giambi than the Yankees, who plan to keep him off first base this season. A wrist injury sapped him of his power late last year, and playing in the field aggravated the condition. When healthy, Giambi is still an elite power hitter with an exceptional eye. The DH transition should keep him in the lineup. Joe Torre will need to find at-bats for Melky Cabrera, who sparked the Yankees repeatedly as a regular player last summer when filling in for injured starters. Miguel Cairo, a heady player with sound fundamentals, can back up any spot on the infield.

Management
Torre enters the season as a lame duck, with no contract for 2008 and no firm sign that he wants one. In the Yankees' world, there are two outcomes: championship or failure. If Torre wins a fifth title, he can retire on top. If he doesn't, the front office might be ready for a change, anyway. Torre turns 67 in July and never expected to manage 12 seasons in New York. He's a certain Hall of Famer with the full backing of increasingly powerful general manager Brian Cashman. But with Don Mattingly clearly being groomed as his successor -- and National League Manager of the Year Joe Girardi in the Yankees' broadcast booth as another option -- it's hard to see Torre coming back for 2008.

Final Analysis
The Yankees believed they were much better than the Tigers last season, and their playoff failure left them frustrated -- and hungry. Most Yankees have never won a World Series ring, but to do it this year, they need more from their starting rotation. They have high-end depth at Triple-A for the first time in a while, and if one of the veterans goes down don't be surprised if the Yankees dip into their farm system. Their veteran rotation will be hailed for its experience, but that won't matter much if injuries sabotage the team's chances. The Yankees have always found their way to the playoffs under Torre, and the lineup is too talented not to lead them back. But with the ultimate burden on their creaky rotation, the Yankees could fall short again.

Beyond the Box Score

Fiscal responsibility
More and more in their decision-making, the Yankees are considering the impact of the luxury tax, which costs them an extra 40 cents for every dollar they spend on payroll. They liked free agent starter Ted Lilly, for example, but for them, his four-year, $40 million contract would have cost $56 million. At that price, the Yankees shied away and signed Japanese star Kei Igawa, whose posting fee ($26 million) was not subject to the tax.

Missing pitch
When the Yankees signed Chien-Ming Wang out of Taiwan in 2000, Wang did not throw a sinker. When the Diamondbacks scouted the Yankees farm system in 2004, trying to find pieces they liked in a Randy Johnson trade, Wang had not quite perfected the pitch. But he was working on it with minor league coach Neil Allen and the Class AAA catcher, Sal Fasano, and now he is a master. Wang seems to induce ground balls at will, keeping his infielders alert and his pitch count low. "It's like hitting a shot put," Yankees pitching coach Ron Guidry says. "It's harder than most sinkers, and it's got late movement."

We need some help
If anyone needed symbolism to show the difference between the old-guard Yankees and the new breed, it was there in the stat sheet from the division series loss to Detroit. Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada both hit .500. The combined average of the rest of the team was .173.

He belongs
Melky Cabrera looked overmatched in a week-long trial in 2005, but he was so confident in his future that he had a red-and-blue Major League Baseball logo tattooed on his right shoulder blade. Cabrera showed that he belonged in '06, rescuing the Yankees after injuries to outfielders Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui. His consistency gave GM Brian Cashman the luxury of waiting for a Bobby Abreu trade to materialize instead of rushing into a deal and giving away top prospects.

Source: SI

Manager could be in Mattingly's future

TAMPA, Fla. -- On a recent afternoon at Legends Field, Don Mattingly was perched behind the Yankees' batting cage as four of the team's top hitters ripped drives around the ballpark.
To the untrained eye, the swings looked crisp, tight and absolutely right. But not to Mattingly, who assembled the group behind the plate and broke down each swing with unfettered accuracy.

Lesson learned, Mattingly clapped his hands together and stretched out his arms as if to say, "See?" And as Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, Doug Mientkiewicz and Alex Rodriguez nodded and scattered, another Mattingly mini-clinic was complete.

Mattingly may have been promoted to become Joe Torre's bench coach this season, ceding his duties as hitting coach to Kevin Long, but he can't resist the urge to chip in with a few pointers for his love of hitting.

"You've got to be ready to help these guys out," Mattingly said. "You've got to be here for them -- not for yourself. I'm here for their success, not my success."

It is that passion that leads at least one Yankee to believe that, when Torre's highly successful run as the team's manager comes to an end, Mattingly will be the one assuming the dugout reins.

"He'll be perfect. He'll definitely be, in the next couple of years, the manager of the Yankees," Giambi said.

"He's got a great name to play in New York, he knows how to handle the press and he knows a lot about the game. I think that's one of the main reasons he went to bench coach."

Taking the helm of a Major League club is a thought that prompts Mattingly to grin slightly, if not awkwardly.

As he spoke of the possibility of someday managing the Yankees, his mentor, Torre, sat about 15 feet away in the manager's office, kicking back in a reclining chair as he dutifully completed paperwork.

Mattingly is not looking to push Torre, who is in the final year under contract with the Yankees, out the door. But Mattingly also can not ignore those, like Giambi, who have touted him as Torre's likely successor.

"I don't worry about it, to be honest with you," Mattingly said. "I don't worry about the future. I'm 45 years old, and it's not like you're a player and the clock is running on your skills.

"No question, it's something I want to do, but I don't control that. I'm simply here this year to help Joe and these guys. I'm young and I've got a lot to learn. If the opportunity presents itself, I'll be ready for it."

For Torre, Mattingly's work ethic became evident during seven seasons as a guest instructor at Yankees Spring Training from 1997-2003, long before he ever tinkered as the team's official hitting coach.

One of the most popular players in the franchise's history, it would have been easy for Mattingly's spring excursion to have taken on little more meaning than showing up in Tampa, putting on a No. 23 jersey and waving to fans.

Mattingly wouldn't dream of it, annually exhibiting the same workmanlike nature that led him to stroke 2,153 hits in the Major Leagues.

"It wasn't just a vacation for him," Torre said. "He didn't just come down to hang out. He wanted to do some good. I told him to let me know if he was ever thinking about doing something full time, because he definitely had the capabilities."

Mattingly finally made that call for the 2004 season, with the blessing of his wife, Kim, and their three sons -- Jordon, Taylor and Preston.

After his retirement following the 1995 season, Mattingly said he spent most of his time back in Evansville, Ind., "chasing kids around Pony League fields," tending to horses and tweaking the designs of what would eventually become his budding Mattingly Baseball bat company.

"I didn't want to be in New York until I was 39, and the kids would be out of high school and not even know who their dad is," Mattingly said. "I was able to do that, and as the kids grew up, they were kind of like, 'Go ahead, Dad.' It made it easier for me to make the transition."

The Yankees have not even played their first exhibition of 2007 yet, and already Torre has acknowledged Mattingly's dedication and efficiency.

Each day at Legends Field, Mattingly arrives early and leaves late, digging through statistical data and scouting reports looking for something -- anything -- that could give the Yankees an edge during the regular season.

"I do look at a lot more stuff," Mattingly said. "When I was the hitting coach, all I did was study the opposing team's hitters. That was the sliver of the game I was responsible for.

"Now, I'm here to help any way I can and assist Joe. I can be another set of eyes for him. There's so many decisions to make in the course of a game, and I want to make it easier for him. The information will be at his fingertips. We'll be prepared."

The Yankees would expect nothing less.

Source: Yankees

Igawa impressive in outing

TAMPA, Fla. -- It wasn't the real deal for Kei Igawa, but it was pretty close.
Wearing his Yankees pinstripes, the 27-year-old left-hander connected with batterymate Jorge Posada, worked with the Major League infield of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Doug Mientkiewicz behind him, and pitched well.

So what if it was just an intrasquad game, and the first batter -- speedy leadoff man Brett Gardner -- shocked Igawa with a perfectly-placed bunt single?

With 19 pitches, 14 strikes and two scoreless innings in the books, Igawa has wet his feet in preparation for a Grapefruit League debut on Monday against Detroit.

"I'm very honored to play with these teammates," Igawa said through interpreter Yumi Watanbe. "I was not nervous, but I was definitely excited."

Before his performance at Legends Field, pitching coach Ron Guidry took Igawa aside and told him to have fun. Igawa has shown improvement since a rusty bullpen session two weeks ago, and Guidry's message was to not try and impress anyone in this setting -- as he put it -- don't try to make the ballclub in one day.

"It was a good outing for him, to get this kind of stuff out of the way in a game situation," Guidry said. "The game didn't mean anything, but it meant a lot to us just to watch him throw so we can familiarize ourselves with how he goes about his work."

Pitching for guest manager Yogi Berra and facing a lineup commanded by Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and comprised mostly of Minor Leaguers, Igawa kept the ball on the ground, worked quickly and showed good mound presence.

"He's very efficient," manager Joe Torre said. "There's really no wasted motions. He's very compact and he goes after hitters. I think that's a sign of knowing what you want to do."

After Gardner's leadoff bunt single, Igawa induced Bronson Sardinha to bounce a double-play ball to Jeter, then got Jose Tabata to ground out.

In the second inning, Juan Miranda hit a sky-high pop-up on the infield that Doug Mientkiewicz snagged, then retired Josh Phelps and Marcos Vechionacchi on infield outs.

"The fastballs were well located," Phelps said. "It looked like he had an idea."

Igawa has worked two batting practice sessions with the Yankees' hitters, plus the two-inning performance on Tuesday, so he is becoming less of a mystery within the clubhouse.

Opposing clubs -- like the Tigers next week -- should still regard him as a curiosity, and the Yankees hope that Igawa's abilities will continue to be a great unknown, at least a few times around the American League.

"The word gets out quick," Mientkiewicz said. "That's why they've got 15 people [scouts] checking you out each game. I'm sure they've got tapes on him already, but until you're in the box facing someone like that for the first time, it's going to take some time."

Source: Yankees

Abreu turns spectator

TAMPA, Fla. -- As the Yankees played their annual intrasquad game Tuesday, Bobby Abreu was a mere spectator.
The 32-year-old outfielder suffered a strained right oblique muscle while taking batting practice on Monday and is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks of action.

"It was painful," Abreu said Tuesday. "You just have to hang with it, and don't try to worry about too much. It's sore. I felt a little pain there and thought it was nothing to worry about. I kept swinging and then, after one swing, [I felt] a big pain."

Abreu, who batted .297 with 15 home runs and 107 RBIs last season for the Phillies and Yankees, is projected as New York's starting right fielder.

He expects to return to action in mid-March and will be available for the Yankees' regular season opener on April 2, suggesting that his recovery could take as little as 10 days.

"I'm just doing treatment right now and just trying to get better," Abreu said. "I don't think it'll take that long. I'll take a couple of weeks, just get treatment and I think I'm going to be ready for the season."

Yankees manager Joe Torre said on Monday that Abreu would be limited to basic cardiovascular exercises, such as riding a stationary bicycle, as the team moves forward into their exhibition schedule. Because of the nature of the strain, Abreu is unable to swing a bat or throw.

"They're the ones who are going to tell me when to start throwing and running," Abreu said. "Right now, I'll just get treatment, get better and get ready."

In Abreu's absence, 22-year-old outfielder Melky Cabrera is expected to receive additional plate appearances.

Cabrera took Abreu's place for honorary manager Yogi Berra's team in Tuesday's intrasquad game, starting in right field against a roster led by Reggie Jackson.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has said that a number of additional players, like Kevin Thompson and Kevin Reese, will also see additional innings in the outfield.

The Yankees open their exhibition schedule on Thursday against the Twins.

Source: Yankees

Rivera could make debut Monday

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera could make his 2007 spring training debut Monday.

Rivera, sidelined from Aug. 31 to Sept. 22 last year because of a muscle strain near his right elbow, has felt fine since spring training began. The 37-year-old right-hander threw off a bullpen mound Wednesday, and wants to throw another bullpen session Friday.

"No rush," Rivera said. "We'll go from there, see how I feel throwing. I feel real good."

Rivera went 5-5 with 34 saves and an 1.80 ERA last year.

"We don't what to change anything we've done with him," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He tells when he's ready to go and we go accordingly."

Torre said the team likely will stay with its plan of recent years to have Rivera pitch only at home during spring training.

"You won't see a road uniform, my guess is," Torre said.

Carl Pavano, hit on the left instep by a liner during batting practice last Saturday, is to pitch off a bullpen mound Thursday. If that goes well, he would start Sunday.

Notes: Yankees general partner Steve Swindal and president Randy Levine watched part of the workout with representatives of the Chinese Baseball Association. ... Torre has been impressed by LHP Ron Villone, who came to camp with a minor league contract. ... RHP Brian Bruney (back) has resumed throwing on level ground. ... LHP Kei Igawa is teaching Villone how to play shogi, a Japanese version of chess.

Source: SI

Yankees Weigh Other Half Of Blockbuster Trade



BTW - Cashman = genius? Johnson is going to start the season on the DL!

Flying start
Damon launches Yankees' exhibition season in style

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Johnny Damon gave George Steinbrenner quite an early eyeful.

Damon hit a leadoff home run, Jason Giambi also homered and Chien-Ming Wang pitched two perfect innings as the New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 6-1 Thursday in an exhibition opener.

Steinbrenner, who has rarely been seen at Legends Field this spring, watched from his suite on the first-base side of the stadium.

Damon homered off Carlos Silva to start a three-run first inning.

"It's only downhill from this," Damon joked.

Giambi, coming off surgery on his left wrist, walked in the first and hit a two-run homer the next inning to make it 5-0.

"I hope it's a good omen," Giambi said. "The wrist feels great. I feel good up there."

Wang, a 19-game winner last season, needed just 19 pitches. He began the game by inducing three straight groundouts.

"He wasn't down in the zone like he needs to be," Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said. "It's normal. First time out, probably felt too strong. But he got the ground balls, that's all you can ask for."

Silva allowed five runs and four hits over two innings. He threw 42 pitches, including 26 in the first.

Top Yankees pitching prospect Phil Hughes followed Wang and gave up one run on a hit and two walks in 1 1/3 innings. He struck out AL MVP Justin Morneau with his last pitch.

"He was high a lot," New York manager Joe Torre said. "He may have had some butterflies. He recovered real well. He struck out a pretty good hitter to say goodbye."

Yankees left fielder Hideki Matsui made a nice sliding catch near the foul line on Nick Punto's two-on, two-out fly in the third.

Twins left fielder Jason Kubel making a diving catch on Robinson Cano in the third. Kubel drove in the Twins' run with a fourth-inning single.

Andy Phillips, trying to win the right-handed half of the Yankees' first base platoon, will be gone for at least a couple days after his mother was seriously injured Wednesday in a car accident in Alabama.

"As long as he needs," Torre said. "We all hope and pray that everything will be OK, but it's pretty serious right now."

Notes: A moment of silence was held before the game for former Yankees Hank Bauer and Cory Lidle. ... Damon built a gym during the offseason at his Orlando home. "Look good with the shirt off ... wife still digs me," Damon said with a smile.... New York RHP Carl Pavano (bruised left instep) threw 45 pitches off a bullpen mound and is scheduled to pitch Sunday. "I can't wait," Pavano said. ... Minnesota LHP Dennys Reyes, who left camp for the birth of his daughter, is expected to rejoin the team Friday. ... New York RHP Humberto Sanchez (elbow inflammation) hopes to throw this weekend.

Source: SI

Gardner makes fast impression in camp

TAMPA, Fla. -- A bunt?
A bunt to start an intrasquad game against Kei Igawa and what most likely will be the Yankees' Opening Day lineup?

"I was completely surprised," Igawa said. "I never thought he'd bunt to lead off the game. I thought, because I was a new pitcher and he had never seen me pitch before, he would, at least, see one pitch go by."

But the left-handed-hitting Gardner didn't work the count, instead placing a bunt cleanly between Igawa and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz.

"That's part of my game," said the 23-year-old Gardner, who batted .298 and had 58 stolen bases last season in 118 games with Class A Tampa and Double-A Trenton. "I talked to the [coaching staff] before the game and they said to try bunting sometime during the game. I said, 'Hey, I'm facing a lefty right here, so I might as well get it out of the way now.' I'm pretty confident with it and that's one of the main ways I use to get on base. I'm happy the way it worked out."

It might sound outlandish or even a bit bold, but Gardner's actions are indicative of the type of player he is. And it is his energy and effort that make teammates happy to be playing alongside him.

"We weren't surprised at all," said third-base prospect Eric Duncan, who played with Gardner last year at Trenton. "He knows what it takes to be successful on the field, and his work ethic and energy translates to the rest of the team. He's going hard all the time, sliding headfirst into first base, stretching doubles into triples. That type of play resonates through the dugout, and the other guys want to put forth that same type of effort."

Standing at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, Gardner doesn't come across as imposing a player as his locker neighbor in training camp, Alex Rodriguez (6-foot-3, 225), does, but that hasn't prevented the College of Charleston graduate to aspire past expectations.

Undrafted after his junior season, Gardner, whose dad played with the Phillies, overcame doubters to be the Yankees' third-round pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft. Because of his blazing speed and overwhelming talent, Baseball America rated him as the fastest baserunner and best defensive outfielder in the organization. The lefty utilizes his speed to change the game in various ways, both on offense and defense.

He proved that after he reached base in the first inning against Igawa. Outfield prospect Bronson Sardinha came up to bat after Gardner and saw a full plate of fastballs strictly because of the Igawa's fear that Gardner would attempt to steal second base.

"I was talking to Sardinha later and was asking him what Igawa's breaking-ball stuff was like, and Sardinha said he never saw any," Duncan said. "I'm sure Igawa was cognizant of his speed on the basepaths. And that's the way he changes the way pitchers think. He makes them quicken up a bit when they go out of the stretch. And, then, if you're following him [in the lineup], you see better pitches because pitchers have to throw types of pitches they wouldn't normally want to toss."

Pitchers love to have Gardner playing the field when they're on the mound, however.

"From an impact standpoint, he's one of those guys you want to go to battle with all the time," said pitching prospect Matt DeSalvo, who played with Gardner last year in Trenton. "He covers so much ground out there that you know you can throw certain pitches with the feeling that he'll be able to get line drives in the gap. If someone does drop one in there, he'll keep a guy at first instead of someone typically stretching it into a double. His speed helps a pitcher out, as well, because if you're in a jam, then maybe you can throw that two-seamer over the plate and get a double play. He's one of those guys that can make things happen in so many ways."

Gardner has taken advantage of his first invite to Major League camp by noticing the way professionals around him like Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon act. And he's also made the most of his time with bench coach Don Mattingly and special instructor Reggie Jackson.

"This has been a pretty cool experience and a great learning environment," said Gardner. "It's something I'll definitely remember and learn from. I've talked to Mattingly about hitting and gotten advice from Reggie about being a professional and making it to the next level. I haven't really talked to the players, but I've learned a lot just from watching how they handle their business and the way they present themselves."

Gardner idolized Pete Rose when he was growing up and emulates the hustle and energy Rose brought to every game. He watched ESPN Classic as often as he could and made sure to catch highlights of baseball's all-time hit king who spent his glory days with the Cincinnati Reds.

"He played the game so hard and gave it everything he had on every play," said Gardner, who scored 59 runs in 55 games with Trenton in 2006. "That's how I am and how I like to play the game. I just go hard all the time. Hopefully, that's something that will be noticed and will take me to the big leagues soon."

If Gardner keeps giving this all-out approach in everything he does, Yankees fans may soon be seeing his hustle and energy in the Bronx.

Source: Yankees

Gardner makes fast impression in camp

TAMPA, Fla. -- A bunt?
A bunt to start an intrasquad game against Kei Igawa and what most likely will be the Yankees' Opening Day lineup?

"I was completely surprised," Igawa said. "I never thought he'd bunt to lead off the game. I thought, because I was a new pitcher and he had never seen me pitch before, he would, at least, see one pitch go by."

But the left-handed-hitting Gardner didn't work the count, instead placing a bunt cleanly between Igawa and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz.

"That's part of my game," said the 23-year-old Gardner, who batted .298 and had 58 stolen bases last season in 118 games with Class A Tampa and Double-A Trenton. "I talked to the [coaching staff] before the game and they said to try bunting sometime during the game. I said, 'Hey, I'm facing a lefty right here, so I might as well get it out of the way now.' I'm pretty confident with it and that's one of the main ways I use to get on base. I'm happy the way it worked out."

It might sound outlandish or even a bit bold, but Gardner's actions are indicative of the type of player he is. And it is his energy and effort that make teammates happy to be playing alongside him.

"We weren't surprised at all," said third-base prospect Eric Duncan, who played with Gardner last year at Trenton. "He knows what it takes to be successful on the field, and his work ethic and energy translates to the rest of the team. He's going hard all the time, sliding headfirst into first base, stretching doubles into triples. That type of play resonates through the dugout, and the other guys want to put forth that same type of effort."

Standing at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, Gardner doesn't come across as imposing a player as his locker neighbor in training camp, Alex Rodriguez (6-foot-3, 225), does, but that hasn't prevented the College of Charleston graduate to aspire past expectations.

Undrafted after his junior season, Gardner, whose dad played with the Phillies, overcame doubters to be the Yankees' third-round pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft. Because of his blazing speed and overwhelming talent, Baseball America rated him as the fastest baserunner and best defensive outfielder in the organization. The lefty utilizes his speed to change the game in various ways, both on offense and defense.

He proved that after he reached base in the first inning against Igawa. Outfield prospect Bronson Sardinha came up to bat after Gardner and saw a full plate of fastballs strictly because of the Igawa's fear that Gardner would attempt to steal second base.

"I was talking to Sardinha later and was asking him what Igawa's breaking-ball stuff was like, and Sardinha said he never saw any," Duncan said. "I'm sure Igawa was cognizant of his speed on the basepaths. And that's the way he changes the way pitchers think. He makes them quicken up a bit when they go out of the stretch. And, then, if you're following him [in the lineup], you see better pitches because pitchers have to throw types of pitches they wouldn't normally want to toss."

Pitchers love to have Gardner playing the field when they're on the mound, however.

"From an impact standpoint, he's one of those guys you want to go to battle with all the time," said pitching prospect Matt DeSalvo, who played with Gardner last year in Trenton. "He covers so much ground out there that you know you can throw certain pitches with the feeling that he'll be able to get line drives in the gap. If someone does drop one in there, he'll keep a guy at first instead of someone typically stretching it into a double. His speed helps a pitcher out, as well, because if you're in a jam, then maybe you can throw that two-seamer over the plate and get a double play. He's one of those guys that can make things happen in so many ways."

Gardner has taken advantage of his first invite to Major League camp by noticing the way professionals around him like Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon act. And he's also made the most of his time with bench coach Don Mattingly and special instructor Reggie Jackson.

"This has been a pretty cool experience and a great learning environment," said Gardner. "It's something I'll definitely remember and learn from. I've talked to Mattingly about hitting and gotten advice from Reggie about being a professional and making it to the next level. I haven't really talked to the players, but I've learned a lot just from watching how they handle their business and the way they present themselves."

Gardner idolized Pete Rose when he was growing up and emulates the hustle and energy Rose brought to every game. He watched ESPN Classic as often as he could and made sure to catch highlights of baseball's all-time hit king who spent his glory days with the Cincinnati Reds.

"He played the game so hard and gave it everything he had on every play," said Gardner, who scored 59 runs in 55 games with Trenton in 2006. "That's how I am and how I like to play the game. I just go hard all the time. Hopefully, that's something that will be noticed and will take me to the big leagues soon."

If Gardner keeps giving this all-out approach in everything he does, Yankees fans may soon be seeing his hustle and energy in the Bronx.

Source: Yankees

Pettitte looks good in debut

ST. PETERSBURG -- With a few more gray hairs and a broader outlook, Andy Pettitte officially began his on-field return to the Yankees on Friday.
Making his first Grapefruit League appearance for New York since 2003, Pettitte threw two scoreless, hitless innings against the Devil Rays at Progress Energy Park. The left-hander threw 20 pitches -- 15 for strikes -- and recorded a strikeout.

"It was really nice to be back out there," Pettitte said. "Once you get out on the mound, you forget what [uniform] you have on. It's still just the mitt and trying to make quality pitches. It was great to be back out there and get the first one under my belt."

Pettitte used the appearance to tinker with different grips on his curveball, but his greatest satisfaction seemed to come from his changeup, which he has vowed to continue using in order to be more of a complete pitcher.

"He was a guy you counted on all the time, even though you always mentioned another guy's name first," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "What you see now is more polished. One thing Andy did every year was get better."

The one strikeout Pettitte recorded in the contest, getting Jorge Cantu swinging in the second inning, came on a change.

"If I can throw that all year," Pettitte said, "I'd be all right."

Watching Pettitte throw darts in a Yankees uniform fit so well, it was almost as if he'd never left. It was even more incomprehensible that Pettitte actually considered retirement after last season.

As the Houston Astros' 2006 campaign wore down to its final days, Pettitte's left elbow began barking, further complications in a 14-13 season that Pettitte felt should have turned out much better than it did.

Torre had kept in close contact with Pettitte following his departure for Houston after the 2003 season and connected for friendly chats with the left-hander over the summer, describing Pettitte as disappointed and somewhat confused.

On the mound, Pettitte felt good enough, on his way to a second consecutive 200-plus-innings season. But the results weren't matching the effort, and as Pettitte's ERA rounded out to a 4.20 mark, he wondered if his pitching days had come to an end.

"I didn't think my arm would allow me to pitch past the '06 season," Pettitte said.

He voiced those concerns to Torre, who now admits that he didn't believe him.

"I dismissed it, based on the fact that at the end of the year, we're all frustrated," Torre said.

The manager's instincts proved correct as Pettitte began tossing in the offseason, surprising himself by how good he felt.

The timing was right for Torre's recruitment pitch, which commenced over numerous offseason telephone calls, one reunion dinner of the 1996 Yankees at Chelsea Piers in New York, and culminated in a one-year contract in December.

Pettitte remembered Torre's pleas as such: "We want you back. Just come back." Eventually, after the initial shock of the Yankees' continued interest, Pettitte did just that, inking a one-year agreement with an option for 2008.

On a breezy March afternoon in St. Petersburg, his pitches sending two innings worth of Devil Rays batters back to the bench empty-handed, it appeared Pettitte had made the correct decision.

"You want to go where you feel like you're wanted," Pettitte said.

Source: Yankees

Yanks pitching looks in midseason form

TAMPA, Fla. -- Here in the non-Daisuke Matsuzaka portion of Florida's Gulf Coast, you are reminded that the New York Yankees also have some starting pitchers of significant stature.
The first three Yankees pitchers of the Grapefruit League schedule have faced 19 batters and recorded 18 outs, leaving little room for either improvement or second-guessing.

Whatever questions there are regarding the Yankees' pitching, one through three in the rotation, in whatever order you want -- Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina -- are not among them.

Wang, a 19-game winner last season, and Pettitte, whose work requires no introduction in these precincts, were both perfect in their two innings of work.

Mussina, working against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, actually gave up two hits, one of them a home run to Brad Eldred. The other one was a ground ball by Andrew McCutchen off the glove of shortstop Derek Jeter. It might have been an error, but this was Spring Training and this was Jeter, so, fine, a single. McCutchen subsequently was erased attempting to steal second.

Mussina has been a rotation stalwart for 15 seasons. Although he has never had a 20-victory season, his 239 career victories, fifth among active pitchers, point toward the quality and durability of his work. He is one of only 12 pitchers in the history of the game to win 10 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons.

But every time is a new time when Spring Training appears. So it was on Saturday, Mussina's first start.

"It felt strange, it was the first time," he said. "But you want to at least get the ball over the plate, and I did that, for the most part. That's all you're trying to do, just get used to it again."

With a repertoire as large as Mussina's, you wonder which pitches require the most work at this time of the year.

"Sometimes, command of the baseball takes the most time," he said. "It depends on what isn't working that particular year. I felt pretty decent with my curveball today, and I had decent location, but it felt like it was going about 81 mph out of my hand. But that's just stuff you've got to work on. It's just pitching again, just getting out there and pitching again, that's all.

"I'm sure it's changed from when I was 25. When you're 25, you expect to got out there and have it the first day you go out there. Now, I don't expect it to be great the first day, I just expect to find a feel for it and work up from wherever the starting point is."

Asked about how his slider was working, Mussina smiled.

"The same pitch that got called for a ball on the first pitch to [Eldred]," he said. "This time he hit it out of the park. That's all right. Midseason form on the homer, because that was a pretty good one."

All of the available evidence suggests that Mussina will once again be part of the solution for the Yankees. The same could be said of Wang and Pettitte, although sooner or later they will start allowing baserunners.

The questions are further down in the rotation. Carl Pavano's array of injuries over the past two years open up a whole new line of questioning, about not only his potential fitness, but his desire to pitch. Lefty Kei Igawa, the Yankees' own Japanese pitching import, has a track record of success, winning 75 games over the past five seasons. Americans have learned by now not to dismiss the achievements of players in Japanese baseball. For all of that, Igawa is a rookie in Major League Baseball, and the natural questions flowing from that status will linger until he establishes himself in this hemisphere.

Typically, at this early stage of Spring Training, expectations are minimal for starters. The most important components of their early work are regaining the feel for their craft and simply remaining healthy.

"That's the thing when you watch these guys pitch, especially early in Spring Training," manager Joe Torre said. "It's just that they get through it, they feel fine; there are no physical issues.

"The other part, they've been around long enough that they know what works. I think Mike threw a lot of fastballs today, which is good. That's why he started out last season so well, because he used his fastball in the spring and built up his arm strength."

But given the particular circumstances, there will be an unusually high level of interest in Pavano's first start of the spring, which is scheduled to occur Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

"I'm looking forward to it, and I think he's looking forward to it," Torre said. "He seems like he's ready to do this. Basically, it's step one, get him on the mound. He's in this the first time around, there's no special covenant here, he's up with everybody else."

The questions about the Yankees rotation center not on quality, but on depth. The quality in the first three spots is indisputable. The worst you can say about Mussina, Wang and Pettitte is that they will be very difficult acts to follow. If the rest of the rotation could approach their level, the Yankees would be what they always hope to be.

Source: MLB

Those were the days
Bronx Zoo set standard for spring training melodrama

In recent years, one of the annual rites of spring for the New York media has been to proclaim the return of The Bronx Zoo. This year, Mariano Rivera's expiring contract, the absence of Bernie Williams, and the Alex Rodriguez-Derek Jeter affair have prompted New York writers to invoke the name of the old Zoo. You can hardly blame them.

As David Falkner noted in his fine book about spring training, The Short Season, "There is probably no other single body of prose in the English language in which writers seem quite so hard-pressed to come up with something, anything, than the collected newspaper accounts of spring training over the last half century."

We all know the standard spring training stories: the promising rookie, the aging veteran, the holdout, the wacky clubhouse prankster, the late-arriving star. The wilder the story, the better. In 1985, SI published the remarkable tale about uber-phenom Sidd Finch, a pitcher whose fastball was clocked at 168 mph -- wait, no, that actually was too good to be true. But four years later, Jim Abbott, a one-handed pitcher for the Angels, made a splash in the Cactus League. It seemed stranger than fiction, yet Abbott went on to enjoy a productive career. In '86, veteran reliever Rollie Fingers walked away from a chance to extend his career with the Reds when he refused to lose his trademark mustache. "I'm not about to shave it off just to play baseball," he said. Then in 2002, outfielder Derek Bell chafed at the prospect of having to compete for a position with the Pirates (even after hitting only .173 the year before).

"If there is competition, they better eliminate me out of the race and go ahead and do what they're going to do with me," Bell told reporters. "I ain't going out there to hurt myself in spring training battling for a job. If it is [a competition], then I'm going into 'Operation Shutdown.'" Bell's big league career was shut down before the end of the spring.

But this is tame stuff when compared with the glory days of The Bronx Zoo, which began in earnest in 1977 and ran in full-force through the early '90s. Despite the intense media coverage the Yankees generate nowadays, The Bronx Zoo is a thing of the past. The reason is simple: The maestro of mayhem, George Steinbrenner, is no longer visibly running the show. The last true gem he offered was in '99 when he called pitcher Hideki Irabu a "fat, pussy toad." Without the Boss, well, it just ain't the same.

"Spring training is like opening night in the theater," Steinbrenner once said. "There is nothing like it, nothing!" The Boss was famous for guaranteeing his manager's job security during the spring. In 1982, he said, "Bob Lemon's going to be our manager all year. You can bet on it." Lemon was fired after 14 games. In '85, Steinbrenner said, "Yogi [Berra] wil be the manager this year ... A bad start will not affect Yogi's status." The Yankees started the season 6-10 and Berra was canned. In '90, the Boss said, "Bucky Dent will be the manager all year. I'm very strong on loyalties." After 49 games, Dent was history.

The arrival of Reggie Jackson in 1977 is what really kicked-off the Bronx Zoo. Jackson was the owner's pet, flamboyant and outspoken. "I didn't come to New York to be a star," he said after signing, "I brought my star with me." But Jackson was not welcomed with open arms in the clubhouse. Team captain Thurman Munson was instantly envious of Jackson, as was manager Billy Martin. That spring, Jackson sat down with Robert Ward, a writer from Sport magazine, and made the infamous comment that he was "the straw that stirs the drink." Though the article was not published until months later, it accurately portrayed a spring training camp full of drama.

But even in Steinbrenner's first season with the team, there was commotion. In a scene directly out of The Ice Storm, pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, the best of friends, announced that they were not only swapping wives, but entirely families too, right on down to their dogs. Said Yankees GM Lee McPhail, "We may have to call off Family Day."

Perhaps the most bizzare Steinbrenner spring came in 1982 when he decided to transform the Bronx Bombers into the Bronx Burners. "You can't underestimate the importance of speed," said Steinbrenner. After losing the '81 World Series to the Dodgers, Jackson was allowed to walk as a free agent, and Davey Collins was signed ostensibly to replace him. Harrison Dillard, a former Olympic hurdling champion, was brought into camp to teach the Yankees how to run. One day, the team was instructed to wear sweat suits instead of their uniforms and ran sprints in the outfield as Dillard took notes. Steinbrenner had run hurdles in college, prompting third baseman Graig Nettles to say, "They must have used ankle-high hurdles in those days." The speed experiment failed and the Yankees ended the season with their worst record since 1967.

As wild as Yankee springs in the past have been, they are not alone. From the mid-'80s through the early '90s, the Mets were the glamour team in New York and no strangers to controversy. In 1989, the tension between right fielder Darryl Strawberry and first baseman Keith Hernandez reached a boiling point. Dubbed "The Prince of Darkness" by Daily News columnist Mike Lupica, Hernandez had lobbied, off-the-record, for teammate Kevin McReynolds to win the 1988 NL MVP over Strawberry (Kirk Gibson won the award). When a reporter revealed this to Strawberry the following spring, the right fielder was primed for a confrontation. During the taking of the team photo, Strawberry -- who was positioned next to Hernandez -- said, "I don't want to sit next to no backstabber." Hernandez replied, "I'm tired of your baby crap." The two then exchanged punches in full view of TV cameras. Steve Wulf quipped in SI that Strawberry "finally hit the cut off man."

But the most vicious spring training fight came in '77. The Rangers made headlines when mild-mannered second baseman Lenny Randle attacked his manager, Frank Lucchesi, after being replaced by the rookie Bump Wills. Randle had never shown any signs of having a temper. He practiced yoga, was always accomodating with the fans and was the most popular player in the Rangers clubhouse. But when Lucchesi called Randle a punk for not handling the demotion well, Randle freaked and punched Lucchesi in the face repeatedly, shattering the manager's cheekbone. The Rangers suspended Randle for 30 days, fined him $10,000 and by the end of April, traded him to the Mets. Lucchesi, fired by Texas before the end of the season, sued Randle.

"It's not that I want a pound of flesh," Lucchesi said, "I want 175 pounds of justice." A year later, the two settled out of court and shook hands. "I hope he has 10 years of good luck in the big leagues," said Lucchesi. Randle played in the big leagues through '82, and then in Japan before retiring and trying his hand at stand-up comedy

Source: SI

Calling on A-Rod
Eight teams sought superstar; opt-out still possible

TAMPA, Fla. -- If Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez exercises his opt-out clause after this season and walks away from the $81 million and three years remaining on his record contract, he may be subjected to even more boos in the Bronx. But if he stays without at least leveraging the clause in question, he surely will be giving up a lot of loot.

Though A-Rod the Yankee hasn't quite lived up to every ounce of hype, he has continued to produce big numbers in New York and assuredly will have plenty of teams begging for his services if he hits the open market next winter.

That's extra clear from the outside interest he attracted last summer. People familiar with trade inquiries made for Rodriguez last summer tell SI.com that no fewer than eight teams -- some of them shocking -- asked about him. One person with connections to the Yankees identified the teams as the Angels, Dodgers, White Sox, Cubs, Giants, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Indians.

"It was a lot of teams," is the way Yankees general manager Brian Cashman put it. "And some of them would surprise you."

And it's no stretch to believe that some of those teams would have been willing to extend his record 10-year, $252 million contract an extra three or four years, maybe even more. And that some of them would still be willing to do that should A-Rod walk away from the Yankees.

That means Rodriguez probably could double the money due him, to $162 million, if not more. (Alfonso Soriano, seen as barely a bit player in A-Rod's trade to the Yankees three years ago, recently got $136 million over eight years from the Cubs in an exploding market reflective of the industry's revenues doubling to $6 billion in a matter of a few years.)

The list of eight could even grow this winter assuming A-Rod puts together a more typical season. Last year he turned in perhaps his worst as a big leaguer, batting .290 with 35 home runs and 121 RBIs while struggling at times at third base.

It's no surprise both Los Angeles teams and both Chicago teams called for A-Rod. Both of the L.A. clubs have prospects aplenty to offer and the wherewithal to compensate A-Rod. White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf (who once employed Michael Jordan and made a run at Rodriguez six winters ago) is known to be an A-Rod admirer, and the Cubs had a third-base question last summer, thanks to Aramis Ramirez's own opt-out clause. The Cubs, on the other hand, were a few months away last summer from embarking on a $300 million spending spree, which started with the hiring of Rodriguez's first big-league manager and close confidant, Lou Piniella.

According to someone familiar with the inquiries, the White Sox and Dodgers were among the most persistent pursuers for A-Rod. However, should A-Rod hit the open market, many will view the Angels as the favorite. They are known to be searching for a big bat and have put themselves into position to acquire big players through a series of shrewd business moves. Additionally, the Angels have yet to make the "major" move club owner Arte Moreno foresaw heading into this past offseason.

The list of A-Rod inquirers shows the type of interest A-Rod can generate, as it runs the gamut from big-to-small market clubs. Even Arizona and Cleveland, two teams with fairly tight payrolls, dreamed of jumping into the fray.

The other two interested teams are intriguing for the killer combinations they could have created: A-Rod and Barry Bonds would have made an all-time tandem. And what about A-Rod and Ryan Howard?

One top baseball decision maker on one of the eight teams claimed, "We offered the house, but [Cashman] wouldn't even respond." While the interest in Rodriguez was great, it appears that talks never got off the ground.

From the start, Rodriguez made clear to Cashman he had no interest in waiving his no-trade clause and wanted to remain a Yankee. And despite A-Rod's perplexing summer slump, which briefly infected his fielding, Cashman didn't try to sway him on that score, either.

"Not only is he one of the premier players in the game, he's not an easily replaceable individual," Cashman explained. "We knew then we weren't going to have [Gary] Sheffield. You can't take two right-handed hitters out of the lineup like that. It would make no sense."

Besides, A-Rod rendered the point moot with a four-word message to Cashman regarding the possibility of a trade. "No thank you, Cash."

So even if the Yankees' interest could have been piqued a tad by a team like the Dodgers, which possess a multitude of exciting and talented young players, exactly the type of players Cashman covets, the Yankees GM didn't want to waste anyone's time, including his own.

"I knew Alex well enough to know that he was not waiving his no-trade clause," Cashman said. "It was a combination of A) not having any interest in trading him, and B) him not wanting to go anywhere ... It would have made entertaining offers senseless."

Rodriguez never wavered in his resolve to remain last summer. But that doesn't mean it's a certainty Rodriguez will make the same call this winter. Technically speaking, there are three possibilities: A-Rod could opt out of the most lucrative contract in the four major team sports and sign elsewhere; he could try to enhance his contract with an extension from the Yankees; or he could just stay, keep the $81 million in hand and play out the original contract.

"I understand my options. I love New York, and I want to be in New York," Rodriguez said. "I understand there's interest."

"He's very happy," agent Scott Boras adds. "His goal was to go there and win a world championship, and his entire focus is on the '07 season. Like any player with a contract provision ... he will take the chance to evaluate things at the end of the year. Just as a team will weigh its options, the same goes for a player. As of now Alex is happy in New York."

This spring Rodriguez looks like a new and happier man. He's slimmed down to an ungodly low 9 percent body fat for a man his size, and if a team is interested in A-Rod as a shortstop, he now looks slim enough to switch back to his original position after willingly surrendering it for Derek Jeter. Rodriguez has shown no outward interest in returning to his original position, but beyond the fact he is only one home run shy of Cal Ripken's home run record for a shortstop, he may still be worth even more as a shortstop.

Besides, how many players surrender a chance to double their pay?

This past winter both stars with opt-out clauses, J.D. Drew and Ramirez, used the opportunity to greatly increase their contracts. Drew left the Dodgers for Boston and Ramirez extracted an extension out of the Cubs. And neither of those players is anywhere near A-Rod's caliber.

A person could be cynical and say A-Rod's choice to stay last summer was a business decision, that if he surrendered his shot at succeeding in New York so quickly, his star would dim. But it's much more likely that his call was more about unfinished business than just plain business.

If A-Rod and New York haven't been quite the perfect pairing thus far, the marriage hasn't been nearly as bad as it's seemed in some quarters. He may not always please tough Yankees fans and his occasional struggles may even puzzle Joe Torre at times. But he's also shown a continuing ability to put up enormous numbers under the glare of New York's spotlight, won a second MVP and helped the Yankees become an even hotter ticket with his obvious star power. He didn't make the pinstripes, but he's added to the allure.

The Yankees are surely disappointed that A-Rod and his teammates have failed to deliver on their ultimate goal of winning the World Series during his three seasons in New York. They're also undoubtedly bewildered over his surprisingly unclutch play in two straight October series. And yet it's hard to think they'd want him to opt out. Beyond the fact that he's one of the greatest all-around talents ever, it's an all-around great deal for the Yankees, who benefit by Rangers owner Tom Hicks paying about one third of A-Rod's salary, as agreed upon when the Rodriguez-to-the-Yankees trade was agreed to on Valentine's Day 2004. His salary is scheduled to be $27 million from 2008 through '10, but could rise by as much as $5 million in each of the last two years if he plays out the whole contract.

But should A-Rod walk away from the Yankees after this season, one baseball person pointed out, "Hicks would be the happiest man on Earth .... In fact, he's probably sending A-Rod brochures of Laguna Beach and Michigan Avenue." Should A-Rod walk away from the current deal, Hicks would save exactly $29 million.

While there's no percentage in the Yankees publicly speaking about the possibility they'd give Rodriguez an extension to stay, that can't be ruled out. The Yankees of Cashman are now keeping a much closer eye on the budget and have few qualms about letting big names leave, as was the case with Sheffield and Randy Johnson. Although, as an all-time great who'd have a good chance to break the lifetime home-run record in the next Yankee Stadium, A-Rod is a different case altogether. And unlike in the cases of Sheffield and Johnson, Cashman has appeared to be much more in A-Rod's corner from the start.

But for now, there are no promises on either side. Cashman would prefer to put the ball in A-Rod's court. Referring to the opt-out clause, Cashman said, "It's something he earned in negotiations, and it's a personal decision he will have to make at the end of the season ... He's got a contract in place. He has a decision to make. If he wants to opt out, he can opt out. Though we hope he doesn't opt out."

The intrigue has just begun.

Source: SI

Mussina Takes Hill For First Time; DeSalvo Impresses Torre; Looking Forward For Pavano



I'd love to see DeSalvo get a shot at the team. He seems like the kind of set-up man that would transition well to the big leagues by his performance in the minors, and seems to have some stuff described as "filthy."

First Blood



Frankly, Rasner and Karstens really showed me something when they came up last year with all the injuries, and Karstens in particular had maturity that defied his years. Pavano is becoming more and more expendable as the days go by, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him dealt by mid-season if he can pitch even half-way decent. Move him for some better 1st basemen (or, gasp, dare I say, a successor to Jorge Posada, since our phenom Venezuelan prospect Jesus Montero is only 16?).

I know it's not Yankee news but it could be in the near future

Santana eager to negotiate new deal with Twins

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Despite the fact the he won't be a free agent until after the 2008 season, Johan Santana says that the Minnesota Twins should try to sign him to a long-term extension sooner rather than later.


"If Minnesota wants to keep me, the earlier the better for a contract negotiation," Santana told ESPNdeportes.com. "The closer I get to free agency the more difficult it will be."

The native of Venezuela won his second AL Cy Young award in three years in 2006, taking the pitching triple crown in the junior circuit with 19 victories, a 2.77 ERA and 245 strikeouts. In addition, Santana led the league in starts (34) and innings pitched (232).

Santana will make $12.2 million this season, the third of a four-year, $39.7 million deal he signed with the Twins in February 2005.

"I'm happy the way things have gone in Minnesota and I'd like to stay here for a long time, but if I do opt for free agency, my agent will be the one in charge of the next contract," said Santana. "I'm not really concerned with the specifics of what we'd ask for right now, because I've still got two years left with the Twins … but after that, whatever has to happen will happen."

Santana gave up three hits and one run in two innings against the Red Sox in his spring training debut in Florida on Sunday, losing to Curt Schilling and Boston 6-1. The left-hander was unusually wild, waking three of the ten batters he faced.

"I felt good, especially being that it was my first start since last year's playoffs," he said. "My arm and legs were fine. This is just the first spring training start."

Source: ESPN