"It certainly wasn't my intention to shock anybody with this book," Torre said. "I just wanted to put a heartbeat on some of these players that people think are robotic." ...

"I don't think this book is doing anything but really retracing the history of my Yankee years, which is what I wanted to do," Torre said. "I'm shocked by the initial reaction, and the only reason I'm not upset by it is the fact that I know once people read the book, I think it will be more in perspective and they'll have a better idea of what it's about."

“I did not burn any bridges,” Torre said. “When I talk about what went on in the clubhouse, I don’t think there was any sensitive material that was in there that I felt shouldn’t have been in there.”

SI.com: It's often been said that Torre was the right man at the right time for the Yankees. He had a core group of players early on who policed themselves. I thought it was amusing that even though he made mistakes on the field, as a rookie, Jeter didn't allow the veterans an opportunity to razz him. Can you talk about his strong, but quiet leadership?

Verducci: I can't think of a player in baseball who is more universally respected within the game than Jeter. And all of the best attributes that make it so -- his desire to win above all else, his respect for people, his unfailing optimism and his comfort and ease in the most pressurized spots -- were all there from Day 1 with this guy. He was a born leader because others take their cues from how he acts, less so from what he says. You take those attributes and then add the influence of Tim Raines, his friend who lockered near him, and you had a young player with a veteran's presence and understanding of how to be a professional. That is a highly unusual combination. As Cone said, that the Yankees would look to a rookie to lead them in big spots was a most unusual arrangement. ...

SI.com: It's no surprise that the stuff about Alex Rodriguez made the tabloids in New York. The tabloids threw out the "A Fraud" line and many readers first assumed that Torre called Rodriguez by that name. Immediately, Johnny Damon and Andy Pettitte claimed not to know about the term, though Larry Bowa did admit that it was something said in jest. But it was a specific reference to Rodriguez during his first year with the team. Do you think that in spite of his ego Rodriguez is more comfortable in the Yankee locker room these days?

Verducci: Yes, definitely so, and it started two years ago. It was funny to see the tabloids misrepresent the "A-Fraud" reference and still then chase down Pettitte and Damon about it; the term appears in the book in a very specifically defined manner: only in regard to guys in the clubhouse (not Torre) noticing that Alex was trying too hard to fit in, only in 2004, his first season in New York. Pettitte was playing in Houston and Damon in Boston that year! I do think Alex is far more comfortable in the clubhouse and in New York now. He worries far less about what is said and written about him than when he first appeared on the scene. It's hard for anyone to make that transition, but it was especially hard for Alex because he is so smart, so aware, so curious and such a deep fan of the game. He has a more sensitive radar than most players, and the chatter in New York is relentless. I think he has learned to tone down the sensitivity of that radar to reduce potential distractions.

Under rules stated in the Basic Agreement, an exception was made this offseason because of the high number of free agents on the market -- a combined 216 between six-year free agents filing before Nov. 14 and players who weren't tendered contracts on Dec. 12, said Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball's executive vice president of labor relations and human resources. ...

The Yankees have already signed five Type A free agents -- CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira and their own Andy Pettitte and Damaso Marte. The quota, as defined in the collectively bargained rules established by management and the Players Association, state, "if there are from 39 to 62 players [filing], no team can sign more than three."

The most commonly held misconception of this offseason is that the Yankees could have signed pitcher Ben Sheets or could still sign left-fielder Manny Ramirez if only there were a few million dollars remaining in the Steinbrenner bank.

Both assumptions are incorrect. According to the Basic Agreement, and confirmed by a top Major League Baseball official, once the Yankees signed CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, they had signed their quota of Type A or Type B free agents under the collectively bargained rules established by management and the Players Association. ...

"If there were more than 62 this year, we should have agreed on an increased quota," Manfred said. "We did not. I think if [the Yankees] were contemplating signing another Type A player, they would've read the agreement and asked us what we wanted to do. They would've said they wanted to sign a fourth player and we would've had to do something with the union."

After trying to push Xavier Nady as the outfielder they'd most prefer to trade, the Yankees are telling teams they're softening to the idea of dealing Nick Swisher. The Braves head the list of clubs who prefer Swisher because of his versatility and because he's three years from free agency, not one.

Dunn might draw interest from the Yankees, a team for which he is perfectly suited, if they could shed the contracts of two of Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher.

“I heard the word betrayed and I knew that it wasn’t part of the actual book,” Torre said in a telephone interview from Hawaii early Tuesday morning. “I can tell you this much: I know there’s stuff Brian and I disagreed on, and I had one perception and he had another, which, to me, there’s nothing wrong with that. We’re obviously two different people.”

Torre added: “As far as the betrayed thing, that’s the reason I called him. I knew there was no word betrayed in there in regards to feeling that he left me out there somewhere.” ...

“I don’t think I said anything about A-Rod that I didn’t say already,” said Torre...

"Heck, the bottom line is I'm a man, and I guess it does take a shot at your pride a little bit," [Pettitte] said. "But when you put all that aside, I wanted to play for the New York Yankees and, you know, that was the bottom line. I wanted to be there. I wanted to play in that new stadium."

After months of stalled negotiations, Pettitte and the Yankees agreed Monday to a $5.5 million, one-year contract. While the guaranteed money is less than half New York's original $10 million offer, he can make an additional $6.5 million in bonuses: $4.5 million based on innings and $2 million based on days on the active roster.

I think it's important to understand context here. The book is not a first-person book by Joe Torre, it's a third-person narrative based on 12 years of knowing the Yankees and it's about the changes in the game in that period. Seems to me the New York Post assigned this third-person book entirely to Joe Torre and that's not the case. In fact, if people saw that Post story they probably noticed there are no quotes from Joe Torre in it. Joe Torre does not rip anybody in the book. The book really needs to be read in context.

Anybody who knows Joe, especially during his time in New York, knows he's a very honest man and he is very honest in the pages of this book. People also know Joe Torre doesn't go around ripping people and he doesn't do that in the pages of this book. There is a lot of information in this book over a tremendous period of baseball history. It's been reported out by me as well as informed by Torre's own insights into that period.

When reached by ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney on Sunday, Cashman said that he had spoken to Torre by phone. He said that the manager told him to wait for the book to come out, that they are friends and will always be friends.

"Joe was a great manager for us," Cashman said. "I'm glad he called me. I'm very comfortable with my relationship with him."

According to a source familiar with the book, Torre does not step out of character. He simply recites the facts as he saw them and does not unfairly disparage the Yankees...

The source said some of the controversial angles being reported in the New York tabloids have been taken out of context or "overblown.''

"Joe is very honest in the book,'' the source said, "but he doesn't make any personal attacks. In terms of him name-calling, that's not his style.''

Righty Arodys Vizcaino (Rookie) is among the Yanks' top prospects already, despite turning 18 after the 2008 season ended. He has easy velocity, hitting 94 repeatedly and sitting at 90-92 with good deception and a plus curveball. He's athletic and should sit closer to 94 when he's fully developed.

For the first time in several years, the Yankees' system is light on impact talent, with major question marks on each of the top four prospects. The 2008 draft class doesn't offer much hope -- the Yankees' first pick reversed course on them midsummer and decided to go to college; their third pick had a medical issue and didn't agree to terms; and the resulting crop of players doesn't offer much upside.

Bill Werber, who was the oldest living ex-major leaguer and a teammate of Babe Ruth, died Thursday. He was 100.

Werber, a career .271 hitter who led the American League in stolen bases three times, played with Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove in stints with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. He hit .370 as the third baseman on the 1940 World Series champion Cincinnati Reds.

"During that time, Steinbrenner spent more money than the Red Sox," Rice said. "He had more free agents. So when you get the best free agents, and you get the superstars from other ballclubs, that's what made you have a better team. The more money you can spend, the better you should get."

"The Yankees haven't won in the last eight years. What do they do? They go out and buy high-priced players in the hope to get back the winning percentage they had 10 years ago."

The asking price the New York Yankees set for second baseman Robinson Cano when the Cardinals called about a deal: Adam Wainwright. The conversation did not last long.

Is there any room for Andy Pettitte to re-up with the Yankees? Apparently. But a person with knowledge of the situation said that it's up to Pettitte to initiate the discussion. If so, there might be a willingness on the Yankees part to take the offer from $10.5 million to $12 million.

Jorge Posada's hopes of playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic may be dashed by the Yankees, who would prefer to have the catcher physically prepared for Opening Day. ...

"I am sure he would love to play [in the World Baseball Classic], but he is currently rehabbing from surgery and would not be ready," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. ...

Yankees media relations director Jason Zillo also confirmed that Posada will not play in the tournament. ...

The Yankees' Brian Bruney, Melky Cabrera and Xavier Nady joined a group of 111 Major League players who filed for salary arbitration on Thursday. ...

Salary arbitration figures are scheduled to be exchanged on Jan. 20, with hearings taking place from Feb. 1 through Feb. 21.

The Yankees still have interest in acquiring Brewers centerfielder Mike Cameron after talks broke off in late December. They recently floated the idea of swapping first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher for Cameron.

Acquired earlier in the winter from the Chicago White Sox, Swisher was targeted to play first base for the Yankees before they signed Teixeira. He has approximately $21 million left on his contract over the next three seasons and is not considered a top-notch centerfielder despite seeing considerable action there last year in Chicago.

"Teixeira's a great player, there's no question about that and I appreciate the way he plays and I think the Yankee fans are going to enjoy him," Donnie Baseball said. "I had lunch with him a few years back, so I knew he was a fan. He seemed like a really good kid." ...

As for the fact that the young Teixeira would wear a Yankee cap when he would come to watch Mattingly play at Camden Yards, Mattingly laughed and said, "That shows he's a little crazy too, that's always good for New York."

Andy Pettitte, who starts on Wednesday, said he does not know if he will pitch next season but has no interest in playing for any team but the Yankees. "Obviously anyone else would say, 'I'll go wherever I want to,' because people want to try to get the most money," Pettitte said. "But, I mean, I'm not going anywhere, you know what I'm saying? The Yankees know me enough, it's not like I'm going to hold out. I guess if I had spent all my money or whatever, it might be different. But it's not about that, really, anymore." Pettitte said he would talk with his wife and oldest son in hopes of making a decision sooner than he did last winter, when he waited until December to tell the Yankees he would return.

"When you're down, you expect your organization to pick you up, not kick you when you're down," Pavano said. "I've had to pick myself up quite a few times the last four years."

Andy Pettitte is extremely unhappy with how his negotiations have gone with the Yankees, and the lefthander might be softening on his opposition to rejoining the Astros.

What once seemed a fait accompli - Pettitte returning to the Yankees for a 12th season in pinstripes - now appears increasingly in jeopardy, although the two sides continue to communicate and they ultimately rank as each other's first choice.

Thirteen days before Christmas, Mark Teixeira, the Yankees’ $180 million man, was having dinner with his wife, Leigh, when he pleaded with her for insight about the future. If everything was equal among Teixeira’s suitors, he said, where would she rather see him play? Leigh admitted to preferring the Yankees.

Once Leigh chose the Yankees, Teixeira instructed Scott Boras, his agent, to try to make the deal happen. Eleven days later, after a strained meeting, in which the Boston Red Sox walked out on Teixeira, he agreed to an eight-year contract with the Yankees.

"Although being suspended for 50 games is tough to accept, I think that it is important to understand that I am in full support of drug testing in baseball," Mitre said in a statement. "I did take the supplement in question and accept full responsibility for taking it. What has been difficult for me to understand is that I legally purchased this supplement at GNC and had no intention nor desire to cheat or to circumvent the system in any way.

An industry source told MLB.com on Monday afternoon that Oakland could sign Giambi this week, likely to a one-year deal with a possible second-year option.

A reunion seemed inevitable at the start of the off-season, but now it is uncertain. Pettitte has rejected the Yankees’ one-year, $10 million offer, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations, and there is no standing offer for now.