Thread: Bronx Zoo starts anew

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.comBronx Zoo starts anew

Saturday, February 17th, 2007

TAMPA - Over the years many an exhausted baseball writer, spent from a long day of chasing the usual array of provocative Yankee stories, had dreamed of a calmer, gentler time when George Steinbrenner no longer would be storming around, stirring things up in search of excellence and back-page headlines - not necessarily in that order.
Surely the Yankee beat then would become a more normal, tamer existence. Like covering the Brewers perhaps?
Um, apparently not.
With Steinbrenner very much in the background these days, due to age and health, the Yankees nevertheless have kicked off spring training with a week straight from their Bronx Zoo files. Apparently they wouldn't have it any other way.
Let's see, we have the ongoing Bernie Williams saga, with Joe Torre trying to talk Old Reliable into taking a final fling at making the team while Brian Cashman has put up a neon "No Vacancy" sign.
We had Mariano Rivera, maybe the last player you'd bet on to pop off, popping off about his contract situation, setting off an uprising among New Yorkers who consider Rivera the gold standard of true Yankees and think Cashman should just pay the man.
We had Torre pondering his future as a man without a contract beyond this season.
We had Mike Mussina, a Stanford man who generally prefers doing crossword puzzles to dealing with such mundane matters as team chemistry, carving up Carl Pavano with one of the all-time, on-the-record rip jobs of a teammate whose locker is 10 feet away.
Pavano responded to it yesterday by calling Mussina into a room for a closed-door meeting, apparently clearing the air at least for the moment. Pavano took exception to Mussina all but calling him a quitter and pledged his determination to contribute this season, while Mussina reiterated his show-me-something stance but also apologized for not keeping the matter in-house.
They weren't making plans to go bowling together or anything. But perhaps more importantly, Mussina's criticism got the bitterness out in the open and inspired Pavano to at least show a little backbone. Maybe it will even be remembered as a key moment for this team.
Finally, we had Steve Swindal, Steinbrenner's son-in-law and George's heir apparent as Yankee Boss, embarrassing himself and the organization by getting nailed for driving under the influence in the wee hours of the morning.
Swindal didn't just get pulled over randomly, either. According to the police report, he cut off a cop in traffic while going about 30 mph above the speed limit and was barely coherent when questioned. It's not as if he's some silver-spoon kid who needs to grow up. He's 52 years old. Ouch.
Not that Swindal's drinking-and-driving arrest should have any effect on the Yankees' season. But you do have to wonder about his judgment as the man who will be running the ballclub in the years to come.
For the moment, Swindal's nightmare is just the most serious of the various crises that defined this first week of Yankee spring training. And to think, Alex Rodriguez hasn't even shown up yet.
Swindal aside, the Yankees are doing their best to laugh off all the headlines.
"We decided as a group to give you guys more to write about," Derek Jeter kidded yesterday. "Never a dull moment with the Yankees. Nothing surprises me."
It's true, there always seem to be issues surrounding the Yankees, even without George fanning the flames. Cashman says it's inevitable for such a high-profile team full of stars in a city like New York.
"When you have this many people very interested in your business - which is a good thing - asking very difficult questions, it's tough to provide safe answers at all times," Cashman said. "Therefore, a lot of news gets generated, and sometimes things can take on a life of their own. It's part of the job, but it's not something that prevents the job from getting done.
"It's extra work, but it's on everybody's job description here. We'll never be perfect. We'll never have a true 'Camp Quiet.'"
Torre, too, made light of the baseball controversies, saying, "It's a Yankee spring," and insisting they would have no bearing on the season, even if there proves to be clubhouse friction involving Pavano.
"To me, there's nothing wrong with disagreement at times," Torre said. "I don't ask everybody to get along with each other. I ask everybody to play next to each other and to me that's more important. I'm a firm believer that chemistry doesn't cause winning - I think it's the other way around. I think winning encourages chemistry." There are bound to be more controversies ahead, probably involving Rodriguez. His relationships with Torre and Jeter could come under scrutiny after the soap opera of last season, and his ability to opt out of his contract at season's end could hover ominously. If not A-Rod, then something. It's obvious by now: The Yankees will never be the Brewers, George or no George.

Saw a thing on 1rst and 10 today. And watched A-rod say he liked making all the money he makes then he tried to sugar coat it with a big, I like to help the kids out. Shouldnt he had been saying, I will give some money to the families of those I dissapointed in my playoff run last year!!!! And to our all world shortstop I am sorry I am such a schumuck!