Hardly a peep about the Yanks to start the holiday week. The Mets are busy entertaining Billy Wagner and it appears that the Marlins are set to have another tag sale, but all is quiet in the Bronx. So I thought this might be a good opportunity to dig in the archives and pull out something in honor of giving thanks. Thanks for the relative sanity the organization has presented to the fans over the past decade, and thanks for the memories for the wild old days.

The Bronx Zoo Yankees would make for a great movie. It may be redundant to make a fictionalize version of a team that was so theatrical in it’s own right, but that’s okay. If they can make full-length features out of Scooby Doo and Fat Albert, they can make one on the 70’s Yankees too.

I doubt it would ever happen in George’s lifetime, but it’s a cinch for a comedy classic. Too bad that 70’s Retro is now passe. I picture the Bronx Zoo movie to be a cross between “Slap Shot” and “Boogie Nights”; “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “The Turning Point”; “The Bad News Bears” and “The Poseidan Adventure.” And maybe a dash of “Car Wash” to top it off. It would definitely have to have a “R” rating.

The costumes and soundtrack alone would be worth the price of admission. Get a group of terrific spaz method actors, and you’re set.

Ed Linn’s book “Steinbrenner’s Yankees” details the Billy, George, Reggie years expertly, and provides excellent fodder for a script. Bill Madden and Moss Klein’s “Damned Yankees” is also essential Bronx Zoo reading. (Both books can be had for peanuts on Amazon or Barnes and Nobles used section on-line.)

Here is an example that caught my funny bone: It is spring training, 1977. Reggie Jackson had just brought his star with him to Yankee camp after the Big Red Machine swept the Yankees the year before. Already, the camp was fraught with tension. But Reggie doesn’t appear in this scene…

(more…)

Not a lot of encouraging signs for the Yankees and the free agent market over the past few days. The search for bullpen help is looking kinda grim at this point. Reports from Newsday and The Daily News suggest that the team is not close to any kind of deal with Brian Giles. Joe Torre, whose recruitment call to reliever Scott Eyre did not convince the southpaw to come to the Bronx, has reportedly been playing phone tag with Giles. While some feel that Giles–likely a one-year, part-time stop-gap at center–isn’t suited to the position, others suggest there is no way he’ll come to New York either.

Fortunately, the Bombers don’t appear to have any interest in trading for Florida’s Juan Pierre, but they have poked around about free agent Johnny Damon, who is bound to earn a pretty penny from someone by the time training camp opens.

The other news that made the rumor mill a few days back was that Carl Pavano was unhappy in pinstripes last year and wants to be dealt. The Tigers is the name that has popped up as a possible suitor. There’s been nothing from Pavano directly, and I have to say, I’ve got precious little sympathy for the man. I understand that New York and Boston aren’t suited for everyone–fair enough. But don’t take a boatload of dough and then start riffing. Hey Stoonatz, what did you think it was going to be like in the Bronx? What, were you born yesterday, you incredible putz you?

Jane Leavy, who wrote the acclaimed Sandy Koufax biography, is currently researching her next project, a biography of Mickey Mantle. Originally, her latest book was going to be about Willie-Mickey-and the Duke, but, due to several factors–including the fact that for all of the ink spilled on Mantle there hasn’t ever really been a great book about him–it is now a Mickey book. That doesn’t mean that Mays and Snider won’t still figure prominently in the narrative though. Currently, Leavy is interested in hearing from anyone with any recollections or memories of all three players. In particular, she’d love to find someone who saw Mays play stickball in the streets of Harlem, and anyone who was a Willie-guy and would make the case that he he was the best of the three.

As far as Mantle goes, Leavy wrote me in a recent e-mail:

“These are the dates of major interest in Mantle’s career that I will focus on. I would want to speak to anyone who attended any of the following games or who has a particular memory associated with these events. I am also looking for anyone who saw him at The Claridge Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. Needless-to-say any fabulous Mantle anecdotes are welcome. I set up a new e-mail address where I can be contacted. It is: BaseballJaneDC@aol.com.”

March 26, 1951—spring training game at Bovard Field at USC
April 17, 1951—major league debut
May 1, 1951—first major league home run
October 5, 1951—Injures knee in Game two of the 1951 World Series
October 6, 1951—Hospitalized at Lennox Hill in NYC
October 2, 1952—appears on “I’ve Got A Secret”
April 17,1953—first “tape measure home run” at Griffith Stadium in DC
May 17, 1953—appears on “What’s My Line
May 13, 1955—hits three home runs
June 5, 1955—Comisky Park home run off Billy Pierce
May 30, 1956—hits ball off Yankee Stadium facade off Pedro Ramos
Sept. 30, 1956—beats Ted Williams for batting title to win Triple Crown
October 8, 1956—catch preserves Larsen’s perfect World Series game
December 28, 1956—appears on “The Bob Hope Show”
May 16, 1957—The Copacabana brawl
Sept. 10, 1960—Tiger Stadium home run off Paul Foytack
Sept. 29, 1961—admitted to hospital with hip infection
October 8, 1961—plays game four of the World Series with blood seeping through his uniform.
May18, 1962-collapses in the first baseline trying to beat out a grounder to short in the bottom of the ninth.
May 22, 1963—hits ball off Yankee Stadium facade off Bill Fischer
Sept. 1, 1963—Hang-over home run in Baltimore
October 15, 1964—hits his 17th World Series home run off Barney Schultz in the ninth inning of game three of 1964 World Series.
Sept. 18, 1965—Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium
Sept. 20, 1968—last home run
Sept. 28, 1968—last at bat
March 1, 1969—Announces his retirement
June 8, 1969-Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium.
April 9, 1970—appears on Dick Cavett show
May 12, 1970—appears on Mike Douglass show
May 5, 1971—appears on Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
August 10, 1974—inducted into Hall of Fame
June 15, 1977—appears on Dinah Shore talk show
February 2, 1983—Banished from baseball because of his affiliation with The Claridge Hotel and Casino.
April-May, 1983—appears on CBS Sunday Morning
August 20, 1985—appears on Late Night with David Letterman
October 20, 1988—interview with Bob Costas
December 29, 1989—Billy Martin funeral
October 21, 1991—interview with Bob Costas
January 7, 1994—Enters the Betty Ford Clinic
March 12, 1994—Billy Mantle dies at age 36
June 8, 1995—Receives a liver transplant
July 28, 1995—Last press conference
August 13, 1995—Dies at age 63
December 20, 2000—Mickey Mantle Jr. dies at age 47

If you know of anyone who may be able to help out, please pass this along. I know Leavy sure would appreciate it.

General Manager Brian Cashman met with the Yankee brass down in Tampa yesterday to discuss the team’s course of action this winter. While they are hot on Brian Giles, reports have it that BJ Ryan is not likely to come to the Bronx as a set up man. Scott Eyre signed with the Cubs yesterday. Tom Gordon wants to close. Do all signs point to knucklehead Kyle Farnsworth? Oy.

I’ve got a guest article over at Rich Lederer’s Baseball Analysts site today. It is a piece about women and baseball and well as a tribute to a great friend of mine. The post is one that is close to my heart and if you have the time, head on over and check it out. Thanks.

Whether or not it is a long shot, the Yankees appear to be serious about the possibility of bringing Brian Giles to the Bronx. Brian Cashman has spoken with Giles’ agent six times in the past ten days, and Joe Torre has even picked up the phone, as he did with Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi in the past, to brief Giles on what it is like to play in New York. According to The Daily News:

“In those situations, I just want to talk to (players) about what it’s like to come to New York,” Torre said, speaking generally about his approach to these types of conversations. “It’s not that complex. I remember when I did it with (Mike) Mussina, who people said he wouldn’t want to come here. I just want to give them an idea of what’s true about playing here and what’s not.”

Meanwhile, Michael Morrisey reports in the Post that Cashman spoke with Bernie Williams’ agent, Scott Boras briefly on Tuesday:

“I told him, it’s for another day,” Cashman said. “In the event there’s a role here for Bernie, it would be a secondary role, not an everyday situation.

“And how we approach that every winter is that doesn’t get pushed up front. We deal with that after we tackle the other areas: our bullpen, if we can upgrade center field.

“That’s all I can say. We haven’t had any negotiations with Bernie at this point.”

I like Bernie so much that I would be happy to see him return in Ruben Sierra’s role. But as several fans have pointed out recently, Williams on the bench makes them nervous, mostly because they feel that Torre–who loves his veterans–would wind up giving Williams far more burn than he deserves.

Lastly, Matt Smith, a left-handed pitcher in the Yankee system has been discussed as a possible addition to the major league bullpen next season.

On a hot August evening last summer I met a guy named Bill Kent on my way home. We got to talking and as it turns out, he is a great New York Giants fan. He told me that he gets together with a group of old Giants fans several times a year and invited me to come along to one of the gatherings. I missed the shindig in September but last night, I headed up to the Hunan Balcony on Johnson avenue in Riverdale–just a few blocks away from my apartment–for Chinese and baseball with a dozen or so other fans.

I used to swear by the old Groucho Marx line (filtered through Woody Allen) about not wanting to belong to any kind of club that would have someone like me for a member, but am happy to say, I’m way past that now. I am honored to hang around or be associated with a group of baseball nerds, regardless of their age. There was a reporter there from The Riverdale Press who is a few years younger than me, and we were by the far the youngest of the group. Most of the guys were Giants fans, but there was also a Dodger fan, and a guy who was simply a baseball fan too. Some kept up with the Giants once they moved to the west coast, while others gravitated to the Mets, and even more, to the Yankees.

They were great company. I peppered them with questions about Leo the Lip, Bill Rigney, Alvin Dark, and the Polo Grounds shuttle, a train that ran from Manhattan over the east river and into the Bronx. As we were breaking up for the night, Steve, who I had not gotten the chance to really chat with because of where we had been sitting, asked if I had gotten a satisfactory answer to my subway question. I told him that I hadn’t, and being a subway buff, he gave me the skinny. As it turns out, the 9th avenue El, which was discontinued in 1939, went up the west side of Manhattan and then curved over into the bronx, over a bridge that is no longer there, and connected with the Woodlawn line (or the Lexington avenue line, the 4 train, as it is more commonly known). Well, when they took down the line, they kept the last portion of it, primarily as a way to get from the Bronx to the Polo Grounds.

The baseball talk was terrific. Bill, holding court, made some announcements about a mailing list and getting a Giants newsletter, and then had some random interjections like, “They’ve got brown rice if anyone wants.” There were stories about Yankee third baseman named Celerino Sanchez, as well as the slow-footed catcher Ernie Lombardi, who evidentally was even slower than the Molina brothers are today. Bill told us of the time that he and a kid from his neighborhood, a wiseass named Lenny, heckled Lomardi from the bleachers at the Polo Grounds before the game. He was busting on Lombardi for being so slow and Lombardi went after little Lenny with the high-pitched voice and according to Bill, chased him the length of the field. Bill said he spoke to Lenny not so long ago, and Lenny was still sore about Lombardi going after him.

The guys had terrific faces–one looked like he could be related to Yogi Berra, another like he could be Whitey Ford’s cousin. One guy looked like Ron Silver, another like basketball broadcaster Bill Raftery, another like a cross between Edmund Wilson and Gordon Jump. One fella brought posters to show us, and another is writing a book about Bill Terry. And even better than their mugs was their accents–bonafide New Yorkese, man. It was like listening to music–everyone gabbing over each other. Really, I was in heaven. I mean, how great is it to learn about a guy with a name like Celerino Sanchez eating chicken with Broccoli with a group of baseball guys in the Bronx? Riddle me that.

Oh, and when the fortune cookies and orange slices came, everyone grabbed for the cookies but nobody read their fortunes aloud. Know what mine said? “Love.” I’ve never had a one word fortune before, but that one just about said it all.

As expected, the Bombers inked outfielder Hideki Matsui to a four-year deal, worth $52 million. It is a steep price to pay, but even if Matsui doesn’t give the Yankees great value on the field for the duration of the contract, his stature as Japan’s greatest star means big bucks for the team. Matsui was a relative bargain for the past three years and has been a solid, and exceedingly affable player.

The Yanks also excerised their option on Taynon Sturtze, who will make $1.5 million in 2006.

I can’t begin to tell you how pleased I am to have the AL MVP race decided and behind us. In fact, I think I’m more pleased that I won’t have to hear about it any more than I am that the voters got the top two spots right. With that all said and done, the BBWAA will make its final award announcement this afternoon when they name an MVP for the National League.

Despite the cockamamie logic of some who think the trophy should be heading to Atlanta, this is a two-man race, and neither of those men is Andruw Jones. Observe:

It pains me to even include Jones in the above chart, but, having done so, I think it’s painfully obvious that he doesn’t belong.

(more…)

According to various reports, the Yankees are closing in on re-signing Hideki Matsui for a deal in the neighborhood of 4 years, $50 million:

“I don’t care much about the number of years,” Matsui told Kyodo News Sunday. “You might think the longer a deal runs, the better. But it’s not necessarily so because I can be given the same opportunity as I have now again if it runs over a relatively short period.”
(Newsday)

By midnight tonight, Matsui will have his new deal.

In a minor note, relief pitcher Taynon Sturtze is due to become a free agent tomorrow if the Yankees don’t exercise his $1.5 million option today. Michael Morrissey reports in the Post that, “A team source said no final decision had been made, but the Yanks are leaning toward keeping him.”

As I happily reported the news that Alex Rodriguez had won the AL MVP to Yankee fans around the office yesterday, more than a few rolled their eyes and immediately made a disparaging remark about his performance against the Angels in the ALDS. Today, the back page of the Daily News reads, “More Bling (But No Ring)” while the Post screams “MVP But…Lack of rings rarnishes A-Rod’s second AL trophy.”

Rodriguez is the first Yankee to win an MVP since Don Mattingly nabbed it in 1985, and is the fourth player to win the award at two different positions. Jeez, I don’t recall there being so many qualifiers when Mattingly won. No, for this kind of contempt and lack of appreciation you’ve got to think back on how Darryl Strawberry, or Rickey Henderson or Dave Winfield were often treated in New York. Nothing they did was ever good enough. Give us a World Serious championship or You Stink. Wa-wa-wah. Sometimes New Yorkers are nothing but a bunch of big babies.

Forget about the fact the fact that Rodriguez has just recorded the two best seasons ever by a Yankee third baseman. Sir, he’s no Derek Jeter (nevermind that his regular season numbers against the Red Sox for the past two years are better than the captains, or the fact that Jeter’s two Gold Glove awards can be partly attributed to Rodriguez’s arrival at the hot corner). Rodriguez is a playoff bust. Nevermind the fact that he sported a .330 career playoff average going into the post-season this year. Forget the great series he had against the Twins in the ALDS in 2004. Let’s just recall how he did in the last four games against Boston in 2004, not the first three games. Let’s gloss over how poorly Matsui and Sheffield performed over that span. As a matter of fact, let’s forget everything Rodriguez has brought to New York but his failures.

When he won the award in 2003 it didn’t count because he played for a bad Rangers team, this year it doesn’t count because the Bombers didn’t win the World Serious. Mike Lupica, who has criticized the Yankees in recent years for being joyless, and Yankee fans for buying into Steinbrenner’s culture of entitlement, is just one of many local columnists who doesn’t appreciate what Rodriguez has done in New York. He focuses on what he hasn’t done. Man, Lupica kind of sounds like…a typical Yankee fan, doesn’t he?

Look, I’m not saying that Rodriguez is the most likable player in town. In fact, I understand why it is easy not to like him. I also think that there is some truth to the notion that he can tense-up in big situations. Not always, but sometimes. But man, if a player ever has to have a flaw, I’d rather it be because he’s trying too hard and not hard enough. Regardless, Rodriguez’s performance in big games isn’t as poor as Barry Bonds’ was for many years, or even Mike Schmidt’s for a few years there. In fact, you can check the record books and find any number of great players–including the likes of Mickey Mantle–who had horrible post seasons. The point is, the coverage Rodriguez has received has been grossly unfair. Moreover, it is sad when we can’t recognize a player’s accomplishments because we are so fixated on what they haven’t yet accomplished. Yeah, yeah, I know, it comes with the territory with Rodriguez. But does it have to come with the territory for us as fans too?

I’m proud to report that Alex Rodriguez was named the Most Valuable Player of the American League this afternoon. In a close ballot, Rodriguez got 331 total points, to David Ortiz’s 307. This is Rodriguez’s second career MVP. He is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, had a terrific year, and deserved to win the hardware. This is the first time a Yankee has won the award since Don Mattingly earned it in 1985 (Steve Lombardi had five on it, don’tcha know).

So after all the hot air and furious debate about who should win the AL MVP, the award will be announced on Monday at around 2:00. I’m not interested in rehashing the arguments now, but I am curious as to who you think will win it (not who should win but who will win)?

My money is on Ortiz, though I hope I’m wrong.

According the The Daily News, the Yankees may have interest in the right-handed relief pitcher, Kyle Farnsworth. Ugh. There are few players in the game I dislike more than Farnsworth, and it’s not because I’ve read that he’s a complete mook off-the-field. It’s because he can throw the ball 100 mph but in a crucial spot (like Game Four against the Astros this past off-season), he’ll start mincing around with his slider, his splitter, falling in love with them, when he could just blow guys away with the heater. (His breaking pitches are nice, but that’s not the point, the point is they are not his strength.) Farnsworth is Nuke Laloosh come to life but without the winning personality, the flake to make him somehow tolerable. He’s probably best served as the team’s defacto brawler should a fight every break out.

Now, if the Yankees signed both B.J. Ryan and Farnsworth, I won’t complain. But if Farnsworth is an alternative to Ryan, I’ll be moaning ’til the cows come home.

The Bombers are expected to sign Hideki Matsui by Tuesday. When all is said and done, expect Godzilla’s pockets to be fat, not flat.

As former Yankee Javey Vazquez officially requested to be traded on Friday, it appears as if the Yankees are seriously interested in Brian Giles. Again, according to The Daily News:

There was a pause of sorts in the Yankees’ negotiations with left fielder Hideki Matsui yesterday as GM Brian Cashman spent most of the day flying back from the GM meetings in California. But before he left, Cashman made contact again with the agent for another outfielder, Brian Giles, who could be developing into a candidate to take over for Bernie Williams in center field.

Cashman and Joe Bick, Giles’ agent, spoke for at least the third time and Bick said the two “moved things ahead, talked about some comparable players, things of that nature.”

Bick would not be more specific, but he reiterated that Giles would like to play in New York, though Giles has a reputation as a West Coast kind of guy.

Over at the Replacement Level Yankees Weblog, SG thinks that a Giles-Matsui-Sheff outfield would be hard to resist:

Giles has not played center field regularly since 2000, although he has seen spot duty there as recently as last year. If the Yankees are considering signing both Giles and Matsui, they’ll probably have the best hitting OF in baseball, although defense will continue to be a problem. While Giles is going to be 35, he is still a very good offensive player who should be reasonable risk on a 2 or 3 year deal. While I wish the Yankees would stop signing older players, if this is the alternative that does not involve trading away young prospects, it’s probably the smart way to proceed. Let’s hope Joe Kerrigan can teach every pitcher on the staff a 2 seam fastball.

Steve Lombardi has a slightly different take:

Giles can help the Yankees – but not as a full-time CF. After watching Bernie Williams out there for the last few seasons, and seeing catchable balls fall for hits and not seeing any hits turned into outs, I’m shocked that the Yankees would consider putting another non-centerfielder in the 8-slot for 2006.

But, maybe what the Yankees are thinking here is that they use Giles to play some CF in 2006 – maybe no more than 50 games, and the rest of the time he plays RF (with Sheffield being the DH). And, Bubba Crosby gets over 100+ games in CF as a starter (with Giles in RF and Sheffield as DH).

SG goes on to mention that the Yankees will likely overpay for Matsui but they don’t have much of a cherce.

While Brian Cashman’s dinner with Godzilla’s agent apparently went well last night, the team is still looking for a center fielder. According to The Daily News, the Bombers approached the White Sox about the possibility of acquiring Aaron Rowand in a trade only to find that there currently isn’t a match that fits. However, the Yanks still are interested in Brian Giles:

There is some skepticism within the organization about whether he’d be suited to handle playing center field every day, but the Yankees made contact with Giles’ agent, Joe Bick, during the period when free agents could talk money only with their former clubs and are expected to check back with Bick now that the exclusivity window has passed.

Privately, the Yankees believe Giles would prefer to remain on the West Coast, but Bick said his client has no geographic restrictions. “I know that’s been said, but I can tell you that Brian’s preference is to be in a situation where the team has a real chance to win,” Bick said in a telephone interview. “There’s no doubt, he likes the convenience of being on the West Coast, but he is going into this with a totally open mind.”

Giles may not exactly fit the Yankees need for a defensive upgrade, but man, if they could ink both Matsui and Giles, I will not riff. I maintain that he’d be a great Yankee.

As went the American League Cy Young Award, so shall go the National League Cy Young. Last year’s winner was clearly the best pitcher in the league, but won’t win the award due to an unsatisfactory win total:

There are two reasons that Roger Clemens not winning this award will be less troubling than Johan Santana not winning in the AL. The first is that, while both pitchers took home the award in 2004, only Santana deserved it. Randy Johnson was easily the best pitcher in the National League in 2004, but, as we learned when discussing Santana’s case this year, his 16 wins simply weren’t enough. Instead the award went to the 18-4 Clemens, marking the second time this decade that Clemens had won a Cy Young award that should have gone to someone else (the other being the 2001 AL award, which Clemens won with a 20-3 record despite being clearly inferior to the 17-11 Mike Mussina). As a result, I won’t cry any tears over the fact that the Rocket won’t win his eighth Cy Young when he should only be winning his sixth.

What also makes Clemens not winning this award easier to take than Santana not winning in the AL is that the NL race is much tighter. Eliminating Clemens from the discussion, a solid case could be made for any of the remaining four pitchers on the chart above. Pettitte is second in ERA, ERA+ and VORP and leads in BB/9. Pedro Martinez leads in WHIP and K/9. Carpenter leads in strikeouts and is second to Pedro and Pettitte respectively in K/9 and BB/9. Willis leads in wins and HR/9 and is a surprisingly close second in RSAA, he also lead the majors with five shutouts and seven complete games.

Of course, wins are a team-dependent stat, and Willis’s HR/9 is a result of pitching in an extreme pitchers park. His RSAA is attractive, but he’s worst on this list in loses, Ks, WHIP, H/9 and K/9. Martinez, meanwhile, is worst in ERA+ (again due to pitching in a pitchers park), HR/9, VORP and RSAA.

Eliminating those two boils it down to Carpenter and Pettitte. Of the two, Pettitte has the better VORP, Carpenter the better RSAA. Their WHIPs, H/9, HR/9, and K/BB (4.17 and 4.18) are all nearly identical. Pettitte has a clear lead in ERA and ERA+, but Carpenter has the more attractive record and the even more eye-pleasing triple crown stats that all start with 2s (20 wins, 200 Ks, sub-3.00 ERA). Carpenter also tied Willis with 7 shutouts and finished one behind Dontrelle with four shutouts. The temptation is to favor Pettitte because he pitches his home games in an extreme hitters park, but shockingly the Juice Box played as a slight pitchers park this year (park factor of 98 to a 101 for Busch in its final season). With that in mind, it’s really a coin flip as to who the second best pitcher in the National League was this year. I’m fairly certain the writers will choose Carpenter. If so, I won’t complain.

“Absolutely, staying with the Yankees is my first priority,” [Hideki] Matsui told Sankei Sports. “But I want to feel that the Yankees really need me. I want to be respected. If I feel the Yankees do not need me anymore, I am ready to [talk to another team].”
(Hartford Courant)

Brian Cashman met with Hideki Matsui’s agent, Arm Tellem last night (in an editorial today in the Times, Murray Chass explains why Tellem is such a shrewd operator). It is expected that Matsui will remain in New York, but he won’t be a bargain. While Joe Torre has acknowledged that Matsui is most comfortable in center field, it is unlikely that the Bombers will go that route. Well, how about Rafael Furcal? Say again? Well, according to Ken Rosenthal:

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman asked one of Furcal’s representatives if Furcal would be willing to play center. Furcal, 28, likely will rule nothing out at this early stage of free agency — he routinely shags fly balls with Braves teammate Andruw Jones and jokes about replacing him in center. He not only is athletic enough to play the position, but also could bat leadoff for the Yankees, forming a dynamic 1-2 combination with Derek Jeter.

Even if the Yankees aren’t completely serious — and when are they not? — the high demand for Furcal almost certainly will enable him to land a five-year contract and possibly a six-year deal.

That’s rich, huh? Meanwhile, Joe Torre tells Daily News Yankee writer Anthony McCarron, that he’s spoken with Bernie Williams:

The two old friends had played phone tag for about a week before finally talking yesterday and Joe Torre came away with the sense that Bernie Williams wanted to continue his career as a Yankee, though Williams knows that he’d be a sub rather than the team’s starting center fielder.

…”I think he’d like to stay. Nobody’s making commitments either way and he knows center field isn’t what I’ve had for 10years, where he’s been the first man on the field…. I sense that he wants to come back in a different role.”

In the same article, Torre also endorsed the idea of giving Andy Phillips an opportunity to be the second-string first baseman.

There are Alfonso Soriano and Manny Ramirez rumors involving the Mets this morning, but not much in the way of our boys in the Bronx. One item that caught my eye though, concerns what the Yanks might do about a back-up first baseman. According to Sam Borden in The Daily News:

GM Brian Cashman said the Yankees are looking at Andy Phillips as the likely replacement for Martinez at first, since he provides a cheap, righthanded option to complement Jason Giambi.

“We’d like to see what (Phillips) can do,” Cashman said of the 28-year-old. “That’s our initial thought and we think he’d do very well if given the chance. We’re not locked into it, but it’s a direction we’re looking at.”

Can you dig it, Cliff? Next thing you know they’ll be giving Colter Bean a shot at middle relief. Say it ain’t so, my brother.

Tom Verducci has this from Palm Springs:

The New York Yankees declined the 2006 option on first baseman Tino Martinez, opting to pay a $250,000 buyout rather than bring him back at $3 million for 2006.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman denied that the club would use catcher Jorge Posada as their first baseman, with Jason Giambi filling the designated-hitter role full time.

According to baseball executives at the general managers meetings here, the Yankees have floated Posada’s name on the trade market. He does not have a no-trade provision. The Yankees, though, have no real expectations of moving Posada because of his hefty contract.