MUCH ADO ABOUT NUTHIN

There is a lot of hot air coming out of Yankee Land for a change, and not all of it from Tampa, Fla. With another weekend of snow on the horizon for New York, the local papers are keeping us warm with all the “Bronx Zoo” bluster they can conjure up. Joel Sherman and Harvey Araton, two of the more shrill columnists on the beat, pen gloom-and-doom columns today.

As expected, the fall out from Derek Jeter’s AP interview, made for a feeding frenzy this morning. While the Jeter v. George story makes for juicy headlines, it isn’t really a big deal. What? Jeter got ‘Georged?’ This is the start of his 8th season as the starting short stop of the New York Yankees, isn’t it about time the unflappable superstar finally got decked by Steinbrenner? After all, what makes Jeter so special? That he’s a class act, and a wonderful player? When has that stopped George before? Considering what his boyhood favorite Dave Winfield went through in the Bronx, this ‘controversy’ is a mosquito bite, no matter how hurt Jeter’s feelings are.

As usual, Bronx Zoo veteran, Bill Madden hits the nail on the head, sighting the final scene in Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown”:

Unlike Steinbrenner, Jeter has gone out of his way to shun controversy. And given the sensitivity of his “Turn 2” charity for underprivileged kids, it is understandable why he would feel his image has been unfairly tarnished.

In lieu of a formal apology, all I can say to him is: Forget about it, Derek. It’s Chinatown.

DIVINE INTERVENTION

Okay, don’t laugh now, but a voice of reason emerged in Yankee camp yesterday, and it belonged to none other than the “straw that stirs the drink” himself, Reginald Martinez Jackson. Mr. October, who recieved more abuse from The Boss in one season (1981) than Jeter will in a lifetime, arrived in Tampa and immediately went into counselor-mode:

“Derek is hot and the reason he is hot makes sense,” Jackson said. “His character was attacked. This is a very conscientious guy and basically the un-named captain. He is the voice of the club and it’s his team.

“If you want to target someone for the team not having a good season last year, he is the guy. He is not an off-the-field party guy. If he were, the media would have been on to it long ago rather than waiting eight or nine years. The Boss is paying big iron and he wants big-time input into the ballclub.”

…”Jeter’s a tough kid. He went through what he went through with his sister a couple of years ago (when she was sick) and he never let anyone know about it, and that’s far more important than this.

“It’s hard for me to imagine he could be more motivated than he is.”

I’M ALRIGHT, JACK

Although Jason Giambi isn’t due in Tampa until later today, any strudel involving his personal trainer Bobby Alejo has seemingly been squashed:

“He will be allowed in the weight room, allowed on the planes and allowed to throw batting practice indoors at home,” GM [Brian] Cashman said. “He is not allowed on the field or in the clubhouse.”

How that translates into how effective Alejo, who is paid by Giambi and not the Yankees, can be with Giambi remains to be seen.

“We are trying to limit [clubhouse access] as much as possible,” Cashman said when asked why Alejo’s access was sliced. “We will have a lot more personnel in the clubhouse this year.”

…Added Joe Torre: “We’ve made changes every year. (Roger) Clemens had his guy, (Brian) McNamee, a couple of years ago. Then last year, he didn’t have him but was still able to work with him (away from the ballpark). (Jorge) Posada has his own guy, and (Derek) Jeter and Bernie (Williams), and when you let one guy have it, then the other guys resent it and you have a problem.

“It’s nothing against the individual. It’s just that when you let one guy have it, it opens it up.”

Giambi’s agent Arn Tellem said, “Everything’s fine. We worked it out. There are no issues. We got what we needed and the Yankees did too.”

OH, BROTHER

Meanwhile, the biggest news around Red Sox camp is what Prince Pedro may say when he arrives. That, and the already tired topic of the Theo Epstein’s age.

Jeremy Giambi, who is expected to have a strong showing for the Sox, addressed rivalries with the Yankees and his brother:

”The Yankees got the names, the Yankees got the big contracts, but you look at our team, throughout the lineup, the guys pitching and our pen, and we match up with them very well,” said Giambi, who spent eight weeks working out in Arizona this winter in the same demanding program followed by Nomar Garciaparra, Lou Merloni, and another new Sox pickup, Todd Walker . ”I think we’re actually a team that can play more consistent because the Yankees are going to have some injuries. I think they know that, too, I think that’s why they’re holding on to so many pitchers.

”Hopefully, we can play more consistent and if they get a few guys hurt, that’s our chance to take advantage of it.”

…”Before things settled down, he was more excited than anything,” Jeremy Giambi said of his brother’s reaction to the trade that brought Jeremy to Boston, ”especially when he heard Theo indicate that I would get everyday at-bats. Jason’s my biggest fan, not just my brother. We’re part of the biggest rivalry in baseball, maybe the biggest rivalry in sports. There’s going to be quite a serious lockup every time. He’s thinking things are going to be out of control when they come into Boston or we go into New York. Just adding more fuel to the fire.”

WELCOME BACK

At the very least, the Jeter story succeeded in keeping the return of David Cone off the backpages. Score one for the Boss. John Harper has a thoughtful column on Cone’s return in the News:

…You have to wonder about him at age 40. He’s not a big, strong guy, and he was never a workout fiend, put it that way.

Nevertheless, most anyone who has known Cone over the years will be rooting hard for him, especially New York sports writers, since he is the all-time stand-up guy in a locker room, always there to answer for himself after the bad days as well as the good days.

I just hope he’s not doing this because he’s chasing those seven wins he needs to reach 200 victories, or because he’s bored. I hope his fastball is telling him he can do this, and not just the fearless competitor in him that won’t let him back down from a challenge without a fight, whether it’s on the mound or in a pick-up basketball game.

Mike C wrote a terrific analysis of Cone’s chances over at Baseball Rants. (Don’t miss the 7th installment in Mike’s history of relief pitching.)

David Pinto also has a funny take on the signing at Baseball Musings.

Cone has always been a good quote, so I hope he does well, but he was reduced to a virtual mute in 2000 when his game went south. I doubt whether the Mets will stick with him too long if in fact, he is all warshed up.

PLUG TUNIN’

Travis Nelson, the Boy of Summer, has a thorough and detailed preview of the 2003 Phillies that is well worth perusing, and Aaron Gleeman wrote an interesting series of articles comparing Sandy Koufax with the Big Unit. The results may suprise you.