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OFFSEASON PLAYER MOVEMENT

Players signed	Players lost
LHP Andy Pettitte (option picked up)	LHP Mike Stanton (free agent/Mets)
3B Robin Ventura (re-signed)	RHP Ramiro Mendoza (free agent/Red Sox)
C Chris Widger (re-signed)	OF Shane Spencer (free agent/Indians)
LHP Chris Hammond (free agent)	OF John Vander Wal (free agent/Brewers*)
INF Enrique Wilson (re-signed)	INF Ron Coomer (free agent/Dodgers*)
RHP Roger Clemens (re-signed)
RHP Jose Contreras (re-signed)
INF Todd Zeile (free agent)
OF Hideki Matsui (free agent)
C John Flaherty (free agent*)
RHP Jon Lieber (free agent)
RHP Juan Acevedo (free agent*)
Acquired via trade	Players traded
RHP Antonio Osuna, RHP Delvis Lantigua (White Sox)	RHP Orlando Hernandez (Expos), $2 million
*Minor-league deal

Complete List | 2002 Free Agents

Dykstra calls Soriano 'hacker'


	Soriano (left), doing what he does best; Dykstra, right, does not like what he sees.

Seven years have passed since Lenny Dykstra hung up his cleats and became a businessman by owning a pair of car washes in Southern California. But he still cannot stomach watching bad baseball. According to the former Mets and Phillies star, Alfonso Soriano is a "hacker," with "no instincts" even though the second baseman batted .300 with 39 homers and 102 RBI last year. "Everybody's blinded by this guy's offense. But watch him play. He's a hacksaw!" Dykstra made those comments in the March issue of Esquire magazine, but he stood by those comments in the Feb. 9 New York Post.

Soriano's shoulder tightness

The $164M question

Hot Stove Heaters: Yankees


	Rivera

ESPN The Magazine's Kieran Darcy takes a look at the Yankees in Hot Stove Heaters: Vets Mike Stanton (Mets) and Ramiro Mendoza (Red Sox) are gone, taking tons of postseason experience with them. Chris Hammond replaces Stanton, and the Yanks acquired Antonio Osuna in the El Duque trade and signed Juan Acevedo to a minor-league deal. Steve Karsay is coming off a bad back, and Mariano Rivera battled injuries all last year -- meaning the bullpen has a lot to prove.

Sickels: Minor-league report

Report: Pirates' offer rejected


	Mondesi hit .241 in 71 games with the Yanks last season.

Outfielder Raul Mondesi is focusing on the start of spring training, not on trade rumors. Mondesi, who is playing for the Dominican Republic's Cibao Eagles in the Caribbean Series, is in the last year of a contract that paid him $11 million last season. He could make as much as $13 million this coming season. There had been speculation the Yankees were trying to deal the strong-armed right fielder. According to a report in the Newark Star-Ledger on Feb. 6, the Yankees rejected an offer from the Pirates. "If they trade me to another big league team, there's no problem," Mondesi said Feb. 5. "It would be difficult if they traded me to a football or basketball team because I don't know how to play that."

Torre: Blame me, not coaches

George, Jeets clear the air

'El Titan' arrives


	Contreras

Jose Contreras, who went 117-50 with a 2.82 ERA in the Cuban League, finalized his $32 million, four-year contract at Yankee Stadium on Feb. 6. He also revealed he has a nickname as sharp as his pitches: "El Titan de Bronze." The nickname -- given to the right-hander by Cuban president Fidel Castro because Contreras was the Cuban ace -- originally belonged to Antonio Maceo, the general who led the Cuban liberation army against Spain in the 19th century.

NEWS AND NOTES

The Yankees won the right to negotiate with right-hander Ramon Ramirez of the Hiroshima Carp. New York's bid of $350,000 was accepted by the Central League team. The 21-year-old native of the Dominican Republic joined Hiroshima last year and finished the season 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two games.
After wondering during the offseason if he would be traded, DH/1B Nick Johnson is happy to still be wearing pinstripes. "There was talk about it," Johnson said Feb. 6. "I'm just glad to be back."
Former Yankees OF/DH David Justice announced his retirement Feb. 6 on the Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio.
The Yankees gave LHP Randy Keisler his unconditional release Feb. 5 to make room on the 40-man roster for Jon Lieber, a free-agent signing who last pitched for the Cubs. Lieber, recovering from major elbow surgery, agreed to a $3.5 million, two-year contract with the Yankees on Jan. 22.
RH reliever Steve Karsay could begin throwing off a mound again in two weeks after undergoing offseason back surgery. Karsay, who had the operation in November to repair a herinated disc, expects to be ready for Opening Day. Karsay is currently throwing off flat ground at the Yankees' minor league complex, where he started working out last month.

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AUDIO/VIDEO
Video Sunday Conversation
Roger Clemens discusses life with owner George Steinbrenner in ESPN's Sunday Conversation.
Standard | Cable Modem

FEATURES

Klapisch: 'The Man' hits the bright lights
Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui is now officially a Yankee. Let the fun and excitement begin.
Klapisch: Steinbrenner strikes again
With George Steinbrenner on his continued rampage, Yanks VP Mark Newman says enough is enough.
Klapisch: The Boss wins again
In signing Jose Contreras, George Steinbrenner won the ultimate power war over the hated Red Sox.
Caple: Showin' them who's Boss
Page 2's Jim Caple got his hands on George Steinbrenner's revised employee benefits package. The Boss has spoken.

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ULTIMATE STANDINGS

See how the Yankees fare among all 121 professional sports teams.

SportsNation's Ultimate Standings

Where do the Yankees rank?

"When you're down, you don't swing on the first (bleeping) pitch, bro! You don't take that 30-percent chance of getting a hit or whatever it is and go with it. I can't take watching these guys (bleep) it up. I can't take it."
– Former Phillies star Lenny Dykstra, in the current issue of Esquire Magazine, critiquing an at-bat of 2B Alfonso Soriano during the ALDS against the Angels last fall

2002 AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
TEAM	W	L	PCT	GB
New York	103	58	.640	-
Boston	93	69	.574	10.5
Toronto	78	84	.481	25.5
Baltimore	67	95	.414	36.5
Tampa Bay	55	106	.342	48.0
Complete Standings

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KLAPISCH: THE CORPORATE MANTRA

Ask Joe Torre about the Yankees' impossibly overcrowded starting rotation, and his default response is a helpless shrug, a weak smile and a hope that an epiphany will somehow arrive before Opening Day. Until then, Torre says, "We'll sort it out as we go along."

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ON THE FARM

Minor league affiliates:
Columbus Clippers (AAA):
    Sched./Results | Stats | Official Site
Trenton Thunder (AA):
    Sched./Results | Stats | Official Site
Tampa Yankees (A):
    Stats | Official Site
Michigan Battle Cats (A):
    Stats | Official Site
Staten Island Yankees (A):
    Official Site
Gulf Coast Yankees (R)


AVG	2 tied @	.333
HR	J. Giambi	41
RBI	J. Giambi	122
RUN	A. Soriano	128
SB	A. Soriano	41
WIN	D. Wells	19
SV	M. Rivera	28
ERA	D. Wells	3.75
Complete Team Statistics: Batting \| Pitching


C	J. Posada	ROTATION
1B	J. Giambi	M. Mussina
2B	A. Soriano	J. Contreras
3B	R. Ventura	R. Clemens
SS	D. Jeter	A. Pettitte
LF	H. Matsui	D. Wells
CF	B. Williams	CLOSER
RF	R. Mondesi	M. Rivera
DH	N. Johnson


Feb 4: Named Lin Garrett vice president of scouting and player development, Rob Thomson vice president, director of minor league operations and Damon Oppenheimer vice president of professional scouting.
Complete Team Transactions


No significant injuries.