• Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle, & George W. Bush…. Go ahead. Try and connect the dots. Click here to buy it from Amazon.
• After a mysterious two day absence, Johnny Damon has returned to camp. “This was stuff I had to have taken care of. I’m a better and stronger person today - those two days were important to me.” Because he provided no real explanation, let’s just assume it had something to do with his fledgling wrestling career.
No concern from Carl Pavano regarding the results of his MRI:
“Just for precaution. It’s feeling better than it did. I’m not really too alarmed. There’s no bruising or anything. It’s just stiff.”
All the joking aside, can the Yankees ever really depend on him? Is it prudent to even try?
• Who says the friendship between Jeter and A-Rod has cooled? Not the Yankees official website. In fact, they’ve established an entire gallery of buddy photos, as if to prove that happy days are here again in Yankeeland. Look at all those smiles! Why they’ll be resuming the sleepovers before you know it.
Click here to view the slideshow.
• Jorge Posada and his contract situation? “I [couldn’t] care less,” he tells Newsday. Let’s revisit that answer after the season.
• With no room on the roster for Bernie, we’ve heard a lot of complaints lately about the signing of Doug Mientkiewicz. But no one seems to be focusing on the upside. He will certainly save A-Rod from some of those throwing errors. And then there’s that whole BFF thing. Says Mientkiewicz:
“That’s what teammates are for. Whether you like them or don’t like them, whether you get along with them or can’t stand them, when you’re in here together, you ought to feel like you can go to anyone in this room to help you out through tough times.”
Is that a veiled swipe at The Captain? Be careful Doug. Just ask current high-school coach Chad Curtis. It isn’t worth it.
• Maybe “heavy legs” prevented Carl Pavano from getting out of the way of that line drive yesterday. Don’t worry, all you Pavano fans. He’s fine, aside from a little “stiffness”.
• What? You mean Mariano won’t be signing with the Red Sox next season? “I respect the players and I respect the organization, but we’ve had so much happen between us. I don’t think I could do it.” But just a couple of weeks ago he said…. Oh well, never mind.
• When you show up at a player’s home, wait for him to pull up to the gate (12:40 PM), and then manage to get in a couple of questions when he does, that’s not an interview. It’s stalking.
• The only one who appears to be keeping the Philip Hughes hype under control is Philip Hughes. Responding to the praise that is being heaped upon him by such authorities as Jason Giambi and Todd Pratt, Hughes responds: “It’s good to hear that, but I haven’t done anything.” There’s no doubt that the kid has talent. But if the Yankees aren’t able to control the hype, he could rise up and flame out faster than a baseball version of Britney Spears.
• John Heyman seems convinced that Carl “Heavy Legs” Pavano will be moved soon - possibly to Colorado, if the Yanks eat enough of his salary. Heyman is generally a reliable source. So look for the Yankee hype machine to start building him up during spring training, only to move him when it looks as though his comeback is assured.
• And in case you missed it, the New York Times revisits the “Man Who Dared To Challenge Jeter”, Chad Curtis. The word on the street was always that Jeter never spoke to Curtis again. Not true says Chad, though he still senses there is “something there” between the two.
Johnny Damon reports to camp five pounds overweight (217 lbs). And, proving once again that he’s more of an ex-Red Sock than a real Yankee, he is still blabbing on about his former team:
“They had a chance for a month and a half after the season, but when they don’t talk to you or offer you a contract in that time, it tells you they don’t want you.”
Zimmer defends Jeter, MLB.com, February 22, 2007
That’s right, it’s time to take sides. Fresh off yesterday’s victory in the eyes of the media, A-Rod is already facing backlash - from none other than Don Zimmer:
“They’re making [Jeter] out to be the bad guy. What has he done wrong? …What do you want [Jeter] to do, put his arm around him and kiss him?”
No kissing, Zim. Just sleepovers. But wait. There’s more:
“How in the hell can Jeter be criticized over A-Rod? I’m trying to figure it out. I don’t even understand it, but it makes me sick because I’m a Jeter man — me and millions others. …How in the hell could you ever make Jeter the villain, of all people, in this game?”
• Yesterday we wondered what the reaction to Jeter’s non-comments might be. And a surprising verdict is in: A-Rod comes off looking good, while Jeter appears to be the one getting the negative press. It’s a first in the Jeter / Rodriguez era: A-Rod has managed to upstage his counterpart.
• Gary Sheffield takes time out of his busy spring training schedule just long enough to take out his ex-manager once again, proclaiming, “Joe [Torre] took the fire out of me.” Give Sheff credit for originality - no player has ever gotten this much mileage off of Torre-related grievances.
• The problem with Bernie Williams and this lengthy ‘will he or won’t he’ saga is that even dedicated fans will begin to lose interest. He’s not reporting, yet he’s still working out. And out of loyalty, he says he will not join another team. Does this make him an all-time Yankee die-hard or just an idealistic has been? You know it’s getting bad when the meat of the report focuses on who will use Williams’ old locker this season.
Jeter: Relationship with A-Rod non-issue, AP, February 20, 2006
If A-Rod is going to get credit for being forthright, then what does Jeter deserve for today’s response?
“I would characterize it as it doesn’t make a difference. What we do away from the field, how much time we spend together, really makes no difference when we’re playing.”
So there you have it. The Captain believes the issue has no bearing on the games. And maybe it doesn’t - for him. But what about his former sleepover buddy? Does anyone believe that this has not affected his play?
A-Rod admits friendship with Jeter has cooled, AP, February 19, 2007
How bad are things between Jeter and A-Rod? Apparently much worse than we ever imagined. According to Rodriguez, relations have deteriorated to the point where sleepovers have become a thing of the past:
“The reality is there’s been a change in the relationship over 14 years and, hopefully, we can just put it behind us. You go from sleeping over at somebody’s house five days a week, and now you don’t sleep over.”
Moose And Pavano Meet To Make Peace, AP, February 17, 2007
Mike Mussina finally shows a little of the toughness fans have been craving and then quickly apologizes to Carl Pavano for it the next day. After his poor performance in last year’s playoffs, it is curious that Mussina has taken to opening his mouth against another pitcher. Then again, he never had a problem throwing A-Rod and others under the bus last season.
Meanwhile in today’s NY Post, Captain Jeter tries to convince everyone that he is in the dark (as usual) about the whole episode:
Asked if Pavano had issues to settle in the clubhouse, Jeter said, “I don’t know. How I could know that? He hasn’t been here. You can’t miss him when he has not been here.”
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