--3B Alex Rodriguez will obviously suffer personally for his performance-enhancing drug use -- from the public shame to the distinct possibility he will not be voted into the Hall of Fame -- but he may take down the Yankees' season, and manager, with him. Anyone who's paid attention to Rodriguez's career at all realizes just how much public scrutiny can affect him on the field, and he will be targeted all season. With the Yankees' blockbuster offseason, anything less than a World Series victory would be considered a disappointment, and now their central player will be a season-long distraction. The person who could be most affected is manager Joe Girardi, who acknowledged to reporters he could lose his job if the club fails to make the postseason for the second consecutive year. "I don't think about that, but you're probably right," he said when asked about the possibility at his opening spring press conference.
--LHP CC Sabathia offered just the type of attitude that can endear himself to Yankees fans when he shared a story from his run at the playoffs with the Brewers at the end of last year. With Milwaukee contending for its spot in the season's final week, Sabathia threw on three days' rest in his last three starts -- an act his agent, Greg Genske, tried to derail. Genske was worried about Sabathia injuring himself before his free agent pay day, but Sabathia "had to turn my phone off to block (his) calls," he said at his first spring press conference. "He was pretty upset, but ... I felt fine and I wanted to win." After signing his mega-deal with the Yankees, that's exactly what he'll be expected to do as the ace of the staff, but Sabathia said he is up for the challenge. "I don't think there's any amount of pressure or anybody that can put pressure on me more than I do myself," he said. "I expect myself to win every game." --RHP A.J. Burnett doesn't think he'll have as many injury worries as he had in his checkered past with Florida and Toronto. Burnett, who joined the Yankees in the offseason along with LHP CC Sabathia to head the rotation, said his will to perform sometimes caused him problems, including throwing too hard in the past.
"I learned my lesson in Toronto when I went there and tried to do too much after my last contract," Burnett, who won 18 games for the Blue Jays, told reporters at his opening spring press conference. "I'm pretty much just going to be me and pitch."
Asked how he felt about sending veteran Andy Pettitte to the back end of the Yankees rotation, Burnett said, "There is no back end."
--LHP Andy Pettitte had a busy first day back with the Yankees, noting he was glad the club could work out a deal after a rough negotiation. He offered support to Alex Rodriguez (and his experience as a fellow admitted performance-enhancing drug user) and, perhaps most significantly, said that at the end of last season "my shoulder, for whatever reason, just broke down." Pettitte, who had a rough second half, said he "needed some help from the trainer" to make his last 10 starts of the season. The veteran said offseason exams haven't shown any damage in the shoulder and he did what he could to build it back up.
--OF Xavier Nady should be the club's starting right fielder, manager Joe Girardi said in his opening spring press conference. But, Girardi added, new arrival Nick Swisher would have a chance to compete for the job. "We have seven weeks to decide that," Girardi said. There had been rumors of Nady getting traded to clear some salary and make room for Swisher, who was acquired from the White Sox and pushed out of first base after the arrival of Mark Teixeira. But those have cooled recently as general manager Brian Cashman told the Journal News in Westchester, N.Y., he would ideally like to keep both players for bench depth.
--C Jorge Posada has been progressing well in his rehab from shoulder surgery, but the Yankees reportedly plan to remain cautious with him and won't let him catch in an exhibition game until midway through March. Posada didn't need that much time to show his veteran leadership as a teammate though, immediately announcing his support for Alex Rodriguez after news of A-Rod's performance-enhancing drug use hit camp. The catcher said he not only supported A-Rod but he would be his "friend forever."
BY THE NUMBERS: 52 -- Uniform number new Yankees ace CC Sabathia will wear for the club.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I can tell you, from '04 on we've had testing procedures in place, and that's the best that I can go off of. But I'm not here to represent that I'm confident about anything on anybody. I think we've lived through a tough, tough stretch that shattered that confidence level." -- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman when asked if he was confident Alex Rodriguez did not use performance-enhancing drugs as a Yankee.
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