YANKEE NOTES
Joe Torre says if George Steinbrenner wants to blame somebody for the Yankees’ first-round ouster in last year’s playoffs, The Boss can hang it on him.
Steinbrenner was quoted recently saying Torre’s coaches needed to work harder than they ever had this year.
“My coaching staff works very hard,” Torre said. “If you want to drop blame on somebody here I am. I get paid a lot of money to do my job and I am accountable. If we don’t win, it’s my fault. You start there. My coaches, it’s tough to say they don’t work when we won 103 games.”
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Alfonso Soriano pulling out of a home run hitting contest this weekend in Las Vegas may force him to take another physical to make sure the sore right shoulder he gave as the reason for withdrawing doesn’t have a problem.
“We are not aware of any (problem),” GM Brian Cashman said. “He pulled out of the [contest] but we are not confirming he has a shoulder problem. He might get another physical.”
Soriano is working out at the Yankees’ complex in Tampa daily.
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If Kevin Millar goes through the Japanese posting process, another chapter in the Yankees-Red Sox feud could be written. With Streinbrenner’s dislike of the Red Sox at an all-time high, The Boss could inform his Inner Circle to make a ridiculously high bid for the outfielder/first baseman whom the Red Sox claimed on waivers from the Marlins and then lost when the Chunichi Dragons say they agreed on a two-year deal worth $6.2 million.
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Yankees have granted Hideki Matsui permission to play for Japan in an Olympic qualifying tournament in November. Should Japan qualify, Matsui wouldn’t be available for the 2004 Games in Athens.
“Typically, we wouldn’t allow it but he wanted to do this,” Cashman said.
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Forty-five minutes before the scheduled one o’clock start to yesterday’s press conference to introduce Jose Contreras at Yankee Stadium, Steinbrenner called from Tampa with instructions that he wanted the festivities carried live on YES. Technicians scrambled to get The Boss his feed shortly after 1 p.m. Nice to own the club and network, isn’t it.