One spring I told him about a band I had just seen in concert over in Clearwater, a hot band that opened up for George Thorogood. They were called Los Lonely Boys (okay, many of us have heard of them now, but they hadn't hit it big yet, and I was thoroughly impressed by the live show). I told him they were a cross between Stevie Ray Vaughn and Santana, and I thought it was something he would like.

Bernie nodded his head, and when he walked away, I figured he probably hadn't heard a word I just said.

About four months later, Bernie walked past me in the Yankee clubhouse as he was leaving after a game. He was already 5 steps past me when he yells, "Hey!" I turned around, and he's holding up the Los Lonely Boys CD. "Good call, man," he says, flashing a thumbs up.

Joe Torre's brother could undergo a kidney transplant in the next couple of months after tests determined two of his children are a match for the procedure.

Yankees outfielder Bobby Abreu could miss two to three weeks with a strained right oblique muscle, freeing Spring Training at-bats for Melky Cabrera, but not free agent Bernie Williams. ...

Abreu left the Yankees' Spring Training complex without speaking to reporters. Injuries of this nature tend to be variable among players, but the consensus appears that Abreu may not be ready to bat in a Spring Training game until the exhibition schedule is half-complete.

"He had a significant oblique strain, and it could be timely," general manager Brian Cashman said. "I know Joe said two weeks, and I'll probably say three weeks. But we'll see. It could be one week."

A closer look at the background reveals a uniformed Mickey Mantle handling a bat in the dugout while behind Jeter, walking through the lower box seats is a smiling, waving President George W. Bush.

"Someone was having a little fun between the final proofing and the printing process," Topps spokesman Clay Luraschi told SportsCollectorsDaily.com. "We first saw the card only after it was printed and honestly, could not do anything but laugh."

Also notably, outfielder Bobby Abreu has taken 18-year-old Venezuelan prospect Jose Tabata under his wing, advising him about professional life.

“I don’t think so,” Rivera said. “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.” ...

“There’s too much between the teams,” Rivera said. “I like some of their players. They’re my friends. I just don’t think it would be possible.”

Carl Pavano was hit on the left foot while pitching live batting practice to Yankees players on Saturday.

Pavano, 31, was clipped by a ball batted by infielder Alberto Gonzalez. The right-hander is attempting to make the Yankees' rotation this spring after losing the last 1 1/2 Major League seasons to an assortment of various injuries.

"It feels a little stiff," said Pavano, who later joked about having a bulls-eye on him. "It isn't the first time I got hit down there."

General manager Brian Cashman, watching the events from his perch behind the batting cage, said that Pavano "seems to be a heat-seeking missile."

All those projections will be available in the 2007 Season Preview, but here are a few to whet your appetite: The best fielder in the game is Everett, who is projected to be 19 runs above average at shortstop. Scott Rolen does slightly better in terms of runs—he’s at +20—but at an easier position. And guess who else projects to 19 runs above average?

If you guessed Alex Rodriguez … well, you didn’t. But our data shows that A-Rod was so great in 2004-05 that even a poor season last year can’t keep him from being one of the best fielders in baseball. Before you scoff, I’d like to remind you that Rodriguez won two Gold Gloves at shortstop before coming to the Yankees. Would it be that surprising for him to be great at third base as well?

I can’t recall the last time I got so many pissed off e-mails as I did after running a column suggesting that Chien-Ming Wang would see a strong decline next season.

That assumption was based off batted ball data, but only a year’s worth, with some pretty crude assumptions. These projections are based on up to four year’s worth of batted ball data as well as more basic outcome statistics. And the verdict is … Wang is awesome.

We project a 3.82 ERA next season despite a 63/41 K/BB ratio, mainly because Wang is projected to allow just 12 home runs all year.

Phil Hughes (34 pitches, faced Giambi, Chavez, Pratt, Matsui): Phil Franchise threw only half his pitches for strikes by my count. But eight of the strikes were fouled off and only two were put in play. The rest were unhittable. Chavez and Pratt had what looked like singles. As “Ain’t No Other Man” by Christina Aguilera played, Hughes showed a ridiculous curveball and the ability to spot his fastball inside or outside. “You almost never see that at this stage of the spring,” said Ben Davis, who caught him. “He has filthy stuff,” Giambi said. Matsui took the worst swing you’ll ever see him take at a Hughes fastball.

"Even being a fifth outfielder for a National League team, you're going to get three times as many at-bats as I would if I were with the Yankees again," Crosby said. "It's exciting to know I can play my game. Sometimes I'd get the green light, but I'd get the stare from Joe (Torre) that said I better be sure. Then you hesitate and just wait for (Hideki) Matsui to hit a two-run homer." ...

"I think I just got labeled with the Yankees as a utility outfielder. I never got a chance to hit a whole lot in New York," Crosby said. "There they used two extra outfielders, they had an offensive guy, which was Bernie (Williams) last year, and a defensive one, which was me. I'd go out and do my part, but if my spot came in the order to hit, Bernie would hit for me." ...

"I hit every spring training. I got to the big leagues with the Dodgers because I could hit," Crosby said. "I was ready to see what I can do, hitting. I knew I could go out there in spring and lead the whole camp in hitting and it wouldn't matter, I'd still be the fifth outfielder. It's nice to go to an organization that if you produce, you're going to play."

Now, I’m not sure what Crosby thinks his role should have been with the Yankees, but if he thinks he should have been starting over Matsui, Damon, Williams, Sheffield or whoever else was playing out there for New York, he’s insane. Crosby is a nice bench player, one with speed and defensive ability. But why do you think he hit well in the spring? Because he was largely facing pitchers who were not big-leaguers.

Isn’t it amazing how players love to rip Torre and the Yankees on the way out? What do they all have in common? They weren’t that good to begin with.

Williams has apparently rejected the Yankees' offer of a non-roster invitation to camp and is not expected to report to the team's Legends Field facility. His agent, Scott Boras, informed The Associated Press of Williams' intentions.

"Other than the invite, there wasn't any information that led him to believe he would be a member of the team," Boras told The AP on Tuesday. "He's continuing to work out [and] will wait to see if their position changes." ...

"If he wanted to be here, he'd be here," Cashman said. "You'd have to be stupid not to interpret the answer. He's given us the answer."

However, he did say he wanted to be part of the 2009 Yankees.

"I want to be a Yankee and I understand my contract and I understand my options," Rodriguez said. "My goal is to go in with Derek [Jeter] and Mo [Mariano Rivera] and open the new [Yankee] Stadium. It's pretty clear."

"Has our relationship changed? I've had a lot of relationships change over the years. But what we do away from the field, how much time we spend together really makes no difference when we're playing." ...

When asked if getting the truth about their friendship-turned-coexistence out in the open is for the best, Jeter said, "You have to ask him. I didn't bring it up. You have to ask him if it's a good idea to get it out of the way. To me it was never an issue I felt we needed to talk about."

"We were best of friends about 10, 13, 14, years ago, and we still get along well. We have a good working relationship. I cheer very hard for him. He cheers hard for me. And most importantly, we're both trying to win a world championship," Rodriguez said.
...
"The reality is there's been a change in the relationship over 14 years and, hopefully, we can just put it behind us," Rodriguez said. "You go from sleeping over at somebody's house five days a week, and now you don't sleep over. It's just not that big of a deal."

During the offseason, former Yankee Darryl Strawberry said Jeter needs to "embrace" Rodriguez. A-Rod said he didn't feel Jeter needed to support him more.

"I'm a big boy. I'm 31 years old now, so I should be able to help myself out there," he said. "I care about what he thinks about me on the field. I think it's important for us to be on the right page. And we are. We're here to win a championship together."

Rivera, who has established himself as a Hall of Fame closer with only a cut fastball and occasional sinker, also toyed with a change-up.

"Nasty," Guidry called it.

Rivera said he was "just messing around." Asked if he might incorporate a change-up, he said, "We'll see."

A new titanium mask engineered and crafted by Nike, which is as light as a feather but is 10 times stronger than steel. The rods are smaller to help catchers see through better and the durability is, according to Posada, endless. ...

Posada has gone to the Nike headquarters in Portland, Ore., during the offseason the past two years to give suggestions and to listen to new ideas from the engineering team. He has worked specifically with the Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL) to figure out ways to improve everything from chest protectors to cleats.

The NSRL is a state-of-the-art center where designers are devoted to bringing products to the market that take athletic performance beyond the next level. The lab works with professional athletes in every arena to develop and test the newest in sport technology. ...

Posada will also go to battle this year with a new type of chest protector that has padding that is smaller and lighter but also stronger and more durable than in the past. It also is created of microfibers that pull the sweat away from the body, keeping the catcher dry during the hot days of summer.

Carl Pavano spent much of the winter working with a personal trainer in Arizona, but he bailed out of several drills late in the workout complaining of "heavy legs," according to Yankees manager Joe Torre.

Pavano still is scheduled to throw his bullpen session today.

Clemens yesterday told Houston television station KRIV there is an 80 percent chance he is going to end his Hall of Fame career by retiring.

"[Clemens' son] Koby asked me [Thursday] when we were working out; he was doing more of a workout than I was," Clemens said. "I still told him, 80-20 that I wasn't going to play."