Yankees Steinbrenner Predicts - Or Is It Orders - World Series Title

(For Yankeees tickets, click on the title of this post.)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Welcome to "The Spring of George" at Legends Field.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, eager to bring a trophy back to New York and excited about the acquisition of Johnny Damon, predicted on Wednesday that this year's Yankees will win the franchise's first World Series title since 2000.

"It's been a while; we haven't won it," said Steinbrenner, who stopped to speak to TV and radio reporters. "We're going to win it this year. We're going after them this year."

The statements came as Steinbrenner, who has been more visible than usual during the first week of Spring Training, paid a visit to manager Joe Torre, parking himself on Torre's couch while the manager met with reporters.

Torre and Steinbrenner's icy relationship from last season has been well documented, and the manager made a point to address it in October as he decided whether to return for an 11th season with the Yankees.

The two men have already spoken several times this spring, so Wednesday's visit wasn't out of the ordinary, other than its timing.

"I can't do much to teach him anything," Steinbrenner said of his visits with Torre, "but I'm just there [for Torre] to know he's got my support."

Steinbrenner even muscled his way into Torre's interview session, injecting some laughter into the room. Torre was asked about the Yankees' pursuit of Damon after the 2001 season, when Jason Giambi expressed his desire to see his former Oakland teammate join him in the Bronx.

"I remember when we signed Jason, he said, 'Johnny Damon is out there,' " Torre said. "But he took all the money, so we couldn't do anything."

The words were barely out of Torre's mouth when Steinbrenner inserted his two cents into the conversation.

"You got some, didn't you?" Steinbrenner said.

"Thank you, sir," said a smiling Torre.

Mark Feinsand is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Carl Everett expects to win with Seattle Mariners

By GREGG BELL
AP SPORTS WRITER

PEORIA, Ariz. -- He hadn't even started his first Mariners workout, and already Carl Everett was spicing up a bland Seattle spring training.

By 8 a.m. Tuesday, minutes after arriving at his new clubhouse, Everett was whooping and churning out jokes. He teased 39-year-old pitcher Dave Burba for looking like the goody-goody player depicted on the league's posted notice on the proper way to wear a uniform.

Later, the Mariners' new designated hitter explained why he bought two weeks of spring training lunches for his Montreal teammates in 2004. He paid for catered hot food over the clubhouse cold cuts, because "when you get turkey, you get the whole turkey. Legs, hips, rear end. Everything."

But there was nothing about dinosaurs. Not yet, anyway.

"That's dude's crazy, man," said outfielder Matt Lawton, a fellow offseason Seattle import and locker neighbor who spent most of his morning at Everett's side. "Good luck with HIM."

On the field, trainers called the players to stretch before for the first full Seattle practice. Everett was using nail clippers to trim his fingernails.

Everett later pantomimed punches into the stomach of new hitting coach Jeff Pentland. Three times, he clowned with a television cameraman. He bellowed cackling, drawn out laughs at Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre around the batting cage.

The man infamous for once head-butting an umpire, spitting at and grabbing his crotch at Seattle pitcher Jamie Moyer after a home run and claiming dinosaurs never existed had landed with laughs onto his eighth team in 11 major-league seasons.

"Eight teams doesn't bother me," the 34-year-old former Marlin, Met, Astro, Red Sox, Ranger, Expo and White Sox said. "That means I'm wanted."

The Mariners, desperate for a left-handed power hitter, wanted him enough to pay the switch-hitter $3.4 million this season. Seattle also has a club option for 2007.

Everett earned $4 million last season with the World Series champion White Sox. He played in 135 games and batted .251 with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs.

It was the fourth time in his 11-year career he hit at least 20 home runs and drove in at least 80, yet Chicago declined its 2006 option.

Seattle then leaped for a potential spark for its complacent clubhouse and an even more inert offense.

"I heard this team was lax and laid back," Everett said. "I find they are very humorous and willing to play baseball - so far.

"The tone for me right now is it's going to be a great year."

Everett's first-day tone surprised some Mariners.

"Actually, being with him today, he was one of the nicest guys I've ever met," said Lawton, who has never played with Everett. "He's going to be great for our clubhouse, keeping guys loose.

"You see some many guys with the label 'Time bomb' and they are quiet, like they are about to explode. He was great."

Hold on, Matt. Everett warned those "time bomb" moments may still be coming.

"You're going to find when I'm not smiling, stay away from me," Everett said.

A hearty chuckle failed to hide his seriousness.

"I don't know what my reputation is. I've heard so much from so many different people," he said. "And, actually, I really don't care. But the guys in the clubhouse, they know who I am. They are around me more than anybody.

"I'm not a person who will let you get to know me - and that tends to offend people.

"I'm not looking for people to like me," he said. "I'm here to win."

Everett said he perceived that winning mentality to be lacking from the Mariners last year during their 69-93 season - Seattle's second consecutive 90-loss year.

"'Hope we're going to win,' that's exactly what I saw," Everett said. "It wasn't a team that went out to beat you every day."

With that, Everett rose from the picnic table he had been using as his pulpit. He then issued this ironic advisement:

"You all stay out of trouble."

Cubs pitcher Mark Prior starts carefully

By RICK GANO
AP SPORTS WRITER

MESA, Ariz. -- Mark Prior needs a quick start and a healthy one. He's opened the last two seasons on the disabled list, a place he doesn't want to visit again.

That's why Prior said he is taking a deliberate approach to getting ready for another season.

Nearly a week into spring training, he still hadn't thrown off the mound when the Chicago Cubs held their first full-squad workout Tuesday.

Slowed by a two-week throat infection this winter - one that sent him to the emergency room - his early regimen has been limited to throwing off flat ground and working on endurance.

"I've been on throwing programs before, but this one is a little more structured, trying to build up arm strength," Prior said Tuesday. "I'm doing extended amounts of sets, throwing 20-25 at a certain distance and then taking a little break and going back a little bit farther. I think I'm responding to it well. We talked about it last year, that's how it would be - take it a little bit slower or a little bit more methodical."

Prior has pitched in just one regular spring training game the last two years. In 2004 he was hampered by Achilles tendinitis, and last year had a sore elbow.

"I know what my history's been," he said.

Prior said his arm is fine. After recovering from his elbow soreness last season, he took a line drive off the elbow, rebounded from that trip to the DL and finished 11-6 in 27 starts with a 3.67 ERA.

In 2003 when Chicago made a run for the World Series in Prior's first full major league season, the 6-5 right-hander went 18-6, including 10-1 in the final two months.

Hampered by the injuries, he's just 17-11 in the ensuing two seasons.

"I feel good. I felt good out there yesterday, and I expect to be on the mound here in a couple of days," he said. "My body feels good. I'm getting closer. It's a process to get ready for the season. It's not just show up and go to work. I don't feel sick and weak."

Cubs manager Dusty Baker is satisfied with where Prior is at this point in the spring.

"I mean the guy, he's progressing like we said," Baker said. "Mark's going good. I asked him. I get tired of asking how he's doing, actually. And I'm sure he's tired of answering the questions himself."

Manny Ramirez given permission to report March 1

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Manny Ramirez will be in camp with the Boston Red Sox - just not for a few days.

After asking Boston to trade him during the offseason, the slugger was given permission to report to spring training on March 1, six days after the club's first full-squad workout and one day after Major League Baseball's mandatory reporting date.

"Manny is in Florida completing an extensive training regimen and is prepared to have an exceptional season," said a joint statement from Ramirez and the team that was released by the Red Sox on Tuesday.

"There are a lot of factors involved, some of them are personal, some are family related," general manager Theo Epstein said in Fort Myers, Fla. "He assured us that by staying in Miami and continuing to work with his personal trainer, continuing his regimen, that he wouldn't be behind. In the end, after talking to him, we were OK with accommodating him. It's not perfect, but we're going to support him through this."

Position players were due in town Wednesday, the day before the first workout. Baseball's collective bargaining agreement sets the mandatory reporting date as 33 days prior to the major league opener, which is April 2.

"It happens all the time, guys all over the big leagues show up at different times," Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said. "He'll be ready to play. Manny's one of those guys who if he didn't show up for spring training, I'd still know he'd be ready for the season when the season started."

In Scottsdale, Ariz., the San Francisco Giants gathered as a full team for the first time this year, with players getting the chance to hit, field, run and throw together as they prepare for the start of the season. There was one notable exception - Barry Bonds was nowhere to be found.

"It's nice to see everybody - not quite everybody," manager Felipe Alou said. "It always feels good when you see all of those guys."



Bonds was a no-show at the first voluntary workout for position players. His agent told the team last week that because of personal issues, the star would come a day or two later than his teammates, who showed up Monday.
"To me, he can get here whenever he feels he is ready because whenever he walks into this field he'll perform the way Barry has performed all of the time," Giants outfielder Moises Alou said.

In Tampa, Fla., Gary Sheffield reported to spring training and was upbeat after the New York Yankees said they'd likely keep him around for 2007.

Sheffield is entering the final season of a $39 million, three-year contract, and the Yankees hold a $13 million option for 2007.

"They brought me in and told me they were probably going to pick the option up," Sheffield said after meeting with general manager Brian Cashman. "You always want to earn whatever you get. I take a lot of pride in that. He didn't have to bring me in today. I appreciate that. When I was a free agent, a lot of teams called and I really didn't answer. There was only one place, and that still remains the same. I don't want to play for nobody else but the Yankees."

Cashman said there is no timetable regarding a final decision. Sheffield's contract calls for the option to be exercised within five days of the end of the World Series or Nov. 5.

"He's such a great player, I'd been surprised at the end of this thing we're not doing something," Cashman said. "Let's play this thing through and see where it goes. I'm not saying we'll do anything soon. I'm not saying we're not going to do anything until the very end. I don't know yet."

Miguel Tejada, who asked the Orioles to trade him during the offseason, was greeted by his Baltimore teammates one hug at a time in Fort Lauderdale., Fla.

Tejada said he told the Latin players, "I felt really embarrassed, because I'm not that kind of man. I'm not the kind of person that makes some trouble. Everything is over. Everything is straight."

After the two-hour workout, he told reporters, "It's never going to happen again."

In Vero Beach, Fla., Jeff Kent said the tense atmosphere in the Los Angeles Dodgers' clubhouse last season shouldn't be used as a reason for the team's 71-91 finish.

"That's not an excuse. Me and Barry fought all the time and we went to the World Series," Kent said, referring to his former teammate in San Francisco. "Just because we can't all always get along doesn't mean we shouldn't win. It still shouldn't have affected the way we played."

In Surprise, Ariz., Phil Nevin said he was eager to erase what he called "my most embarrassing season," acknowledging that he didn't respond well to a midseason trade that sent him from San Diego to Texas.

After acquiring Nevin for pitcher Chan Ho Park in July, the Rangers asked Nevin to be a DH. The team then went through a 1-12 trip and started looking at younger players. Nevin played in only 29 games for Texas, hitting .182 with three homers and eight RBIs in 99 at-bats.

"I didn't handle anything well," Nevin said. "It was my most embarrassing season, and I was basically immature about the whole situation."

A career .279 hitter, Nevin hit .289 in 2004 with 26 homers and 105 RBIs.

"I'm looking forward to making up for things this year," said Nevin, who is in the final year of a contract that makes him the highest-paid Rangers player at $10 million.

Rangers star Mark Teixeira knocked the cover off a ball during batting practice.

"I've never done that before," he said. "I think the cover was probably defective. I'm not taking credit for that one."

Nevertheless, he did put it away in his locker and said it might go in his trophy collection.

Barry Bonds arrives at Giants' camp

Barry Bonds arrives at Giants' camp

By JOSH DUBOW
AP SPORTS WRITER

San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds steps out of a vehicle as he reports to his Major League baseball spring training camp Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2006, in Scottsdale, Ariz. His agent told the team last week that because of personal issues, the star would come a day or two later than his teammates, who showed up Monday. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Barry Bonds showed up at the San Francisco Giants' camp Wednesday, one day after the slugger's teammates held their first full-team workout.

Bonds' agent told the team last week that because of personal issues the star would come a day or two later than his teammates, who showed up Monday. The mandatory reporting date for players is next Tuesday.

After having three knee operations and playing only 14 games last year, the Giants are eager to learn what they can expect from Bonds this season. He showed signs of his old self in his brief September return, hitting five homers in 42 at-bats to help the Giants make a late run at the San Diego Padres in the NL West that ultimately fell short.

Bonds, 41, has already caused a stir this spring with contradicting interviews he gave in the past week. He told USA Today that his knee bothered him so much he would probably retire after the season, with or without the home run record, then told MLB.com that his knee brace felt good enough for him to possibly play 10 more seasons.

Bonds is in the final season of his $90 million, five-year contract and will be eligible for free agency after the World Series, meaning his time with the Giants could be up even if he doesn't retire.

He is seven homers shy of passing Babe Ruth for second place and 48 away from breaking Aaron's record. Since Bonds has hit that many only twice in his 20-year career - including his record 73 in 2001 - it seems unlikely he'll break the mark this season.

After Using The "R" Word, Barry Bonds Backpedals

He's reportedly backing off his statement that after this year he was going to retire. Personally, I think Barry should not place so much emotion in his comments and keep some thoughts to himself. Of late, he seems to get himself into these positions where he regrets something he said.

Oh well. One thing's for sure: the Giants will be entertaining this year.

Don't forget to get tickets for the Giants games! Just click on the link.

Praying For The Day Barry Bonds Can Keep His Tongue Out of His Cheek

Read this from the USA Today. Barry says everyone can just forget about him. That's impossible and he doesn't want that anyway. Meanwhile, check this out, and click on the title post link to buy or sell SF Giants tickets. Thanks.

USA Today Claims: Barry Bonds to Retire After this Year

Published: February 19, 2006 8:45 PM ET

NEW YORK -- Barry Bonds says he plans to retire after this season, even if he doesn't break Hank Aaron's home run record.

The San Francisco Giants star was limited to 14 games last year following three knee operations. He has 708 homers, trailing only Babe Ruth (714) and Aaron (755).

"I'm not playing baseball anymore after this," Bonds was quoted by USA Today in a story posted on its Web site Sunday.

However, the Web site for Major League Baseball, mlb.com, reported Sunday that "in various conversations during the past few weeks with MLB.com, Bonds said he is considering retirement, but needs to have those conversations later in the season with the people closest to him.

"I'll play this year and I'm not sure about 2007," Bonds said.

But Bonds told USA Today: "I'm not playing baseball anymore after this. The game [isn't] fun anymore. I'm tired of all of the [stuff] going on. I want to play this year out, hopefully win, and once the season is over, go home and be with my family. Maybe then everybody can just forget about me."

Bonds underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee three times this past year and played in only 14 games, all in September, as the Giants made a late and unsuccessful run at the Padres for the National League West title.

Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank Working To Buy Braves

By TIM TUCKER and STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/15/06
Arthur Blank continues to pursue a purchase of the Braves.

Blank's representatives have had a series of meetings and discussions with Time Warner about the baseball team, the most recent on Tuesday, several people familiar with the situation told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Blank has been informed of Time Warner's asking price for the team — believed to be slightly upward of $400 million — and talks with him are more advanced than with any other prospective purchaser, sources said. He has not agreed to the asking price or yet made a counteroffer, they said

High on Josh Rupe: Texas Rangers Ready for Season - Start Spring Training in March

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Rangers officials met before Spring Training to review club personnel, and rookie pitcher Josh Rupe's name came up for discussion.
As coaches and scouts weighed in around the room, there were those who felt Rupe had an immediate future as the Rangers' fifth starter, and those who envisioned either an eighth-inning setup reliever, or eventually a closer.

A more precise measurement of where Rupe stands might be gauged from the fielding group he has been in during the Rangers' first couple of workouts in the desert.

While incumbent fifth starter Juan Dominguez and other rotation candidates were working on other fields, Rupe was placed in a group that includes Kevin Millwood, Adam Eaton, Vicente Padilla and Kameron Loe.

This is a camp, under the careful eye of manager Buck Showalter and pitching coach Mark Connor, where nothing is done by accident or at random, including putting a rookie like Rupe in the same fielding group as the four established members of the rotation.

"We like this kid and his stuff," Connor said after Friday's workout. "This kid has got the ability to do anything in the Majors. Like Juan Dominguez, it's a matter of consistency."