So the Yanks have had a couple new developments.

First, signing Pettite for one year, 5.5m. I almost feel bad for him - he was initially offered 10m but turned it down, only to find the market had bottomed out, and had to settle for 5.5. Tough luck, kid. Probably helps our bargaining position vis a vis Tek.

But it's a good deal for the Yanks, I think. Sure, he was total crap at the end of the season - 2-7 with a 6.23 ERA in his final 11 starts - but was 12-7, 3.76 ERA prior to that. If they can get 20 good starts out of him this is a great deal.The MFYs rotation is going to be tough.

Second, Torre co-authored a new book on his time with the MFYs. Among the juicy tidbits, Arod is referred to as "A-fraud." Ha. He also trashes the Steinbrenners (presumably the kids) and Cashman.

Olney puts up a couple passages (members only, I think) in order to poo-poo Torre's involvement in the book -

[F]rom page 245:

Back in 2004, at first Rodriguez did his best to try and fit into the Yankee culture -- his cloying, B Grade actor best. He slathered on the polish. People in the clubhouse, including teammates and support personnel were calling him "A-Fraud" behind his back.

And it was Torre's choice, ultimately, to include this, from page 252:

In his own way, Rodriguez was fascinated with [Derek] Jeter, as if trying to figure out what it was about Jeter that could have bought him so much goodwill. The inside joke in the clubhouse was that Rodriguez' pre-occupation with Jeter recalled the 1992 film, "Single White Female," in which a woman becomes obsessed with her roommate to the point of dressing like her.

And it was Torre who approved the words in the excerpt released Monday -- after Torre had assured Cashman on the phone Sunday that they were friends and always would be friends.

Only much later did Torre start to put the picture together of what had happened to his working relationship with Cashman. The personal falling-out they had in 2006 spring training over philosophical issues, Cashman's decision not to bring back longtime center fielder Bernie Williams when his contract expired in 2006, his submission of odd lineup suggestions based on stats, his lack of regard for Ron Guidry as a pitching coach, his detachment from the "they" who were making an offer to Torre, his failure to offer any comment or support in the meeting that decided Torre's future, his failure to personally relay Torre's proposal to find a way to reach an agreement to the Steinbrenners … "I thought Cash was an ally, I really did," Torre says.

(Sniff)

I'm curious how the Tex-Arod thing will play out. They could be the best 3-4 combo in baseball, and supposedly they couldn't stand each other in Texas. Should be fun.

I realize that neither of these things is particularly new to most of you, but I figured it was time to get the political thread off the front page...