Today’s news is powered by a younger, more innocent Alex Rodriguez, as seen in this video:

• Jayson Stark takes us behind the scenes of the soon-to-be circus atmosphere of A-Rod’s news conference:

Have I mentioned that Mark Teixeira pulled into this clubhouse for the first time Monday? If you’re wondering, he was 8½ minutes into his first chat with the media before he got a single question fired at him that WASN’T A-Rod-related.

Later on, the manager plopped into a chair in his office for his daily dose of press banter. The conversation with Joe Girardi lasted 14 minutes. I timed it.

He took one question about his overpopulated outfield, and another about whether he expected all of his players to report on time. EVERY other question was about his third baseman.

So think about how much Girardi and that talented little $200 million baseball team of his can’t wait for this melodrama to be over. Hey, good luck on that.

But at least the manager has that part figured out. Asked Monday if there was a “danger” that this story might linger after A-Rod leaves the witness stand — er, news conference — Girardi never blinked.

“Obviously, I think it’s going to linger,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to have a press conference [Tuesday] and then it’s just going to disappear.”

• ESPN ombusman LeAnne Schrieber takes a hard look at her network’s Gammons/A-Rod coverage.

My own assessment is that Gammons asked the hard questions — Did you take steroids? For how long? Where did you get them? Did you lie to Katie Couric? — but that after getting Rodriguez’s opening admission of guilt, he did not press hard enough when Rodriguez gave evasive or self-serving answers to the what/where/when/why questions. I also think Gammons’ lack of follow-up was attributable, in large part, to his genuine sympathetic engagement in the human drama of what the viewer somewhat cynically called “Rodriguez’s first step toward personal redemption.”

• SI’s Jerry Crasnick rates the Yankees OF situation as one of the top 9 position battles to be settled this Spring:

Johnny Damon, whose 118 OPS+ a year ago tied the best single-season mark of his career, will get the bulk of the left field at-bats, which leaves Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher in the mix in right and Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner competing for time in center.

• Maury Brown of the BizOfBaseball does a guest post at MLBTradeRumors, analyzing the free agent signings so far from an economic standpoint:

For those that wonder whether the economy (or, as a few conspiracy theorists have suggested, collusion) is influencing matters, consider the following:

• Avg. FA salary (2007-2008): $7,357,242
• Avg. FA salary (2007-2008, minus the Yankees): $5,408,468
• Avg. FA salary (2006-2007): $6,331,015
• Avg. FA salary (2006-2007, minus the Yankees): $6,339,223

You’re asking, “What gives? I thought the economy was driving the market down.”

Here’s the deal. In the 2006-07 FA market more money was spent ($1,652,395,000), but it was spread out over more contract years (261), thus lowering the average (that, and the Yankees spent far less than usual in 2006). It shows that two years ago, which by the way was right after a labor agreement was reached and several television contracts were finalized, clubs were doling out more long-term backloaded contracts, and more correctly, committing to more contract years, a sign that free agent contracts were in higher abundance.

• Jack Curry of the Times describes the run-up to the A-Rodapalooza:

Rodriguez has a host of advisers, including the agent Scott Boras, the talent manager Guy Oseary, the publicist Richard Rubenstein and a company called Outside Eyes that specializes in media strategy and crisis management. His news conference is expected to be more controlled than Pettitte’s, probably beginning with a lengthy statement and including fewer questions from reporters.

“I don’t think it’s necessary, in my eyes, that he answer every detail,” Girardi said. “Because there are probably some other ramifications that we don’t necessarily think about that he has to deal with. Would he like to probably put it behind him tomorrow? Yes, but I don’t think that’s realistic.”

• A-Rod makes the cover of this week’s “The New Yorker” (sort of).
• PeteAbe reports that Girardi hopes A-Rod follows Andy Pettitte’s path in handling his admission:

“I thought the big thing was that Andy came clean (last year). Nothing else came out, which helped it die down. When a person comes clean and there’s nothing else to drag out, it’s going to die down.” …

Pettitte said he was motivated by one thing: Trying to be as less of a distraction to the team as possible. “I thought if I handled it right the first time, it would fade away and it did. You know everything is going to come out anyway,” he said.

• Joel Sherman has some impressive numbers regarding Mariano Rivera:

Rivera has totaled at least 60 appearances in 11 seasons. The record is 13 seasons by Mike Stanton. The only other relievers who have reached 60 in a season more often (12 times) are Roberto Hernandez, Lee Smith, Kent Tekulve and Mike Myers.

Rivera also has at least 25 saves in 12 straight seasons. Only Lee Smith (13 straight) beats that and, remember, Rivera was a set-up man in 1996 and that might have been his best season as a reliever, though he had just five saves. The next highest total of consecutive 25-save seasons after Smith and Rivera is nine straight years by John Wetteland and Troy Percival.

Let us not forget that Rivera also has appeared in 76 postseason games – 21 more than anyone else (that would be Jeff Nelson with 55 appearances).

• Sherman also has good news on the recovery of Jorge Posada

Poll time!

[poll id=”12″]

• Brian Bruney turns 27 today.
• Juan Padilla (cup of coffee with the Bombers in ’04) turns 32 today.
• Cody Ransom, who put together a .302/.400/.651 line in 43 ABs for the 2008 Yanks, turns 33 today.
• On this date in 1937, the Yankees buy another Babe from the Red Sox, picking up Babe Dahlgren. The California native will become the player who replaces Lou Gehrig.
• On this date in 1943, Joe DiMaggio, drawing $43,500 from the Yankees, trades in his salary for the $50 a month as an army enlisted man.
• On this date in 1987, Don Mattingly wins his $1.975 million arbitration case, breaking the record for the largest amount ever awarded to a player, set by Jack Morris just four days prior.