On the Yankees beat

Good news on Andy Pettitte for Yankees fans -- he told Houston TV station KRIV that he'll either play for the Yankees next year (he has a $16-million player option) or not at all.

“The New York Yankees committed an awful lot of money to me and put it in my hands, gave me a player option and trusted me with that option,” Pettitte told KRIV Tuesday. “It probably wouldn’t be real honorable for me not to do anything other than if I shut it down, shut it down or go back and play for the New York Yankees.”
Pettitte has until 10 days after the conclusion of the World Series (Nov. 7th) to let the Yankees know whether or not he plans to pick up the $16-million option on his contract for 2008. This year was his first season back with the Yankees after a three-year hiatus with his hometown Astros. The 35-year-old lefty was 15-9 with a 4.05 ERA.
Pettitte was and is a big supporter of now-departed manager Joe Torre. However, he said he won’t let that affect his decision.
“It won’t,” Pettitte told KRIV. “I gotta figure out in my own mind exactly what I want to do. I know a lot of speculation is out there as far as with skip losing the job an stuff like that, what effect it would have. But the Yankees gave me the contract. That’s the organization that has committed to me and it won’t have any bearing.”

Also, I spoke to Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long this morning and he is thrilled to be returning with a three-year deal. Sometimes it's easy to forget how insecure a coach's life can be. They rarely have multiyear contracts, and since there can be so much moving around, often don't bring their family with them place-to-place. When Long went home to Arizona at the end of the season, he hadn't been there since before spring training and had only seen his wife and three kids a couple of times. His new contract will make life a lot easier for them. He said he is extremely grateful to the Yankees and glad to be returning.

So to recap the last 50 hours or so:

Sunday
10:15 pm. -- Word breaks that Alex Rodriguez has opted out of his contract (10:30 p.m., Yankees GM Brian Cashman gets the word)
11:30 p.m.--Red Sox win the World Series, Joe Girardi is considered likely next Yankees manager
Monday
early afternoon--officials acknowledge Girardi has been offered the job
afternoon--MLB rebukes Scott Boras for his timing on A-Rod's news
early evening--Don Mattingly expresses disappointment at not getting job
Tuesday
noon--Mariano Rivera and agent Fernando Cuza in Tampa to meet with Yankees officials
early afternoon--Girardi accepted the offer, officially announced as Yankees manger
4 p.m.--Mattingly conference call
4:30 p.m.--Girardi conference call
7 p.m.--Grady Little resigns as Dodgers manager, he and GM Ned Colletti have a conference call
late--Torre to be next Dodgers manager, unofficially

Joe Girardi's conference call, with Brian Cashman, is scheduled for 4:30, so I'll pass on comments from that then.

There's still no word when the Yankees might formally announce the hiring of Joe Girardi as manager. They have yet to schedule a conference call. But runner-up Don Mattingly is having a conference call at 4 p.m., so I'll be sure to pass on his thoughts on the situation.
Girardi's contract runs for three years at $2.2-2.5 million per year.
According to the Associated Press, Mariano Rivera and his agent Fern Cuza met with the Yankees at Legends Field in Tampa today. On his way in, just before noon, Rivera said, "We've got to see something today." He left Legends about an hour ago, again according to the AP, and is scheduled to be in New York tonight to receive an honor from the Boys and Girls Club.

I've got statements from Don Mattingly on not getting the job, and Brian Cashman on Alex Rodriguez opting out.

Here's the Mattingly statement, courtesy of his representative, Ray Schulte:
For Immediate Release

Statement from Ray Schulte, Spokesman for Don Mattingly

“Don was extremely disappointed to learn today that he wasn’t the
organizations choice to fill the managerial vacancy. Instead, he was
informed the organization offered the position to Joe Giradi.

Don feels both Joe and Tony Pena represent true professionalism both on
and off the field and he was honored to be among them as candidates
for the managerial position. Don extends congratulations to Joe and
wishes him and the organization good luck next year!

Today is a very difficult day because managing the Yankees was Don’s
aspiration and goal since becoming the hitting coach four years ago.
Even though this opportunity has passed him by he wants to thank Mr.
Steinbrenner for his initial faith, inspiration and support throughout
his playing and coaching career.

Don will use this time to reflect on this experience while considering
future family and career options. In the meantime, he did inform the
Yankee’s that given the circumstances he won’t accept a coaching
position within the organization during 2008.”

And here's the statement from Cashman:

“I received a message from Scott Boras last night informing me that Alex Rodriguez formally opted out of the final three seasons of his contract. We always understood that it was his contractual right to do so.

“We expressed our interest in keeping him in pinstripes, and requested the opportunity to convey those feelings to him directly with the Steinbrenner family in an open, face-to-face dialogue.

“Alex was a key part of our success over the last four seasons, and I appreciate having the opportunity to work with him. I wish Alex, Cynthia and their growing family the best of luck in the future. I only wish we could have raised a championship trophy together during his time here, which was the ultimate goal we all shared.”

Joe Girardi has been offered the job as Yankees manager. As expected, Girardi received a formal offer from the Yankees this morning for three years and something close to $6 million. I'd expect a formal announcement later today, with a press conference possibly tomorrow.

What do you think? Do you want Girardi? Did you want Mattingly? Or Tony Pena?

This night has been nuts for sure. Mainly the last three hours or so. It seems Joe Girardi is going to be the next Yankees manager. All signs are pointing that direction, though the Yankees have not confirmed that.
But the absolute news and stunner is that Alex Rodriguez opted out --- during the final game of the World Series!! Longtime Newsday writer and now SI.com writer Jon Heyman was first to report the opting out. The Yankees have said for many months that they would be out if Rodriguez opted out, but everyone figured it would go right down to the deadline (10 days after the end of the World Series). The Rangers, who originally signed Rodriguez to the 10-year, $252-million contract, were to pay more than $21 million over the next three seasons, which is why the Yankees have been so adamant they would give Rodriguez an extension but not negotiate with him if he opted out. We'll see if they stick to that.

Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, saidd by phone last night in confirming the optout: "Alex called me today and instructed me to send notice to the Yankees to that effect."
Boras said he had informed the Yankees in writing, but also spoke with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman at about 10:30 p.m and that Cashman said he appreciated the call.

Boras emphasized that Rodriguez was uncertain about the direction the Yankees are going, with potential free agents Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte. "Essentially he just didn't feel he could make any decision in the short period of time because he wanted to know the composition of the team," Boras said. "He wanted to know what Rivera and Posada and Andy Pettitte were going to do."

Here's the link to my full story. We'll have much more tomorrow.http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-sparod102807,0,5153414.story

SI.com is reporting that Alex Rodriguez's agent Scott Boras told the Yankees today that A-Rod is outing out of his contract.

Obviously, this is quite unexpected, considering the deadline to do so wasn't until 10 days after the World Series. The Yankees never had the chance to meet with Rodriguez in person and deliver their offer.

Now we'll see if what Brian Cashman, Hank Steinbrenner and other Yankees officials have said is really true, that they won't pursue A-Rod. Just a bluff? If so, players and agents can't ever trust anything they say again. You bet the Yankees know this.

Somewhere, Tom Hicks is celebrating. Now he doesn't have to pay part of A-Rod's salary anymore.

(Here's the link to the SI story, broken by former longtime Newsday scribe Jon Heyman. BTW, in case you're wondering, I'm posting this blog because Kat is understandably under the gun writing for the newspaper.)

What a twist. WHAT A TWIST!

So is A-Rod really going to be playing elsewhere next year? Sure seems like it.

Meet your Opening Day third baseman, Wilson Betemit.

The two biggest question-marks of the moment are who will be the next Yankees' manager (that's topic 1A) and whether Alex Rodriguez will remain a Yankee. The other big questions, such as resigning Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, have a little later deadline, but those are coming too. There's quite a bit written on both fronts (manager and A-Rod) today in various newspapers and on websites.
A manager could be named in the next two days, and it remains unclear whether it will be Don Mattingly or Joe Girardi.
As for Rodriguez, the Yankees hope to stage a face-to-face meeting with him in the next few days, if he agrees. They are also working on a very large contract extension offer to try to get him to stay. Here's my story from today, and agent Scott Boras's view of the situation:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-sparod1028-report,0,2533262.story

What do you think the Yankees should offer Rodriguez?

Alex Rodriguez was named the Player of the Year in the Player's Choice Award. Well-deserved honor, after a remarkable season. I can't say it comes as any surprise. The official American League MVP Award won't be announced until Nov. 19th.

Here's the last update expected for a little while, perhaps a couple days, as the Yankees are not expected to be making any major decisions over the weekend. I'll be flying back to New York tonight from Tampa.

But before that, Hank Steinbrenner spoke to the couple of media that were around. You can scroll down for the full article I posted online, but essentially, he said there will be no decision this weekend. They are close to picking a manager, though, and he and Brian Cashman are on the same page.

Here's the link: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyanks1027,0,4514238.story

The Yankees are not expected to make a managerial hire in the next few days. GM Brian Cashman and club president Randy Levine flew back to New York last night. The Steinbrenners remain in Tampa, but there's been no sign of any of them at Legends Field yet today. (There is a back entrance, which George and Hal usually enter through, but Hank comes in the front, which we can see, generally). The media stakeout will be ending soon for the weekend. It's down to three of us at this point. Everyone else has already gone home.
Looks like the choice between Mattingly and Girardi could drag a while.

These entire days are outside, so there's not exactly a lot of opportunity to be online, as you can't waste battery power on the laptop and have to pick up someone's internet signal.
But I gather some people are panicking about Hank Steinbrenner having left. He was back at Legends within 50 minutes. Brian Cashman's here now, meeting with the Steinbrenners and probably Randy Levine.

Hank Steinbrenner stopped and spoke with the media twice within half an hour. He arrived at Legends Field just before 1 p.m. and was gone by 1:25 p.m. I'm sorry the news isn't terribly juicy, but here it is.
On his way in, he said: "I'll get the baseball people's opinion, mostly."
Asked about if they had planned to have more than three candidates, he said: "At one point, sure. It kind of whittled down to three, and three good guys."
Asked if a decision could be made today, he said: "It could be, I couldn't tell you that."

About 20 minutes later, Hank Steinbrenner left. He had earlier been asked if there was any concern over naming a manager during the World Series, given commissioner Bud Selig's preference that that not happen. He didn't have an answer on his way in, but on his way out, said: "We're going to honor Bud's wishes, and that's the bottom line."
Asked if that meant they could announce it on a World Series off day, he said: "We'll talk to the baseball office and see what they think."
As yet, though, he said there was no decision: "We haven't made it, though."
Could they make it today? "I don't know."
As he walked away, someone asked if he was headed to meet with GM Brian Cashman, he said: "I've got other stuff, not just the Yankees."

Tony Pena was the third and final managerial candidate to interview with the Yankees today. The team's keeping things very tight-lipped, so although Don Mattingly is believed to be the favorite, that could be wrong. Hank Steinbrenner said that baseball people (meaning Brian Cashman) will make their minds up then make a recommendation to ownership. Ownership will have to approve or reject the recommendation, but Cashman's recommendation will likely stick. It could happen quickly, maybe Friday.

Hank Steinbrenner spoke to the handful of reporters at Legends Field a little bit ago, with the interesting thought that the Yankees are "in a transition period" and you have to give the new manager some time. Here's the story I just sent in, which should be up momentarily at Newsday.com:

By KAT O’BRIEN
Kat.OBrien@Newsday.com

TAMPA, Fla. – The Yankees have not even hired a successor for manager Joe Torre yet, but in a stunning change, senior vice-president Hank Steinbrenner is preaching patience with the next manager.
“I think the most important thing is, whoever we hire, give him a chance,” Steinbrenner said. “Because he’s not getting the ’96 Yankees. He’s getting a younger team, and for the most part, it’s a transition period, so give him a little while.”
Steinbrenner spoke to reporters upon his arrival at Legends Field around 11 a.m. today. The Yankees are interviewing Tony Pena for the managerial job. He is expected to be the third and final candidate, following Joe Girardi Monday and Don Mattingly Tuesday.
“We want to win the World Series every year,” Steinbrenner said. “We’re not stupid enough to think we can do it.”
The fact that the Yankees had not won or even advanced to the World Series since 2003 is the reason Torre was only offered a one-year contract. However, it seems the new manager will not be held to that standard, at least initially.
“We’re in a transition period,” Steinbrenner said. “We’ve got a lot of great young pitchers, a lot of great young players coming. I’m not saying we don’t have a chance next year. Obviously the Marlins beat us a few years ago with the same kind of young pitching staff, and Detroit got to the World Series with the same kind of young pitching staff, so it can happen.”
The Yankees are expected to have Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, both of whom made their major league debuts this season, in their starting rotation, and possibly rookie Ian Kennedy as well. But the new abundance of young players does not lessen the Yankees’ desire to resign Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera.
“Oh no, we want all those guys,” Steinbrenner said. “You’ve got to have the mix of the young guys and the veterans, you’ve got to.”
Previously the Yankees had talked about interviewing four to six candidates. Now, however, they are all but certain to stop at these three candidates. Said Steinbrenner: “It’s starting to look more and more like that. We’ll make a decision (on further interviews) today.”
Steinbrenner said they would like to make a decision “as soon as possible,” possibly in the next few days. Mattingly is believed to be the favorite, and Steinbrenner spoke highly of him this morning.
“He was the hardest worker in the game (as a player), and as a player, the greatest clutch hitter I’ve ever seen,” Steinbrenner said. “He’s a quiet leader.”
If Mattingly is in fact the favorite, Steinbrenner was not letting on. He said: “We’ve got three really strong candidates, and it’s going to be a tough decision. … Whoever it is going to be, it’s going to be a good one. You can pretty much bet on that.”

STATEMENT BY DEREK JETER,

On Joe Torre

"Out of my great respect for Mr. Torre, I have refrained from comment until he had a chance to address the public.

“In my eyes, Joe Torre is more than a Hall of Fame manager. He is a friend for life, and the relationship we have shared has helped shape me in ways that transcend the game of baseball. His class, dignity, and the way he respected those around him--from ballplayers to batboys--are all qualities that are easy to admire, but difficult to duplicate.

“I have known Mr. Torre for a good majority of my adult life, and there has been no bigger influence on my professional development. It was a privilege to play for him on the field, and an honor to learn from him off the field."

Don Mattingly is second up to interview for the Yankees' managerial job. His day with Yankees baseball operations people began earlier than Joe Girardi's did yesterday, with a 10 a.m. start. over at Himes Field. Here at Legends Field, we've seen Hal Steinbrenner, Randy Levine and Felix Lopez. The Towncar that drives George Steinbrenner around left Legends a little bit ago, presumably to go pick him up for the portion of the day that involves him meeting with Mattingly. Haven't seen Hank Steinbrenner, though he could have gone in a back way.

Someone asked about impressions of Hank and Hal Steinbrenner. Hal rarely speaks to the media, even a few words. Hank has taken that portion of the job on. People who knew his dad when he was much younger say Hank is a spitting image of his father.

Just got back from spending the day outside Legends Field. Joe Girardi was in as the first candidate to interview for the managerial job. He met with 10-12 people from the baseball side of the Yankees organization, then met for about an hour with George, Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, along with Brian Cashman.

Hank Steinbrenner was the organizational spokesperson on the meeting. He said he was very impressed with Girardi, that he is smart and knows what he's doing and how to handle a pitching staff. He said he did not have any concerns over the way things ended for Girardi in Florida. When asked if that was something they had looked into and were satisfied would not be a problem with the Yankees, he said, "We're not stupid," which I think you can take as a yes.
Before the interview with Girardi, as he arrived at the office this morning, he said he does not think Bobby Valentine would be a candidate for the position. He also repeated the club's stance on Alex Rodriguez: "We've made it clear -- if he opts out, goodbye." He added: "We want him to stay, we do, and I would think that he'd want to stay."

Girardi just did a conference call with reporters. A few highlights:
*Said he spent about six hours with various people from the organization, first three with baseball-side people, then an hour with the Steinbrenners and Cashman and club president Randy Levine, then another hour-and-a-half or son with baseball people.
*"I think every managing job is different because the players and different parts that are there."
*Said timing wasn't right with Baltimore because his dad is in poor health and he and his family were able to spend a good deal of time with him this summer.
*Asked his biggest strengths as a manager: "I think relationships, I think my ability to stay focused on the task at hand ... it's kind of hard for me to answer that question because it's hard for me to brag on myself ... but I think I bring a certain attitude to the ballpark every day and a goal of winning."
*Asked about the idea of following Joe Torre, who he played for: "Obviously, we all have great respect for Joe Torre and what he accomplished here. The one thing you think about is you have to be your own man. I can't be someone that I'm not."
*Asked about the fact that with the way Torre's departure went, it shows that nothing is good enough except winning the World Series, Girardi said: "If that's not your goal, then I don't really understand. That's what you want the goal to be."

There's been so much news the past few days. Thankfully someone filled in to blog Joe Torre's press conference yesterday, as I was quite busy with all the stories for the paper/website.

Torre was classy yesterday in his goodbye press conference, as expected, although he was clearly wounded by the Yankees' offer. It didn't seem to be the money as much as the fact that the Yankees thought he needed incentives to "motivate" him, and most of all that they would not guarantee him a second year. He didn't think any of the decisionmakers besides Brian Cashman and perhaps one other unnamed person really wanted him back.
Torre had lots of great memories of his 12 years, but doesn't know when he'll go back to Yankee Stadium. It wasn't a happy parting, obviously. He sounded open to the idea of managing elsewhere, if the right opportunity comes along.

The search for a new manager is underway. Cashman has already contacted Don Mattingly, Tony Pena and Joe Girardi to convey interest in the trio. All three are expected to interview next week, probably all in Tampa. There will be other candidates, though, and Hank Steinbrenner said he doesn't expect a decision to be made until after the World Series.

In other news, Cashman told the coaching staff they are free to look for positions elsewhere as he is unable to guarantee them jobs until he has a manager.
Third-base coach Larry Bowa already has an offer to be the Mariners' third-base coach. Bowa told me last night that he has not made up his mind whether to accept the offer or not. He lives near Philadelphia year-round, and his daughter is in law school on the East Coast. Said Bowa: "I had a great time here, great organization, it's the best organization. But there's no guarantees if you pass something up that something else is going to come along."

Joe Torre is holding a hold a press conference at 2 p.m. at the Hilton Rye Town hotel. Read Jim Baumbach's story here.

2:01 PM. Waiting for Joe Torre to appear at the press conference. Camera crews set, talking heads making time.

2:03 PM. Joe Torre appears. Makes joke about his bald spot.

2:04 PM. Thanks George Steinbrenner for "trusting me with his club for the last 12 years." Seems to choke up. Thanks players and coaches, support staff.

2:05 PM."You can't thank people without thanking the fans...it's a special place." Says he had nothing to do with rally on Wednesday.

2:06 PM. Decided he wanted to talk to the participants face to face, to get his say. The meeting lasted 20 minutes. "I just felt the contract offer, the terms of the contract was the thing I had the toughest time with."

2:07 PM. Mentions the players, says winning the World series was the goal every year. Incentive was not a good thing for him or players.

2:08 PM. Thanks Brian Cashman for his support in 2006 with the contract extension.

2:09 PM. "Players have gone the extra mile..made my job a lot easier. The clubhouse was whole..." Starts fielding questions.

2:10 PM. "It's like going to the doctor and expecting the results", Torre says about the experience.

2:14 PM. Felt insulted by offer. "Discouraged by spot, never moved from offer they made."

2:16 PM. "Five million dollars is a lot of money...the fact that someone is reducing your salary is an indication to me that they are not satisfied with your performance." Hints that he would have taken a pay-cut, though.

2:17 PM. Goes down memory lane..."Can't tell you how exciting, appreciative, memorable this whole experience has been." Hard to tell whether he's slightly choking out of emotion.

2:18 PM. "I'm probably still not there yet... I was prepared for this. Talking about his experience of leaving."

2:19 PM. Will he accept a reoffer: "In order for something work...there's a certain trust that has to be earned." Long answer: no.

2:20PM. Explains that Steinbrenners seem "unwaverable."

2:22 PM. Surprised? "After last year, I don't think I can say surprised...we all know George is that hard taskmaster that wants to get his money's worth." Says two weeks to figure out whether they wanted him back made the offer a "little suspicious."

2:24 PM. Will miss most the players, the game and the coaches. "Dealing with people on an everyday basis..winning a battle."

2:27 PM. Who will he recommend? "I'm not sure I'm a position to recommend anybody, I just lost my job." Mentions coaches, not naming anyone. Doesn't sure if mentioning a name will help or hurt.

2:28 PM. Advice for the new guy: Don't be distracted. "The only you get accross to the players, you're paid to play, and on the results."

2:28 PM. About Steinbrenner: Felt that he needed to win every season, for New York.

2:29 PM.Regrets: Not on the 2003 series with Red Sox, covers every. Should have gone out himself during the bug swarm in Game 2 in the ALDS in Cleveland.

2:33 PM. Winning the World Series for a few years appears to be easy, but it's not. Little things change outcomes, it's a crapshoot in the 3-game series, he says.

2:34 PM. The Steinbrenners are still in charge.

2:35 PM. Is at peace with decision. People in grocery stores come up to him and ask him not to leave.

2:36 PM. Says that money was not the biggest obstacle.

2:38 PM. A lot of players called him. Leaves door wide open for managing again.

2:39 PM. His contract ends on December 1st, but "I'm free to listen right now" on managerial offers.

2:41 PM. Stumbles on whether he'd be willing to throw first pitch in the new Yankee Stadium. "I wouldn't be able to answer that right now," answers very evasively. His body language said NO, however.

2:42 PM. Final words to supporters. There are a lot of big hearts, mentions Giambi's return.

2:42 PM. "I've you would have told me this 20 years ago, I would have said you were crazy." Just drew a huge "please hire me" sign.

2:43 PM. Thinks that Cashman was on his side, but after he made renegotiating pitch to management yesterday, he did not get a direct reply.

2:47 PM. Jokes about wife's response, does not answer question about how she felt about his decision.

2:50 PM. Comments that it felt strange never having played for the Yankees and still managing them. "I still feel very much like a visitor to the organization."

2:54 PM. Asked a question about Levine and player motivation. Fields it right back to Levine.

2:55 PM. Both Girardi and Mattingly have been exposed to what's going on. "They'd go in with their eyes wide open."

2:57 PM. So what happens now? Says spare time will be more difficult, but will enjoy his family, maybe a trip to Wimbledon, major horse races in the summer. "It's not going to be as exciting as the win and losses."

2:59 PM. Talks about money, "I don't expect another ball club to pay me what the Yankees paid me, at the start." We might see his resume in Careerbuilder pretty soon.

3:00 PM. Takes a swipe about fan expectations. Says after the Arizona loss in 2001, he felt "fans were a little spoiled. There was very wiggle room in this whole expectation game."
Complete Joe Torre coverage here.

Joe Torre will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. at the Hilton Rye Town hotel, we'll have live video at Newsday.com, so check back for updates.

Complete Joe Torre coverage here.

As I'm sure you've all heard, Joe Torre will not be back in 2008 as the Yankees manager. Here's a link to my online story: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyanks1019,0,4514239.story

Joe Torre is in Tampa. He flew in with Brian Cashman earlier this afternoon. One would expect, at this point, that if he can agree to the terms/conditions the Yankees want, that he will be back as manager in 2008. I'm sure he wouldn't fly to Tampa to be fired.

Another day, another no-decision. Today's talks will take place primarily, perhaps with a conference call mixed in. The one piece of news yesterday was that the Steinbrenners are on-board with GM Brian Cashman's recommendation that the Yankees not negotiate with Alex Rodriguez if he opts out of his contract. That was a pretty firm statement, so now we've got a game of poker between the Yankees and Boras. Who's bluffing?

Hopefully sometime soon there will be news on a manager.

For all of you tired of waiting to hear who the 2008 Yankees manager is going to be, I have bad news: there is not going to be a decision made/announced today.

Howard Rubenstein, the spokesman for the Yankees and owner George Steinbrenner, released the following statement: "The meetings are adjourned for tonight. There have been no decisions made, nor will there be any comment today. The meetings will resume tomorrow."

Don Mattingly's agent, Ray Schulte, told Newsday this morning that a report that Mattingly does not feel ready for the managerial job is inaccurate. The Star-Ledger first reported last night that Mattingly did not feel ready to replace Joe Torre as manager. Schulte completely denied the story.

As some of you probably have already heard, Don Mattingly has reportedly expressed reservations about whether or not he is ready to be the Yankees manager, particularly if replacing Joe Torre after Torre is pushed out. The Star-Ledger first reported last night that Mattingly had told a member of the Steinbrenner family "he does not feel ready for the manager's job and is uncomfortable with replacing Joe Torre, according to a friend."

A source confirmed to Newsday last night that Mattingly has indeed expressed such reservations, though we couldn't confirm if he did so to a Steinbrenner. It kind of makes sense, given that last week Mattingly said taking over after Torre would be like replacing John Wooden and somewhat of a no-win situation. Most people figured he was just being respectful of Torre, but maybe there was more to it than that.

Mattingly, the Yankees' bench coach, was the leading candidate to replace Torre. If he's not interested in the job, the chances of Torre returning go up dramatically. The Yankees' head honchos are meeting today in Tampa, so hopefully we'll have some news later today.

No new news on Joe Torre or anything else, but hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, we'll know what the Yankees have decided on whether to bring Torre back. The final decision is still said to belong to George Steinbrenner, although his sons Hal and Hank Steinbrenner are more involved than in the past.

Colleague Ken Davidoff and I each wrote our ideas on what the Yankees need to do this offseason to put themselves in position to contend for a World Series this year. They had a good enough team, I believe, that they were capable of doing so this year. Even so, with many free agents among the group, there are lots of decisions to be made.

Here are our two takes on the offseason:

Ken's take: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spkenyanks1014,0,2136626.story

And here's mine: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spkatfix1014,0,931621.story

Feel free to comment on what you agree and disagree with, or your thoughts on how to "fix" the Yankees.

Some comments on the last thread have focused on Joba Chamberlain's future. Should it be as a starter, as planned all along, or as a reliever and eventual closer, after people saw how dominant he was as a setup man late this season?
My take: he's got to be a starter. The Yankees are going to make every effort to resign Mariano Rivera, who is still a dominant closer. What they need is an ace pitcher. Chamberlain could be that, maybe not in 2008 (though it's possible), but at some point. And the Yankees' struggles in the postseason have shown just how valuable an ace pitcher is. An ace pitcher and a dominant closer are both extremely valuable, yes, but they have such a closer if they resign Mariano. They don't have an ace. And for anybody who thought Chien-Ming Wang might be that, I give you exhibit A: Game 1 of the Division Series, and exhibit B: Game 4 of the Division Series. Andy Pettitte was a pretty near reproduction of an ace in Game 2, but Fausto Carmona and C.C. Sabathia were co-aces for the Indians.
Make Joba a starter again. If not (and maybe even if so) go trade for an ace, say Johan Santana, then offer him whatever money it will take to convince him to stay long-term.

It's very slow right now, waiting for next week's meetings to decide Joe Torre's fate. I'll post news when we have it, but there's not a lot right now.

Roger Clemens became the latest player to speak out on Torre's behalf, at a golf tournament near Houston. He said: "My wish would be that he finish and close Yankee Stadium with a championship and open up the new (stadium)."

Clemens also did not rule out pitching next year, saying he "hasn't been very good at" retiring. Don't be scared, though, I personally think he'll retire. His wife, Debbie, was quoted on Houston TV station KRIV's website as saying: "I just think it's time."
And in case you somehow missed all the hilarious cell phone commercials in which they have a bad connection and he doesn't hear her saying she wants him to stop playing, I'm pretty sure he'll get this message.

Also, two Yankees pitchers were named minor league pitchers of the year (starter and reliever) for all of the minor leagues. Ian Kennedy was the minor league starter of the year. He was 12-3 with a 1.91 ERA at the minor league level before joining the Yankees, where he was 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA in three starts. Edwar Ramirez was the minor league reliever of the year. Although he had his struggles at the big league level, he dominated the minors. He had a 0.79 ERA at Double/Triple-A, allowing five runs in 56 2/3 innings. He walked just 22 and struck out 102.