Photograph of Yankee players celebrating their 6-3 win over the Cleveland Indians--from left, Wilson Betemit (14), Melky Cabrera (28), Robinson Cano (24) Derek Jeter (2), Johnny Damon (18) and Bobby Abreu, right--by Frank Franklin II/AP Yankees 6, Indians 3: Consider for a moment what situation the Yankees would have been in if they had lost this game. They would have been 3-6 (with the six losses coming in two sweeps) on a nine-game homestand......

Yankees 7, Orioles 1: Sunday would have been bleak indeed if the Yankees hadn't gotten to Steve Trachsel. They weren't dancing on their flight to Chicago however; Alex Rodriguez strained his quadriceps and is "day-to-day," which probably means he is missing a few games. Andy Pettitte took a perfect game into the fifth inning and looked fine in his seven innings of work. Even a previously dormant Johnny Damon went deep to help his team......

Yankees 8, Rays 7: Three home runs helped give the Yankees a six-run cushion, but the fourth gave them the final margin of victory. Johnny Damon showed signs of life by starting the game with a homer, and Alex Rodriguez followed with a solo shot of his own in the first inning. Morgan Ensberg got into the act an inning later, and Ian Kennedy appeared to have clear sailing ahead of him. He left the......

Photograph of Johan Santana giving the ball to manager Willie Randolph by Ed Betz/AP Brewers 5, Mets 3: Mets fans that had waited two months -- or even longer -- to see Johan Santana make his Mets Shea Stadium debut left disappointed. Santana gave up five runs (four earned) and took his second loss of the year in three starts. Three home runs proved to be his undoing Saturday. He didn't get much help......

Phillies 5, Mets 2: In a game that was a microcosm of last season, the Mets held a lead against the Phillies before surrendering it in inglorious fashion. Entrusted with a 2-0 advantage in the seventh inning, Scott Schoeneweis -- who was booed during introductions -- allowed three runs and only recorded one out. Of course, he didn't get help from Carlos Delgado, who hit Chase Utley in the back on what may have......

Alex Rodriguez has a permanent residence in the spotlight. His contract and tendency to put his foot in his mouth both have something to do with it. A bigger reason is the media's unhealthy obsession with him, but that's besides the point. Tuesday's hot topics: Rodriguez's valuing winning over money and Jose Canseco's steroid allegations. In his interview with the Daily News, Rodriguez says he made a mistake when he went to Texas for more......

Photo of Johnny Damon and other Yankees shaking the hands of Virginia Tech players in Blacksburg, VA by AP/Don Petersen With all the talk in the past week of the Yankees' lowering themselves -- by starting a fight and by allowing a 59-year-old Billy Crystal to take an at-bat -- cynics Tuesday had a tough time knocking the Yankees down another peg. That's because the team flew up to Blacksburg, Va., site of Virginia......

Earlier this year Bravo announced their "Real Housewives" series would be moving from Orange County to The Big Apple. The show premieres tonight, and critics have already gone sour on it. The NY Post describes the five women chosen to represent NYC as "status-hungry, money-mad matrons" (a real life Cashmere Mafia living in a Lipstick Jungle?). Appalled that out of "8 million residents representing every known corner of the globe" the network picked five who......

For all the noise of this Yankees offseason, as far as the team on the field goes, all it amounted to was the status quo. Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera are all back -- and richer. Young pitchers Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and center fielder Melky Cabrera didn't go to the Twins for Johan Santana. The 2008 Yankees will be a slightly older albeit considerably more expensive version of the 2007 team. And......

The Mets introduced Johan Santana, their newest player and best attempt at getting back to the World Series, in Flushing yesterday. Just last week, the Mets and Santana agreed to a six-year $137.5 million contract that makes the Mets a favorite in the National League. Scores of press were on hand for the introduction, as well as David Wright, Omar Minaya, owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon, and Willie Randolph. Before his official introduction, the Mets......

It may have taken a few extra hours, but the Mets finally got their man. The Mets and Johan Santana agreed to a six-year, $137.5 million contract, with a club option for a seventh year. When the Mets and Twins agreed to the trade on Tuesday, Major League Baseball gave the Mets and Santana until 5 p.m. Friday to reach a deal. With the deadline approaching yesterday, but no agreement reached, the two sides asked......

Former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, who became most famous for errant throws to first base -- one even hit Keith Olberman's mother -- found himself in the news in December when his name popped up in the Mitchell Report. Unlike Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens, Knoblauch remained silent until Thursday. He said he wasn't upset with the report but didn't deny using human growth hormone, a substance Pettitte has admitted taking but Clemens has......

When it came to New Year's Eve countdown broadcasts, we were traditional and stuck with Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. Which means we missed out on $275-million man Alex Rodriguez counting down with Carson Daly on Daly's New Year's Eve program. New York sports talk radio was discussing the Yankee's appearance, jokingly calling him "Mr. New York." Well, not only is A-Rod loving NYC these days, he's also being managed by Guy Oseary......

A Historic Collapse: The Mets held a seven-game lead with 17 to play and were caught looking ahead to the playoffs. What followed was among the worst collapses in history and one that revealed the weaknesses of the players, the manager and the general manager. Jose Reyes and his questionable -- and downright poor -- play summed up the the performance on the field. Manager Willie Randolph's mismanagement of the bullpen came to light......

Alex Rodriguez went on 60 Minutes last night and firmly denied that he used steroids. When asked if he had ever used steroids, HGH or any other performance-enhancing drug A-Rod firmly stated “no” and then explained, "I've never felt overmatched on the baseball field. I've always been a very strong, dominant position. And I felt that if I did my work as I've done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I......

A look at some of this week's noteworthy television: 60 Minutes (Sunday, 7:00 p.m., WCBS 2) Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is interviewed by Katie Couric in the wake of the baseball steroids scandal. Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., HBO) The Ricky Gervais series concludes its run with an 80 minute special episode. Duel (Monday-Friday, 8:00 p.m., WABC 7) No, it isn’t Steven Spielberg’s 1971 feature length film debut made for......

In news that isn't coming as a surprise to anyone, Alex Rodriguez, the former and probably future Yankees 3rd baseman, was named the American League Most Valuable Player today. It was the third time Rodriguez was named the MVP, winning previously in 2003 with the Rangers and in 2005 with the Yankees. This past season, A-Rod set career high marks in runs scored (143) and RBI (156). He also led baseball with 54 home runs......

The wedding date hasn’t been announced, but it seems like all the plans have been made. Alex Rodriguez is about to sign the richest contract in sports history- again. The framework of the deal is a 10 year/$275 million contract. In addition, A-Rod and the Yankees are working on a revenue sharing agreement if A-Rod breaks the home run record. One thing you won’t find in the contract is an opt-out clause, so this really......

It looks like Alex Rodriguez is set to come back as a member of the New York Yankees...and for less money than what they were rumored to be offering before. The former Yankees 3rd baseman is reportedly hammering out a 10-year, $275 million contract with the Yankees. Sources tell the Daily News that a deal could actually be worked out in the next 24-28 hours. So much for the 10-year, $350 million offer the Yankees......

The news that Stephon Marbury is heading back to the Knicks may be only the second-biggest reconciliation in New York sports this week. There are reports that Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees are talking again and discussing what it would take to bring Rodriguez back to the Yankees. Apparently stung by the reaction to the timing of his opt-out, A-Rod has approached the Yankees and at least discussed the possibility of a new deal. The......

If Barry Melrose ever goes to Newark, he probably won't be getting a warm reception. Melrose, a hockey analyst for ESPN and a former player and manager, said some disparaging words about the city of Newark when talking about the new Devils arena on his webcast last week. Melrose said, "It looks great on the inside but don't go outside, especially if you got a wallet or anything else because the area around the building......

The underground Flatiron poker club robbery that left one player dead on Friday may be connected to a robbery at a swank Upper East Side club back in June. The Post notes that the two robberies were similar, with gunmen holding up patrons and making off with a lot of cash. The Upper East Side robbery at the National Card Room (a joint that Alex Rodriguez used to frequent) did not turn violent, whereas the......

Well, it didn't take long for Joe Torre to find a new job (not that it should have). He's trading The Bronx for Chavez Ravine and "fans" like Rudy Giuliani for Posh Spice. The Post is reporting that the former Yankees manager has agreed in principle to a three-year $14.5 million deal (hopefully there are no performance incentives) to be the next manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He would be replacing Grady Little, who......

The Yankees have offered Joe Girardi the job of manager, further emphasizing the fact that the Steinbrenner boys, and not their father, are now in control. According to reports, Girardi has been offered a three-year deal worth approximately $2-million a season. Negotiations are described as “ongoing” currently. As a side note, Don Mattingly has apparently turned down an offer to coach on his staff. Assuming Girardi accepts the offer, he will take control of a......

All the rumors of an extension of Alex Rodriguez's contract with the Yankees are pointless. Why? Because A-Rod has decided to opt-out of his remaining three years with the Yankees. The announcement was made by Scott Boras during tonight's World Series game. He totally jumped that 10-day opt-out period. By opting-out, A-Rod passes on the remaining three-year $72 million portion of his contract and has likely played his last game as a New York Yankee.......

An ESPN report yesterday cited sources that say the Yankees are ready to offer Alex Rodriguez a record contract extension. The offer for the Yankees third baseman would be an extension in the range of five years and $30 million a year. Rodriguez is currently signed with the Yankees through the end of the 2010 season at $27 million a year, but can opt-out of his contract in the 10 days following the World Series,......

The Yankees' season ended last week, but the team is still a hotbed of activity. A group of executives for the Bombers will be meeting in Tampa, FL early next week to come to a decision regarding the fate of Joe Torre, the team's manager. George Steinbrenner, who made a name for himself as an eager firer of managers before taking an involuntary break from baseball, declared that he'd like to fire Torre after last......

Welcome to the first day of the Yankees’ offseason, buckle your seatbelts this is going to be a wild ride. While it is 99.9% certain that the Yankees are going to have a new manager for 2008, his identity remains a mystery. Joe Girardi, Don Mattingly and Tony LaRussa are the top names you hear, but remember in 1995 the Yankees shocked a lot of people when they chose Torre, so don’t be surprised if......

IIndians 12, Yankees 3: Well, that didn't go as planned. Chien-Ming Wang didn't have his sinker, gave up a ton of two-out and two-strike hits, and the Yankees got buried. Their patient bats wore out C.C. Sabathia, but they only got three runs for their efforts against him, and that wasn't nearly enough given the way Wang pitched. Then they stunk up the joint against the Indians bullpen, but by them the game was......

At first glance it is easy to draw the parallel between the 2007 Yankees and the 2006 team. Once again the Yankees’ bats are the strength of their team and once again they are facing an underrated team from the AL Central with very good pitching. But, as much as the parallel works, there are three key differences with this Yankees team that makes a repeat of last year’s first round flameout unlikely. First......